A Few Basic Mac Questions

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SebHoll (Posted 2006) [#1]

Hi, For a long time, I've been wanting to familarise myself with Apple Macs more and I have a few questions from a hard-core Windows user that I apologise for if they are really basic. 1) I've seen in BlitzMax's source files the term "Cocoa" for the MaxGUI code - is this the name of the API library for Mac's GUI? 2) Can C++ and C code be compiled on Macs without any editing from a Windows C++ and C source file? (Providing no platform-specific API commands are used). 3) How does program installation work on Macs? Do you need a setup file (as in complex Windows programs) or do you just make a folder and put a .app file inside it? 4) Finally, I've been given an old G3 Mac - what O/S version should I put on it and where could I buy a copy from? Thanks Seb

ragtag (Posted 2006) [#2]

1) This it's their Objective-C development environment, includes GUI and more I think. See http://developer.apple.com/cocoa/ 2) I'll skip over this one, as I'm not at all sure. 3) The normal installation format for osx are .dmg files, which are disk image files. These can be mounted, and then you simply drag the content over in your application folder. The tools for creating a .dmg come with OSX, so there is not much else you need. 4) I would get the latest version of OSX, but I'm not sure how fast it will run on an old machine like the G3. Ragnar

DannyD (Posted 2006) [#3]

2) Can C++ and C code be compiled on Macs without any editing from a Windows C++ and C source file? (Providing no platform-specific API commands are used). Yes.

SebHoll (Posted 2006) [#4]

Thanks ragtag and DannyD. Anyone any more ideas regarding which version of OS/X I should put on an old G3? Also, where does the .app file tie in - is that the equivalent to an .exe on a Windows PC? Seb

Tricky (Posted 2006) [#5]

files with ".app" are a collection of files, that work as an executable. I can go into much detail about that, but to keep it plain and simple ".app" is the Mac equivalent to .Exe files. I can't really say which version of OSX would run well on a G3. My first Mac is already a G5, so I don't know much about the speed of older models.