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Apple's Unix Porting Guide

Posted by pudge on from the i-thought-unix-was-obsolete dept.

hysterion writes "Just came across the nice Unix Porting Guide (pdf) posted by Apple earlier this month. Topics include NetInfo, using Project Builder with gnumake, autoconf, XFree86, Tcl/Tk, Qt ... it is a bit short on scripting languages, and they speak as if KDE were already ported, but other than that I found it an informative read." They also didn't mention fink, and they put "Unix" in all caps. However, they were honest about the shell scripting limitations of AppleScript, although they didn't mention that AppleScript -- especially via osascript -- is pretty buggy in Mac OS X right now (this is my annoyance of the week, so allow me to indulge myself).

9 of 27 comments (clear)

  1. "As if KDE was already ported"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    It is...

    1. Re:"As if KDE was already ported"? by Ranger+Rick · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yeah, it's not 100% but we've got things mostly working. I've got screenshots (including KDE in rootless mode, very nice =) up at my web page.

      --

      WWJD? JWRTFM!!!

    2. Re:"As if KDE was already ported"? by jeffehobbs · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Aaaah! My eyes! The goggles, they do nothing!

      I'm sorry, but compared to OS X, KDE is just soooo ugly and out of place. I appreciate that there might... possibly... be... functionality one could get with KDE ported apps, but X11-based apps still look like they took second place in an ugly contest.

      ~jeff

  2. Of course they do by Clue4All · · Score: 3, Informative

    The operating system is UNIX, not Unix, though admittedly at this point it's more of a paradigm than an OS.

    --

    Is your browser retarded?
  3. Java porting guide by pmorelli · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's a link on porting Java apps to Mac OS X, eg, menu bar issues, tweaks that don't break cross-platform compatibility but help the Mac experience. Pretty good.

  4. Re:Deeply Disappointed in the Apple McIntosh by Steve+Cowan · · Score: 3, Funny

    You forgot to mention the ADB caps lock key issue!

  5. As for Fink.... by zhiwenchong · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is from Fink's FAQ:

    Q2.3: What is your relation with Apple?
    A: Apple is aware of Fink and has given us some support as part of their Open Source relations efforts. In the summer and fall of 2001, they provided us with pre-release seeds of new Mac OS X versions in the hope that Fink packages can be adapted in time for the release. Quote: "Hopefully it underscores the commitment that many suspect we're not willing to provide. We'll get better at the open source game over time." Thanks Apple!

  6. KDE + Darwin? by feldsteins · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I had no idea that this had occured. It's exciting!

    I'm given to wonder, however, why someone with a full OS X installation would wish to use KDE. Perhaps there are a dozen reasons I can't think off off-hand, but the real prize would be to run KDE on top of Darwin! Is this possible yet?

    Darwin core + good GUI = another no-cost operating system on the loose. It would no doubt have far lower system requirements than OS X, too. The idea has me drooling already.

    --
    You like your Macintosh better than me, don't you Dave? Dave? Can you hear me Dave?
    1. Re:KDE + Darwin? by Ranger+Rick · · Score: 4, Informative

      Yes it is possible, one of the other guys on our porting team has gotten it running, we're now working on incorporating those bits so it's reproducable. :)

      That's one of the reasons we moved things over to OpenDarwin rather than keeping it just in Fink, is so the Darwin folks can take advantage of it as well...

      --

      WWJD? JWRTFM!!!