macOS Developing Tools?

[mh10190]

Hi
im getting into programming
And i was wondering
With a mac

Can i make cross platform programs

I was wondering about the tools that i would need on a mac
what are the programs that accomplish the following tasks

IDE
GUI Builder
Compialer
Libraries

and is there anything else i would need

i want to program in Java and C++

on a side note
im wondering about scripting

i want to master one language that will do all my web and program scripting
what do you suggest
and what tools would i need

i have the learning material for almost anyhting at my fingertips
i just want to make a game plan

i would really like for the work ill be doing to be cross platform

btw
i want to make games, business software, and i want to basically fool around with open source stuff and see what i can do

thanx

 

[HiRez]

Xcode and the developer tools that come with OS X will do much of what you need. You can use it to code and compile Java or C++ (as well as C, Objective-C, assembler, scripting languages, and other stuff). What you cannot do is code for native Windows applications (using DirectX, Win32, etc.). InterfaceBuilder is an excellent GUI-building app, however it only builds GUIs for Macs. If you don't like Xcode, you can also use a number of Java IDEs such as Eclipse and NetBeans. CodeWarrior is available on Mac and supports a number of languages and platforms, however it's future is uncertain right now. Apple's move to Intel may have effects on the many things for programmers in the next few years.

 

[DannySmurf]

You can also use RealBasic for cross-platform development, if that floats your boat and you're willing to move away from C++. I personally don't like it, but in theory, you can compile the same source code (GUI and all) for Windows, Mac and Linux.

 

[ExoticFish]

You can also use RealBasic for cross-platform development, if that floats your boat and you're willing to move away from C++. I personally don't like it, but in theory, you can compile the same source code (GUI and all) for Windows, Mac and Linux.

i used RealBasic for a while and liked it a lot as a RAD tool until the day came that i tried to write a database app as only the pro version can compile a program written with database controls (although i have not checked to see if the new version 2005 has changed this or not).

 

[gekko513]

You probably want to go the SDL and OpenGL route for cross platform game programming ... supports Linux, Windows, BeOS, MacOS Classic, MacOS X, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, BSD/OS, Solaris, IRIX, and QNX ... SDL is written in C, but works with C++ natively

 

[Nutter]

CodeWarrior is available on Mac and supports a number of languages and platforms, however it's future is uncertain right now. Apple's move to Intel may have effects on the many things for programmers in the next few years.

Metrowerks have already announced that the next version of CodeWarrior will be the last. And it won't compile for OS X on Intel.

 

[caveman_uk]

Metrowerks have already announced that the next version of CodeWarrior will be the last. And it won't compile for OS X on Intel.

Maybe they've discovered the 'Internet Explorer effect' that competing with free (i.e. xcode) is nigh on impossible unless your product is an awful lot better than the free one - especially when your product costs $499.

 

[mh10190]

i researched realbasic a little
im wondering
what is it good for

i mean what do we know of that is written in RealBasic
and i heard that it takes up alot of resources

what would its main purposes be

and

with C++ for example
lets say i use a mac to write the source, build the GUI, then compile it
all ill have to do to make it cross platform would be put the source on another platform, write the gui for that, then compile it

or is it more complicated

 

[robbieduncan]

If you design your code well that is indeed all you need to do. If you enfroce strict separation between the logic and the front end that sounds good.

That would also enable you to have a native look and feel on each platform which users (especially Mac user) like.

 

[gekko513]

If you make an application cross platform using C++ as the language, SDL for input methods (and sound and stuff), Open GL for graphics and glut for the basic windows setup and OS integration, you should ideally be able to use one single source and just do a recompile for a different platform and it that will give you a GUI and everything. The only thing that remains is an installer and/or packaging that will be different for most platforms.

If you need more advanced cross platform GUI widgets, you can use Qt from Trolltech or some other cross platform GUI toolkit. Qt is free for non-commercial use. Free GUI toolkits

 

[ExoticFish]

for cross platform support you might want to check out this book.