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Jag tittade igenom ArsTechnicas recensioner av tidigare versioner av Mac OS X och hittade det här om DP2. Rätt intressant, med tanke på avd vi nu vet om OS X dubbelliv och processorbyte.
The OpenStep APIs are cross platform. Mach is cross-platform. WebObjets is cross-platform. x86 builds of Rhapsody, Mac OS X Server, and Mac OS X inside Apple have been all but confirmed. Rumor has it that Apple routinely synchronizes all changes to Mac OS X across both PowerPC and x86 builds of the OS. Clearly, Apple's choice of where to deploy its new operating system is not limited by the technology. If they decided to try releasing a version Mac OS X for x86 processors, it would be technologically within their means. But will they do it? I seriously doubt it. Still, it's fun to look for cross-platform clues within Mac OS X DP2. Here's a sample:
There's the "i386" directory in the BSD library tree, but that could just be a BSD thing.
Then there's the fact that the "Executables" directory inside Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X "packages" are subdivided by operating system--an organization that doesn't make much sense if packages only need a single PowerPC-native executable.
Many example applications include ".ico" icon files in addition to TIFFs and Mac OS "icns" resources.
Here's part of the "build options" window from the ProjectBuilder development tool:
And finally, here's part of the "project options" window for Cocoa apps in ProjectBuilder:
This is nothing new to ex-NeXT developers. One of the great strengths of the OpenStep APIs was their ability to target multiple platforms. The same applications built with the OpenStep APIs could run on both NEXTSTEP and Windows (provided the OpenStep libraries were also included with the app). These libraries, also known as the "Yellow Box for Windows", were to be freely distributable, enabling Yellow Box developers to sell to both Mac OS X and Windows customers. But Yellow Box for Windows is missing in action these days, and Apple either waffles or declines to comment when pressed on the issue.
As Mac OS X marches towards beta and then release, these x86 vestiges will probably start to disappear. The cross-platform card is something to watch for, however. For the first time, the only thing keeping Apple off of the "PC" platform will be its business plan. And hey, with Steve Jobs calling the shots, anything is possible.
