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> However, there is one thing I've never seen mentioned - a combined Mac/iOS binary. Because they're already doing something better. All iOS apps compile to Bi
by abalone 10y ago
> However, there is one thing I've never seen mentioned - a combined Mac/iOS binary.
Because they're already doing something better. All iOS apps compile to Bitcode, an intermediary representation that can then compile an optimized binary for the target device architecture.[1]
So if there ever were a desire to run iOS apps on Mac, they'd just compile from Bitcode. Having said that, there's explicitly zero desire to do this.
[1] https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/IDEs/Conceptual/AppDistributionGuide/AppThinning/AppThinning.html https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/ID...
- syncsynchalt 10y agoBitcode allows you to optimize between chip versions with different opcodes, but not different architectures, word sizes, or endianness. Source: the recent Accidental Tech Podcast that interviewed Chris Lattner.
- gpderetta 10y agoTrue, but AArch64 vs AMD64 are not so different (64 bits, little endian, probably quite similar ABIs), it is not unthinkable that the same bitcode could target both architectures.
- abalone 10y agoOk fine, but the broader App Thinning featureset of the App Store still means they wouldn't do a universal binary. They'd deliver just what the target device needs.