3 ms·

> Apple is widely rumored to also consider switching to their quite credible in house ARM based processors. Does the Mac App Store require submission as source

> Apple is widely rumored to also consider switching to their quite credible in house ARM based processors. Does the Mac App Store require submission as source code? If not, consider the implications.

arbie 8y ago
With the right abstraction layers, source code is not necessary to change underlying hardware architecture. Windows supporting 32-bit x86 legacy programs on ARM is one such example. Transmeta was another.
- inferiorhuman 8y ago
  Wouldn't that be funny to see Apple go from employing JKH to employing Linus.
- imtringued 8y ago
  Windows for ARM is clearly pushing you into the UWP ecosystem which means you can say goodbye to any browser that isn't Edge. Software that depends on DRM, anti-cheat or uses shell extensions is likely not going to work. There is a large hole caused by lack of 64bit support. The cherry on top of all of this is that the emulation is slow and completely negates any energy efficiency benefits of using ARM in the first place.
likpok 8y ago
It wouldn't be the first time apple changed processor architecture. They implemented a dynamic binary translator to ease the transition (which they discontinued a couple versions later -- initially released in Tiger, and was removed in Lion).
iainmerrick 8y ago
They require (I think -- maybe just strongly encourage) submissions to the iOS App Store to include LLVM bitcode. It’s easy to imagine them doing the same for the Mac. That would be a pretty clear signal that they plan to switch architectures.
- orbitur 8y ago
  Bitcode is not required for iOS apps.
- r00fus 8y ago
  Though it's not required they could easily make it fashionable / desirable (anyone remember fat binaries i.e. the ones including both PPC and Intel executables in one .app container?). Or they could slowly make it required.
  - dottrap 8y ago
    > Does the Mac App Store require submission as source code? No. You do not submit source code. > They require (I think -- maybe just strongly encourage) submissions to the iOS App Store to include LLVM bitcode. Apple does not currently require LLVM bitcode for iOS. It does require it for Apple TV and Apple Watch. Additionally, LLVM bitcode is not architecture agnostic. It would not solve the problem of going from x86 to ARM. > (anyone remember fat binaries i.e. the ones including both PPC and Intel executables in one .app container?) This was also used in Apple's transition from 32-bit to 64-bit on Mac. And later again on iOS. So yes, if Apple were to transition CPU architectures again, fat binaries would be the likely approach.

arbie 8y ago

With the right abstraction layers, source code is not necessary to change underlying hardware architecture. Windows supporting 32-bit x86 legacy programs on ARM is one such example. Transmeta was another.

inferiorhuman 8y ago
Wouldn't that be funny to see Apple go from employing JKH to employing Linus.
imtringued 8y ago
Windows for ARM is clearly pushing you into the UWP ecosystem which means you can say goodbye to any browser that isn't Edge. Software that depends on DRM, anti-cheat or uses shell extensions is likely not going to work. There is a large hole caused by lack of 64bit support. The cherry on top of all of this is that the emulation is slow and completely negates any energy efficiency benefits of using ARM in the first place.

likpok 8y ago

It wouldn't be the first time apple changed processor architecture. They implemented a dynamic binary translator to ease the transition (which they discontinued a couple versions later -- initially released in Tiger, and was removed in Lion).

iainmerrick 8y ago

They require (I think -- maybe just strongly encourage) submissions to the iOS App Store to include LLVM bitcode. It’s easy to imagine them doing the same for the Mac. That would be a pretty clear signal that they plan to switch architectures.

orbitur 8y ago
Bitcode is not required for iOS apps.
r00fus 8y ago
Though it's not required they could easily make it fashionable / desirable (anyone remember fat binaries i.e. the ones including both PPC and Intel executables in one .app container?). Or they could slowly make it required.
- dottrap 8y ago
  > Does the Mac App Store require submission as source code? No. You do not submit source code. > They require (I think -- maybe just strongly encourage) submissions to the iOS App Store to include LLVM bitcode. Apple does not currently require LLVM bitcode for iOS. It does require it for Apple TV and Apple Watch. Additionally, LLVM bitcode is not architecture agnostic. It would not solve the problem of going from x86 to ARM. > (anyone remember fat binaries i.e. the ones including both PPC and Intel executables in one .app container?) This was also used in Apple's transition from 32-bit to 64-bit on Mac. And later again on iOS. So yes, if Apple were to transition CPU architectures again, fat binaries would be the likely approach.