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As usually, Apple does not give developers any time to react. There is no migration plan save for one video from WWDC where they briefly describe some alternati

As usually, Apple does not give developers any time to react. There is no migration plan save for one video from WWDC where they briefly describe some alternatives. > In macOS 10.15.4, use of deprecated KPIs triggers a notification to the user that the software includes a deprecated API and asks the user to contact the developer for alternatives.

pjmlp 7y ago
The alternatives are well known and everyone has half a year to actually read about DriverKit and Network Extensions.
- ameshkov 7y ago
  Well, let me disagree. The documentation is lagging. Right after the WWDC there were nothing except for some header files. Also, why half a year? Do you think it will take them that much to release 10.15.4?
  - api 7y ago
    What's this "documentation" thing you're talking about? Is it something other than header files and code? I'm joking but documentation (and tech support) do seem to be dying things at Apple and elsewhere.
    - ameshkov 7y ago
      Actually, they are quite helpful on the developer forums. Fully agree on the documentation point, though.
- zymhan 7y ago
  Surely you don't think 6 months is enough to rewrite entire drivers and Kexts, do you? That is a short transition by any comparison.
  - acdha 7y ago
    How do you get 6 months from June 2019 announcement for the next major OS release which won't be out before September 2020? It still works in Catalina and they won’t change that in a point release.
    - dmitriid 7y ago
      Because you don't have one year to update and release your software. You have to have it ready and begin testing at least by the time betas of the next version of OS ships. And to do that, you have to start much earlier.
- dmitriid 7y ago
  6 months since the announcement of the entirely new not-seen-before thing with next to zero documentation to understand, develop an alternative (if it's at all possible) and distribute it to users. How is that enough time?
highlandinfo 7y ago
Developers who are affected by this (and who were on top of last summer's announcements) knew this day was coming, and have been working on updates since then. 10.15 serves as a testbed that supports legacy kernel extensions as well as the new user-space frameworks (e.g. EndpointSecurity and NetworkExtension) that largely replace the deprecated APIs. Developers that have a revision ready to test against the first 10.16 beta this summer should be in good shape (assuming that Apple doesn't swerve wildly between 10.15 and 10.16 cough 64-bit Carbon cough). Yes, the documentation is scanty in places, and there is some missing functionality at the moment. And the support burden on these companies, once 10.15.4 ships, will be a pain ("It's OK, the software still works, don't worry about that alert message"). But it is incorrect to say that Apple has not given developers time to react.
- pier25 7y ago
  > knew this day was coming Certainly but the problem is that such changes should be announced years in advance. Cocoa, OpenGL, ObjC... all are going to die some day and Apple will probably announce it 1 year before it happens, at the most.
  - floatingatoll 7y ago
    OpenSSL was deprecated 8 years ago and hasn’t been removed yet. Your bet of 1 year is not well-supported by their historical trends on Carbon, x86 32-bit, PowerPC, 68k, Garbage collection, and so on. Unless you’re suggesting that Apple will only give 1 year’s notice when they remove deprecated features - in which case, they might only give 0.25 years (at WWDC), which happens quite frequently.
    - 1over137 7y ago
      Past cases need not match future cases. They've been tossing things faster than in the past.
      - floatingatoll 7y ago

pjmlp 7y ago

The alternatives are well known and everyone has half a year to actually read about DriverKit and Network Extensions.

ameshkov 7y ago
Well, let me disagree. The documentation is lagging. Right after the WWDC there were nothing except for some header files. Also, why half a year? Do you think it will take them that much to release 10.15.4?
- api 7y ago
  What's this "documentation" thing you're talking about? Is it something other than header files and code? I'm joking but documentation (and tech support) do seem to be dying things at Apple and elsewhere.
  - ameshkov 7y ago
    Actually, they are quite helpful on the developer forums. Fully agree on the documentation point, though.
zymhan 7y ago
Surely you don't think 6 months is enough to rewrite entire drivers and Kexts, do you? That is a short transition by any comparison.
- acdha 7y ago
  How do you get 6 months from June 2019 announcement for the next major OS release which won't be out before September 2020? It still works in Catalina and they won’t change that in a point release.
  - dmitriid 7y ago
    Because you don't have one year to update and release your software. You have to have it ready and begin testing at least by the time betas of the next version of OS ships. And to do that, you have to start much earlier.
dmitriid 7y ago
6 months since the announcement of the entirely new not-seen-before thing with next to zero documentation to understand, develop an alternative (if it's at all possible) and distribute it to users. How is that enough time?

highlandinfo 7y ago

Developers who are affected by this (and who were on top of last summer's announcements) knew this day was coming, and have been working on updates since then. 10.15 serves as a testbed that supports legacy kernel extensions as well as the new user-space frameworks (e.g. EndpointSecurity and NetworkExtension) that largely replace the deprecated APIs. Developers that have a revision ready to test against the first 10.16 beta this summer should be in good shape (assuming that Apple doesn't swerve wildly between 10.15 and 10.16 cough 64-bit Carbon cough). Yes, the documentation is scanty in places, and there is some missing functionality at the moment. And the support burden on these companies, once 10.15.4 ships, will be a pain ("It's OK, the software still works, don't worry about that alert message"). But it is incorrect to say that Apple has not given developers time to react.

pier25 7y ago
> knew this day was coming Certainly but the problem is that such changes should be announced years in advance. Cocoa, OpenGL, ObjC... all are going to die some day and Apple will probably announce it 1 year before it happens, at the most.
- floatingatoll 7y ago
  OpenSSL was deprecated 8 years ago and hasn’t been removed yet. Your bet of 1 year is not well-supported by their historical trends on Carbon, x86 32-bit, PowerPC, 68k, Garbage collection, and so on. Unless you’re suggesting that Apple will only give 1 year’s notice when they remove deprecated features - in which case, they might only give 0.25 years (at WWDC), which happens quite frequently.
  - 1over137 7y ago
    Past cases need not match future cases. They've been tossing things faster than in the past.
    - floatingatoll 7y ago