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History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme: the initial (re)bootstrapping of OS X for Intel was done by one person, too. https://www.quora.com/Apple-company/How

History doesn't repeat, but it does rhyme: the initial (re)bootstrapping of OS X for Intel was done by one person, too. https://www.quora.com/Apple-company/How-does-Apple-keep-secrets-so-well/answer/Kim-Scheinberg?srid=i1 https://www.quora.com/Apple-company/How-does-Apple-keep-secr...

markus_zhang 1y ago
This is amazing. I wonder what it took to port MacOS from PowerPC to Intel. Every assembly language part must be rewritten, that’s for sure. Anything else?
- qwytw 1y ago
  Didn't Nextstep support x86 long before MacOS X was a thing? I assumed that they always had it compilable on x86 long before the switch (since Rhapsody supported it). I guess the user space stuff might have been trickier but probably not the kernel itself and surrounding components.
  - ferguess_k 1y ago
    Yeah but from what I read from the Quora answer, it sounds like JK did it from scratch? I could be wrong though. I just wonder how much effort is supposed to be put into such a project.
    - nxobject 1y ago
      Likely a few foundational technologies that have had significant improvements/reimplementations from Rhapsody like the scheduler/threading infrastructure, memory management, Quartz, Carbon, Quartz.
AdamN 1y ago
Sometimes (often?), one very dedicated and focused person is better than a team of 20+. In fact companies would do well to recognize these situations and accommodate them better.
ferguess_k 1y ago
Found some gems buried in the comments: > Back then, Apple had a sabbatical program that encouraged (mandated?) employees to take six consecutive weeks off every five years. This is really a good take. I can't imagine companies give sabbatical programs nowadays. You still have your vacations so JK took 12 weeks (OP mentioned in the same comment). It was a boon for any system programmer who needs to clear his mind or deepen his thoughts.

markus_zhang 1y ago

This is amazing. I wonder what it took to port MacOS from PowerPC to Intel. Every assembly language part must be rewritten, that’s for sure. Anything else?

qwytw 1y ago
Didn't Nextstep support x86 long before MacOS X was a thing? I assumed that they always had it compilable on x86 long before the switch (since Rhapsody supported it). I guess the user space stuff might have been trickier but probably not the kernel itself and surrounding components.
- ferguess_k 1y ago
  Yeah but from what I read from the Quora answer, it sounds like JK did it from scratch? I could be wrong though. I just wonder how much effort is supposed to be put into such a project.
  - nxobject 1y ago
    Likely a few foundational technologies that have had significant improvements/reimplementations from Rhapsody like the scheduler/threading infrastructure, memory management, Quartz, Carbon, Quartz.

AdamN 1y ago

Sometimes (often?), one very dedicated and focused person is better than a team of 20+. In fact companies would do well to recognize these situations and accommodate them better.

ferguess_k 1y ago

Found some gems buried in the comments: > Back then, Apple had a sabbatical program that encouraged (mandated?) employees to take six consecutive weeks off every five years. This is really a good take. I can't imagine companies give sabbatical programs nowadays. You still have your vacations so JK took 12 weeks (OP mentioned in the same comment). It was a boon for any system programmer who needs to clear his mind or deepen his thoughts.