Porting C++ code from Windows to the Mac

Question

I'm a long time Windows developer, and it looks like I'm going to be involved in porting a Windows app to the Mac.

We've decided to use Flex/Air for the gui for both sides, which looks really slick BTW.

My Windows application has a C++ DLL that controls network adapters (wired and wireless). This is written using the standard library and Boost, so most of it should work cross platform.

On the Mac, what IDE/complier do most folks use if they want to write C++? Also, can someone provide a pointer to whatever APIs the Mac has that can control WiFi adapters (associate, scan, disconnect, etc)?

Answer 1

Xcode is the IDE for Mac OS X, you can download the latest version by joining the Apple Developer Connection with a free Online membership.

I don't believe there are any supported APIs for controlling wireless networking adaptors. The closest thing would be the System Configuration framework, but I don't know if it will let you do everything you want.

Also, I would strongly recommend against trying to use Flex/Air for your application's user experience. It may look slick to you on Windows as a Windows developer, but when it comes to providing a full Macintosh user experience such technologies aren't always a great choice.

For one example, I think Air applications don't support the full range of Mac OS X text editing keystrokes. While not all Mac users will use all keystrokes, for those people used to them trying to type in a text field that doesn't handle (say) control-A and control-E to go to the beginning and end of field is like swimming through syrup.

For a new application that needs to be cross-platform, I'd strongly consider building the core logic in C++ while using Cocoa on the Mac and WPF on Windows to get the best user experience on each platform. Both Mac OS X and Windows have modern native user experience technologies that their respective users are getting used to, and also have good ways for C++ code to interoperate with these technologies.