Programming in C - Differences between Linux and OSX

Question

Hello I'm looking into C Programming.

I'm wondering if there are differences between Linux and OSX in C? I know there are some between Windows and Linux/Unix (like getting a system timestamp). Are there any specific commands or techniques which won't work one of the two? Should "basic" programs run on both?

I'm aware that C isn't a cross compiling language but OSX and Linux are both Unix - aren't they?

Answer 1

What changes is not the language itself, but the libraries (and related API calls). There is no difference between Mac OSX and Linux under this aspect, as long as you stick with standard POSIX calls. Both Linux and Mac OSX are POSIX-compliant systems.

Of course, when talking about proprietary Apple libraries, you can't expect to find them under Linux. But this is another problem. Same for Linux internals.

Note that we are talking about source compatibility, not binary compatibility. You won't have to modify your source code at all, but you will have to compile it for each platform separately.