Reason of dropping PPC/Mac other than binary size?

Ilgaz · 01-17-2011, 04:09 AM

Hello,

I have access to various powerpc macs including the fastest ever built (g5 quad) and experienced in using open source package managers such as fink (finkproject.org).

What I wonder is, is the dropping powerpc support due to gigantic application size or lack of access to powerpc macs? In that case, perhaps a great co-incidence, fink project (think like debian on os x) has everything calibre needs including epub libraries.

So, I wonder if it would be a nice idea to convince a Fink package manager to make a "calibre" package in their "unstable" tree so Calibre can be used/tested by many people including some who would contribute to the project?

While very unlikely (I know the qt developers style), unless there is a specific CPU issue, e.g. non portable x86 code, I am thinking it will be a great use of fink and open source.

For example, while they don't even support OS X 10.5.8 and PowerPC , I am typing this from Firefox 4 beta 8 running on OS X Tiger 10.4.11/PPC, compiled via Fink.

Of course one can always compile any open source project manually but on OS X (as you guess) things are way more complex than Linux or even Windows as OS X itself comes with its own open source (generally older,stable) version of libraries. Projects like fink/macports makes even newbie OS X users safely compile from source and easily manage/update them.

To give an idea how mature/advanced Fink project is, you can actually have full KDE 4 (which is qt 4 based) up and running on OS X, 3 different major versions supported.

ldolse · 01-17-2011, 05:06 AM

My understanding is the primary reason is the migration to QT 4.7, which dropped official support for that platform. That's why a lot of Open source projects recently dropped ppc support. You're better off talking to Nokia, not that I would expect it to help much.

I think unofficial QT support remains, so if someone was motivated enough it might be possible to do something, but I doubt you'll find many of the current developers willing to go to the effort.

kovidgoyal · 01-17-2011, 10:44 AM

just search this forum there are ports available for building calibre on OS X. calibre itself contains no ppc unfriendly code, but as ldolse pointed out, Qt dropped support for it.

calibre does contain OS X Leopard specific code however, so you wont be able to compile it for Tiger without patching it.

natasha_fawn · 01-17-2011, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

calibre does contain OS X Leopard specific code however, so you wont be able to compile it for Tiger without patching it.

I'd been wondering about that. Thanks for leaving the older Tiger-compatible version available for download.

01-17-2011, 04:09 AM	#1
Ilgaz Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Cybook Opus	Reason of dropping PPC/Mac other than binary size? Hello, I have access to various powerpc macs including the fastest ever built (g5 quad) and experienced in using open source package managers such as fink (finkproject.org). What I wonder is, is the dropping powerpc support due to gigantic application size or lack of access to powerpc macs? In that case, perhaps a great co-incidence, fink project (think like debian on os x) has everything calibre needs including epub libraries. So, I wonder if it would be a nice idea to convince a Fink package manager to make a "calibre" package in their "unstable" tree so Calibre can be used/tested by many people including some who would contribute to the project? While very unlikely (I know the qt developers style), unless there is a specific CPU issue, e.g. non portable x86 code, I am thinking it will be a great use of fink and open source. For example, while they don't even support OS X 10.5.8 and PowerPC , I am typing this from Firefox 4 beta 8 running on OS X Tiger 10.4.11/PPC, compiled via Fink. Of course one can always compile any open source project manually but on OS X (as you guess) things are way more complex than Linux or even Windows as OS X itself comes with its own open source (generally older,stable) version of libraries. Projects like fink/macports makes even newbie OS X users safely compile from source and easily manage/update them. To give an idea how mature/advanced Fink project is, you can actually have full KDE 4 (which is qt 4 based) up and running on OS X, 3 different major versions supported. Last edited by Ilgaz; 01-17-2011 at 04:13 AM. Reason: added kde example

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01-17-2011, 05:06 AM	#2
ldolse Wizard Posts: 1,337 Karma: 123455 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Malaysia Device: PRS-650, iPhone	My understanding is the primary reason is the migration to QT 4.7, which dropped official support for that platform. That's why a lot of Open source projects recently dropped ppc support. You're better off talking to Nokia, not that I would expect it to help much. I think unofficial QT support remains, so if someone was motivated enough it might be possible to do something, but I doubt you'll find many of the current developers willing to go to the effort.

01-17-2011, 10:44 AM	#3
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,826 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	just search this forum there are ports available for building calibre on OS X. calibre itself contains no ppc unfriendly code, but as ldolse pointed out, Qt dropped support for it. calibre does contain OS X Leopard specific code however, so you wont be able to compile it for Tiger without patching it.

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