Technotes
Technote 1066
|
September 1996
|
By Jason Yeo
jyeo@apple.com
Apple Developer Technical Support (DTS)
The motivation behind this Technote was brought about by frequent inquiries from
developers about what Apple development tools are available for their specific
programming tasks. This Technote showcases the major components of Apple's
E.T.O. (Essentials - Tools - Objects), which now comes on two CD-ROMs and is
available from the Apple Developer Catalog Home Page.
This Technote serves as a reference for any Macintosh developer who wants to
know what Apple development tools and utilities they have at their disposal. It
does not, however, cover the multitude of third-party development tools that
are also available. For a vendor list of third-party products, please refer to
the Apple Developer Catalog Home Page.
- Note:
- This Technote was written shortly after E.T.O. 21 shipped. All references
are accurate as of E.T.O. 21. Since E.T.O. is constantly being updated, be sure
to check on the latest versions at Apple's Core Tools Products Home Page.
About E.T.O.
E.T.O. is Apple's primary product for delivering core development tools to
developers who are creating, debugging, and testing Macintosh applications
written in C, C++, or assembly language. It is designed for programmers who are
working on applications designed for both 680x0- and PowerPC-based Macintosh
systems.
E.T.O., which includes the MPW development environment, the MacApp application
framework, and the OpenDoc Development Framework, is sold only by subscription
and updates are automatically sent to subscribers every four months during the
subscription year. New subscribers receive the current issue followed by the
next two scheduled updates. The cost is $195 for new subscriptions for three
issues per year, and the renewal rate is $125 per year.
While E.T.O. provides you with a complete development system, it also includes many components that are not available with either Metrowerks CodeWarrior or Symantec C++, making it a valuable companion to these other popular environments. Users of other development environments will find E.T.O. the convenient source for the Macintosh Programmer’s Assistant, performance analysis tools, Pascal to C conversion tools, and the Virtual User testing tool. CodeWarrior users also get the benefit of a plug-in MrC/MrCpp compiler and the Power Mac Debugger. Apple is currently offering special bundle prices when you purchase E.T.O. with CodeWarrior or Symantec C++. For just $100 more, you get an E.T.O. subscription: E.T.O. and Symantec C++ Release 5 is $249; E.T.O. and Metrowerks CodeWarrior 9 is $499.
Major Components of E.T.O.
MPW Shell
The Shell is the centerpiece of the Macintosh Programmer's Workshop (MPW)
development environment. It is an integrated multiwindow text editor and
command executer which supports numerous built-in commands and a powerful
scripting language that allows you to customize the environment to suit your
needs. The Shell also includes Projector, an integrated source code control
system that simplifies the management of large, complex software projects being
worked on by a team of programmers.
SC/SCpp -- C and C++ Compilers (68K)
SC and SCpp are new ANSI-compliant 680x0-code-generating C and C++ compilers
that are faster than previous compilers included with MPW, run in native mode
on a Power Macintosh, and support the new CFM-68K runtime model.
MrC/MrCpp -- C and C++ Compilers (PowerPC)
MrC and MrCpp are new MPW compilers which offer greatly improved turnaround
time and also generate efficient and highly-optimized PowerPC code for fastest
binary execution on Power Macintosh systems. MrC adheres to the ANSI C standard
(ANSI X3.159-1991) and MrCpp adheres to the ANSI C++ working paper (ANSI X3J16)
except for templates and exception handling.
Assemblers (68K and PowerPC)
Two assemblers are included, one which supports the full 68xxx instruction set
and the other which supports the PowerPC instruction set. The 68xxx assembler
supports all the instructions and addressing modes for the MC68000, MC68010,
MC68020, and MC68030 microprocessors, the MC68851 Paged Memory Management Unit
(PMMU), and the MC68881 and MC68882 Floating-Point Coprocessors, in all usable
combinations.
MPW Tool and Script Suite
Dozens of tools and scripts are included to assist you in the development
process. These include linkers, a Make tool, resource manipulation and analysis
tools, file comparison utilities, and many more.
MacApp (68K and PowerPC)
MacApp is an advanced object-oriented application framework and class library
which can be used to streamline the development of Power Macintosh and 680x0
applications through the benefits of object-oriented programming. For more
detailed information, please refer to the Apple's MacApp Home Page at
<http://devtools.apple.com/macapp/>.
OpenDoc Development Framework
ODF is a robust object-oriented framework which you can use to simplify the
creation of cross-platform OpenDoc components. ODF makes the process of
building an OpenDoc component easier by implementing much of a component's
default behavior. For more detailed information, please refer to Apple's
OpenDoc Development Framework Home Page at
<http://devtools.apple.com/odf/>.
68K Macintosh Debugger
The 68K Macintosh Debugger runs on 68k and PowerPC machines and is designed for
debugging 680x0-based Macintosh applications and can act as a one-machine or a
two-machine debugger. It can be used to debug both classic 68K applications and
CFM-68K applications and shared libraries. The debugger host communicates with
the target application through 68K Mac DebugServices, a "high-level" nub that
uses either a local connection via direct callbacks, or a remote connection via
AppleTalk.
Power Macintosh Debugger
Power Macintosh Debugger 2.0 is designed for debugging native Power Macintosh
applications and can act as a one- or two-machine debugger. The debugger host
communicates with the target application using Power Mac DebugServices, a
"high-level" nub that uses either a local connection via direct callbacks, or a
remote connection via AppleTalk. In remote (two-machine) mode, the host can
also communicate with the target via PPC Debugger Nub, a "low-level" nub that
uses a serial connection. The high-level nub should be used, where possible,
because it does not stop the whole target machine, only the process being
debugged. Conversely, the low-level nub takes control of the whole target
system, but is necessary to debug low-level code such as code that runs at
interrupt time.
The Power Mac Debugger also includes ASP (Adaptive Sampling Profiler). ASP is a
sampling utility that allows you to measure how often sections of code execute.
The ASP is an integral part of the debugger; you enable the ASP by a selection
from the debugger's Performance menu. Unlike other samplers, the ASP does not
require you to modify your source code in order to take measurements. This
means that you do not have to recompile your source to measure its performance.
In addition, you can obtain a more reliable picture of your application's
performance because you do not have to worry about paging behavior or memory
use that is due to inserted sampling code.
MacsBug (68K and PowerPC)
MacsBug is a low-level debugger for debugging software at the assembly-language
level (680x0 or PowerPC). It loads at system startup time and idles until it is
invoked either manually (by pressing the interrupt switch or a key that you
define) or programmatically (by calling special traps from within your
program). And since MacsBug needs so little of the system to operate, it can be
used even in the case of fatal system errors.
ResEdit
ResEdit is a graphical resource editor for creating and editing elements of the
Macintosh user interface, such as menus, windows, icons, dialog boxes, and
other standard data structures. Programmers and advanced users can quickly
create portions of their application's user interface as well as modify an
existing interface.
Macintosh Programmer's Assistant
This is a useful new on-line reference tool which provides rapid up-to-date
access to information on all aspects of the Macintosh API, including toolbox
managers, data structures, routines, constants, resources, and MPW commands.
MPW scripts and tools are also provided that let you access it directly from
the MPW environment using "hot keys".
Virtual User
Virtual User is a test automation system that enables a host Macintosh to
control the actions of target Macintosh computers remotely. The host executes
tests on one or more target machines by reading the commands it is to issue
from a file called a script. The script is a text file written in the Virtual
User scripting language. This interpreted procedural language provides Virtual
User with the ability to recognize and manipulate various elements of an
application's human interface, compare the actual result of a command with an
expected result, and branch logically according to the result of the
comparison.
MPW p2c
p2c is a source-to-source translation tool which translates between Object
Pascal and C++. (p2c has an option to generate standard C code instead of C++.)
On the Horizon: Pre-Release Tools
ResEdit 3.0
ResEdit 3.0 is a completely new implementation of ResEdit, designed to provide
a powerful, extensible, and maintainable editing solution for resource files,
PEF files, and other file types. It is being developed to replace previous
versions of ResEdit. Here are some of the features of ResEdit 3.0:
- Standard Macintosh application look-and-feel
- Extensible architecture with plug-ins and enhanced templates
- WorldScript support
- Macintosh Drag and Drop support
MrPlus/MrProf
MrPlus is an MPW performance tool which operates on Apple PEF files. It is a
multi-function tool which can do the following:
- Produce static information about the executable file, such as counts of
important program structures, frequency of appearance of the various
instructions, and frequency of appearance of references to the various
registers.
- Produce a PEF file which is an enhanced version of the original file. It
contains instrumentation code which, at the time of execution, outputs dynamic
information about the program. Corresponding to the static information already
listed will be dynamic data on the instruction mix. The distinction is that the
dynamic information states the frequency of execution instead of the frequency
of appearance. The dynamic information also includes a routine profile: the
relative number of instructions executed in each routine.
- Produce a PEF file containing instrumentation that traps attempts to store
into low memory (0-32K).
- Optimize the program by reordering portions of code in the PEF file to
improve the utilization of the instruction cache and to reduce the number of
page faults in a system with virtual memory enabled.
MrProf is an application that provides tabular and graphic presentations of
data collected when executing programs that were instrumented by MrPlus. The
input data to MrProf are a .pmap file, optionally a .xcoff file, and one or
more .pcnt files.
PPCProff and Proff
PPCProff (for PowerPC programs) and Proff (for classic 68K programs) provide
profiling and performance monitoring for programs compiled from C and C++. For
every routine called during program execution, the Proff tools record the
identity of the called routine, the identity of the calling routine, and the
time spent in each routine.
PPCProff prints an analysis of the Profiler.pgh data file generated when you
run a PowerPC application or shared library that was linked using PPCLink's
-profile option.
Direct SOMobjects for Mac OS
A folder which contains information on how to use the “Direct-to-SOM” capability of the new prerelease version of the MrCpp compiler. You can use this capability to write SOM-based classes directly using C++, that is, without using the IDL language or the IDL compiler. This folder also contains new SOMobjects header files which must be used instead of the standard set that are installed with SOMobjects for Mac OS 2.0.8.
MrC/MrCpp - Plugin version for CodeWarrior
This is a new prerelease version of the MrC/MrCpp compiler for use with the Metrowerks CodeWarrior environment. Note that it can be used only with CodeWarrior 9 or later.
Summary
E.T.O. brings together a deluxe collection of Macintosh core development tools,
designed to support C, C++, and assembly-language programmers. It contains a
robust development environment (Macintosh Programmer's Workshop), compilers,
debuggers, application frameworks, and testing tools that you can use to
streamline application development for 68K and Power Macintosh systems.
Further Reference
If you have questions or comments regarding E.T.O. or any of its components,
you can direct them via e-mail to devsupport@apple.com. More detailed
information is also available on Apple's Developer Tools Home Page.
There is also an E.T.O. discussion mailing list. For information on how to
subscribe to it, please refer to Apple's MPW-Dev Mailing List Information Web
Page.
For general Apple developer information, there is also a new Apple Developer
World Web Page.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Bill Cheng, Tom Maremaa, Sunny Singha, and Merwyn Welcome
Tech Support
Technotes
Previous Technote | Contents | Next Technote
Main |
Page One |
What's New |
Apple Computer, Inc. |
Find It |
Contact Us |
Help
