Xcode 4.3 on Lion with 10.4 and 10.5 SDKs -- Please help!

[pasquale]

Hello, everybody.

I have found a very interesting article that could solve a problem I have been discussing in another thread here, which is still unresolved.

I have a Mac running Xcode 4.3.1 which only allows you to compile against the 10.6 and 10.7 SDKs.

In order to guarantee backwards compatibility, I would like to be able to compile against the 4.0 and 5.0 SDKs and, apparently, there is a way I could do so if I find someone who is willing to help me (and many others, I guess).

According to the above mentioned article, it would be enough to copy and paste some folders from a Mac with an old Xcode installation to the Mac running Xcode 4.3.1.

I am sure many users of this Forum may have to face the same problem if they perform a clean installation of Xcode 4.3.1.

What I am suggesting is uploading to this Forum the files and folders of the 4.0 and 5.0 SDKs that have to be moved to Lion in order to be able to compile against these old versions of the SDKs.

You can find a detailed list of these files and folders here:

http://blog.iosplace.com/?p=93

I really hope the moderators will agree to this proposal. I badly need backwards compatibility.

Thanks in advance.

[Andru]

1. Copy
/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk
into
/Applications/Xcode/contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs

What I am suggesting is uploading to this Forum the files and folders of the 4.0 and 5.0 SDKs that have to be moved to Lion in order to be able to compile against these old versions of the SDKs.

Are you serious? Apple's lawyers will kick everybody's a**es on this forum if we upload this

[pasquale]

I see. So the SDKs cannot be redistributed freely.

Do you know if it is possible to download them from the Apple site without having to uninstall Xcode 3.4.1?

[jwdietrich]

You may want to download the following file:

http://adcdownload.apple.com/Developer_Tools/10.4.0_mac_os_sdk/10.4.0_sdk.dmg

[pasquale]

Hi. When I click on your link I get an error message (see attached file). Is there any way I could download it from elsewhere?

[jwdietrich]

You should be logged in with your Apple Developer account (registration for a basic account is free).

[pasquale]

Hi, I downloaded the package, installed it but, when I compiled through Lazarus, I got an error message.

I tried moving the package to the Xcode 4.3.1 subfolder using the code below, but even so it did not work.

To be able to follow the directions in the article I mentioned I should install not only the 10.4 SDK but also the previous version of Xcode, but I'm afraid this could compromise the current version I am using.

Code: [Select]

-k-macosx_version_min -k10.4
-XR/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4.sdk

At this point, I'll give it up. I'll just tell the final user that he or she needs Mac OS X 10.6 as a minimum requirement to use my app.

I was wondering if it could be better not to include the code above at all (of course, with reference to the 6.0 SDK) and leave that text box in the Lazarus Project Options completely empty.

Since I am not going to include any particular "last generation library" in my app, it could even work with previous versions of the OS.

Anyway, I still don't know whether or not the compilation against the 6.0 SDK is backwards compatible. Apple say it is but a lot of other people say the opposite.

I guess I'm going to find it out as soon as I release my first Mac application.

Thanks.

[jwdietrich]

OK, I will try some options, as I have a little fleet of Macs with different processor architectures and Mac OS versions here, but this will last a view days, as I don't have unlimited time. I will report the results back if I am done with testing.

BTW, if backwards compatibility with older Macs is really important for you I would recommend to buy a used G4 Mac and to install OS 10.4 with the appropriate Xcode version there. This is not a large investment, as used Mac Minis G4 are now sold for less than 100 € in Europe and less than 150 $ in the US. Used PowerBooks G4 are also moderately priced now.

[pasquale]

Thanks. I appreciate your help.

[jwdietrich]

I have tried to code on Mac OS X 10.4.6, 10.4.11, 10.5.8 and 10.6.8 on machines with G3, G4, G5 and Intel processors, and I didn't have any issues in compiling with the user-defined settings

-k-macosx_version_min -k10.4
-XR/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.4u.sdk/

The difference may be grounded in the Xcode version, I used versions 2.2.1, 3.1.4 and 3.2.6.

3.2.6 is enough for iOS development, therefore I have no reason to use Xcode 4. Could it also be an option for you to use the latest Xcode 3 version?

[pasquale]

I have to confess I am  afraid I could make a mess uninstalling Xcode 4 and installing an older version.

It would be interesting to know some statistics about the number of Mac users who are still using OS X 10.4 and 10.5.

I hope they are not many, also because upgrading to a newer OS is free, as far as I know.

[jwdietrich]

PPC Macs - there are millions still - cannot use any OS newer than 10.5, and on machines with less than 1 GHz it is highliy recommended to use 10.4.

[Phil]

I have to confess I am  afraid I could make a mess uninstalling Xcode 4 and installing an older version.

It would be interesting to know some statistics about the number of Mac users who are still using OS X 10.4 and 10.5.

I hope they are not many, also because upgrading to a newer OS is free, as far as I know.

Not sure what you mean by "free" - OS X has never been a free upgrade.

It's hard to pin down the adoption rates of any OS. This article suggest that as of last month, Snow Leopard and Lion had about 82% of all Macs in use. What's difficult is actually finding the original source of these numbers that so many Web sites quote and re-quote and re-re-quote. Or what methodology was used.

http://macdailynews.com/2012/03/02/net-applications-apples-mac-os-x-posts-record-gain-as-windows-xp-continues-to-slide/

My own informal survey suggests that almost no one is actively using Tiger (10.4) or Leopard (10.5). Recently I passed an IT office where they had a couple pallets of computer equipment piled up ready to go to salvage. Among the surplus stuff were several G5 iMacs that looked to be in good condition. Clearly no one wanted them anymore.

With iOS, adoption rate is really fast, and there updates are free. iOS 5.0 has only been available for about 6 months but already appears to be running on about 75% of all iOS devices:

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/03/06/why-do-developers-prefer-ios-over-android-try-75-adoption-of-ios-5-while-ics-is-stuck-at-1/

Note that if you submit apps to the iOS App Store or Mac App Store you'll want to link against and test your apps with the latest SDKs - and these only come with Xcode 4.3.1.

Thanks.

-Phil

[ydk2]

You can use mac os minimum version, Apple says 10.7 is compatible with older version.