Mac Programming

Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I'm thinking of switching to a mac for a few reasons. I was thinking of getting the MacBook Pro w/ the 17inch screen. I heard they are a lot better with photo editing and photography, and one of my majors in college is photography. The main concern i have at the moment is programming. My other major is Software Engineer. So, i need to be able to program in Visual Basic, C++, and maybe another programming language. I haven't decided if i am going to take another programming class. So my main question is "Will i be able to program in Visual Basic, and C++? Then can i transfer it to a PC?" I know i cant just transfer it straight to a PC I am sure I would have to do something first. So if you guys can help me solve this problem ill be a happy mac owner. If not, I will continue to be a sad PC user.
 
OP
F
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Ok i was thinking maybe since now you can run Mac OS X and Windows at the same time. If maybe i could program while having Windows up and then my programs would be fine. any help anyone?
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2007
Messages
2,641
Reaction score
134
Points
63
Location
Durtburg, WV
Your Mac's Specs
Sooper Fast!
Ok i was thinking maybe since now you can run Mac OS X and Windows at the same time. If maybe i could program while having Windows up and then my programs would be fine. any help anyone?

Unless I'm mistaken, you'll have to install Windows since OSX doesn't use the .NET framework that allows you to use the same languages in Windows.

There may be a C language compiler and programming suite, but using VBA most likely wouldn't work as most of the references come from stuff like the Microsoft jet engine and other Microsoft apps.
 
Joined
Jan 4, 2006
Messages
1,385
Reaction score
146
Points
63
Location
Hamburg, Germany
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro | iMac(2.1 G5) | MacBook(2.16 C2D) | MacMini (1.67 CD) | iPhone 4 | iPad (3rd Gen)
If you are intending to write VB programs, OS X is not the right choice, unless you compromise a partition for Windows. There are alternatives such as RealBasic but it is not the same.

You won't have problems writing C++ prpograms. However there are certain libraries only available in Windows. But for the most part it should work flawless.
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
301
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
Black MacBook 2GB, Mac Pro 2.66Ghz 3GB X1900.
You can type the code on any machine, you won't be able to cross-compile.

The Mono project provides a .NET environment on Linux, Mac OS:

http://www.mono-project.com/Mono:OSX

But this is C# not C++/VB.

Best bet is dual boot or Parallels Desktop.
 
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
377
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Coatesville, PA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 15", 2.33 GHz, 2Gb
If you want to do something like ASP.Net programming you can do all the work on your system, and then upload the code to an IIS web server to test it. Especially with .Net 2.0 where you don't need to compile the code-behind pages as you did with 1.1.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Messages
1,463
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Lenovo Z560 Hackintosh -:- '06 iMac -:- iPod Touch 2ndGen
There are some confusing answers here, but gilesjuk is correct - running Windows using Parallels or BootCamp is the solution you need. I run Windows 2000 in Parallels for my Java course and it works perfectly.
 
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
301
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
Black MacBook 2GB, Mac Pro 2.66Ghz 3GB X1900.
There are some confusing answers here, but gilesjuk is correct - running Windows using Parallels or BootCamp is the solution you need. I run Windows 2000 in Parallels for my Java course and it works perfectly.

Indeed. The original post doesn't make clear if the programming is just general programming or programming for a specific OS.

If you want to make use of Microsoft classes and libraries then you need to program on Windows with VC++.

If you want to do general C++ programming using the standard C++ libraries then you can do so on most OSes. However once you start using threads this is where the OSes will differ. Unix systems typically provide a fork() call which creates a new thread. With Windows you use another more fiddly method.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Grapevine, Tx
Your Mac's Specs
Early 2008 Mac Pro - 500 GB HD - 6 GB Ram
I don't see it mentioned much here in the forums, but look into Apple's ADC Student Membership (http://developer.apple.com/products/student.html). I found about it via a Google search and some threads from here showed up.

From what I've read, the savings on the hardware is worth the $99 you pay plus programming related resources too. The pricing appears to be even better than the educational pricing.

I personally plan on going this route in the Fall once I'm back in school working on my MBA.
 
OP
F
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
sorry, some of this is actually confusing to me. I have done some C++ and VB programming, but only in windows. The reason i have such a concern is cause im sure my teachers will be using a Windows OS. So i need to have my program run on their system. So from what i have gathered so far. I will need to just use Boot Camp and partition a part of my hard drive for Windows. Then boot my windows OS, and create my programs with windows. This will allows my programs to run on other Windows Operating Systems? I just wanna make sure this works before spending the $3,000 on a nice laptop.
 
Joined
Feb 5, 2007
Messages
145
Reaction score
6
Points
18
Yes, you'll be running an actual Windows installation so anything you do will be the same as doing it on an actual Windows machine.
 
OP
F
Joined
Apr 29, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Ok. cool. Just so i know this will work perfectly. Has anyone done this before?

p.s. Sorry if im annoying, but im a college student supporting himself. I cant waste any money. I hate being a poor college student lol.
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
338
Reaction score
9
Points
18
Location
Miami, FL
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 2.16ghz Core Duo | 1GB RAM | 100 GB HDD | 256MB ATI RADEON x1600
You're learning how to program for Windows, logic tells me you NEED to get a PC.

Sure, you can use Boot Camp, but its intended for OCCASIONAL USE of windows. Something is telling me you want a Mac just to hop on the "Get a Mac" bandwagon. Seriously i didn't think i would ever say this, but, Get a PC!!!


No Offense, but how does Photography complement Computer Programing?

On top of that Macs arent Necessarily "Better" w/ photo editing (photoshop on the Mac is exactly like on a PC) However, OS X is very multitasking-friendly, making it a better enviroment to work on
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
338
Reaction score
9
Points
18
Location
Miami, FL
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 2.16ghz Core Duo | 1GB RAM | 100 GB HDD | 256MB ATI RADEON x1600
Ok. cool. Just so i know this will work perfectly. Has anyone done this before?

p.s. Sorry if im annoying, but im a college student supporting himself. I cant waste any money. I hate being a poor college student lol.

Well, I have a Macbook pro w/ BootCamp installed, and i use it for AutoCAD and 3D Studio Max (Both windows-only apps). So far they worked fine and exactly like they would on a comparable pc.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Messages
1,463
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Lenovo Z560 Hackintosh -:- '06 iMac -:- iPod Touch 2ndGen
You're learning how to program for Windows, logic tells me you NEED to get a PC.

To program Windows, you need Windows. Now that Windows can be run in so many different ways, people need to break the link between Windows and PC.

If someone wants to use a Mac in order to do that that's up to them, surely? And bearing in mind reports that Mac's run Windows better than PCs, I think he's got the right idea.
 
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
377
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Coatesville, PA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 15", 2.33 GHz, 2Gb
Ok. cool. Just so i know this will work perfectly. Has anyone done this before?

p.s. Sorry if im annoying, but im a college student supporting himself. I cant waste any money. I hate being a poor college student lol.

I program all day, and I'm planning on doing what you are talking about doing. My expectation is to use OS X as much as possible, but for doing Windows dev work I expect to boot into Windows and run it there. And since the hardware is much nicer than what my job provides me and what I currently have at home, I think it'll run much better for doing dev work since you end up with a dozen windows open at once.
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2007
Messages
338
Reaction score
9
Points
18
Location
Miami, FL
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 2.16ghz Core Duo | 1GB RAM | 100 GB HDD | 256MB ATI RADEON x1600
To program Windows, you need Windows. Now that Windows can be run in so many different ways, people need to break the link between Windows and PC.

If someone wants to use a Mac in order to do that that's up to them, surely? And bearing in mind reports that Mac's run Windows better than PCs, I think he's got the right idea.

Macs do NOT run windows better than a PC. the performance is the same. What special characteristics about Mac Hardware exist that don't exist on PCs? The only things that make Macs better than PCs are its form factor and OS X. These two things cause you to pay a premium for Macs. A premium i wouldn't spend if my computers main purpose was to code windows programs.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Messages
1,463
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Lenovo Z560 Hackintosh -:- '06 iMac -:- iPod Touch 2ndGen
Macs do NOT run windows better than a PC. the performance is the same.

You are misreading what I said - it's a typical PC user who will boil the argument down to speed=better. I didn't mention performance - Macs are proving more reliable at running Windows, and Windows software, because as much as we like to blame Windows problems on Windows itself, many of it's problems stem from poor quality hardware and poor quality drivers. If you run Windows with basic Microsoft drivers for all hardware it will run much more reliably than if you start adding third-party software - that is a fact.

Macs are built from high-quality components, with a high-quality set of drivers. That is also a fact.
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2007
Messages
2,641
Reaction score
134
Points
63
Location
Durtburg, WV
Your Mac's Specs
Sooper Fast!
You are misreading what I said - it's a typical PC user who will boil the argument down to speed=better. I didn't mention performance - Macs are proving more reliable at running Windows, and Windows software, because as much as we like to blame Windows problems on Windows itself, many of it's problems stem from poor quality hardware and poor quality drivers. If you run Windows with basic Microsoft drivers for all hardware it will run much more reliably than if you start adding third-party software - that is a fact.

Macs are built from high-quality components, with a high-quality set of drivers. That is also a fact.

Actually, until recently the macbooks didn't even have correct track pad support.

And you have to ask, more reliable that what? My Dells run vista and have no problems. In fact, my 17" Dell has never crashed...at all...and it's been going strong for almost 6 months...I guess I should shut it down on occasion as well...since PC's aren't supposed to be left on all the time.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2007
Messages
1,463
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
UK
Your Mac's Specs
Lenovo Z560 Hackintosh -:- '06 iMac -:- iPod Touch 2ndGen

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top