Apple freezes Snow Leopard APIs as software nears final stretch
Apple this past weekend distributed a new beta of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard that altered the programming methods used to optimize code for multi-core Macs, telling developers they were the last programming-oriented changes planned ahead of the software's release.
More specifically, Apple is said to have informed recipients of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard build 10A354 that it has simplified the application programming interfaces (APIs) for working with Grand Central, a new architecture that makes it easier for developers to take advantage of Macs with multiple processing cores.
This technology works by breaking complex tasks into smaller blocks, which are then routed -- or dispatched -- efficiently to a Mac's available cores for faster processing. This allows third-party developers to leverage more of a Mac's hardware resources without having to be well-versed in multithreaded programming.
People familiar with the latest Snow Leopard build say it was these Grand Central "dispatch" methods that were tweaked, or simplified, alongside build 10A354. Going forward, Apple reportedly told developers that "no further API changes are planned for Snow Leopard."
This means developers can now press forward with Snow Leopard versions of their applications with confidence that further Apple-instated changes won't force them to make significant alterations to their code between now and the time the software hits the market. It can also be seen as a sign that the the operating system upgrade is one step closer to reaching a final developmental stretch that will focus on stability and optimization.
With the private release of build 10A354, Apple also reportedly informed developers about a couple of other recent changes to the software, namely the addition of Chinese handwriting recognition support for Macs that include a multi-touch trackpad. Similar software was added to iPhone Software 2.0 a year ago, allowing users to draw Chinese symbols on their handset's touchscreen and then select matching symbols suggested by the iPhone Software.
In support of the handwriting recognition software in Snow Leopard, Apple also reportedly tweaked the system's Language & Text Preference Pane to include support for bidirectional text.
Also drawn to developers attention in build 10A354 is a new codec due to debut with Snow Leopard called MPEG-4 High Efficiency AAC (or HE-AAC). Apple said the codec is an extension of the Low Complexity AAC (or AAC-LC) codec that's optimized for low-bitrate steaming of audio and podcasts.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is expected to hit the market sometime this summer with a near finalized version likely to make a public appearance at Apple's annual developers conference in about a month.
Meanwhile, Apple this weekend also equipped developers with Mac OS X 10.5.7 build 9J61, which corrected one more minor issue with the impending Leopard update.
More specifically, Apple is said to have informed recipients of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard build 10A354 that it has simplified the application programming interfaces (APIs) for working with Grand Central, a new architecture that makes it easier for developers to take advantage of Macs with multiple processing cores.
This technology works by breaking complex tasks into smaller blocks, which are then routed -- or dispatched -- efficiently to a Mac's available cores for faster processing. This allows third-party developers to leverage more of a Mac's hardware resources without having to be well-versed in multithreaded programming.
People familiar with the latest Snow Leopard build say it was these Grand Central "dispatch" methods that were tweaked, or simplified, alongside build 10A354. Going forward, Apple reportedly told developers that "no further API changes are planned for Snow Leopard."
This means developers can now press forward with Snow Leopard versions of their applications with confidence that further Apple-instated changes won't force them to make significant alterations to their code between now and the time the software hits the market. It can also be seen as a sign that the the operating system upgrade is one step closer to reaching a final developmental stretch that will focus on stability and optimization.
With the private release of build 10A354, Apple also reportedly informed developers about a couple of other recent changes to the software, namely the addition of Chinese handwriting recognition support for Macs that include a multi-touch trackpad. Similar software was added to iPhone Software 2.0 a year ago, allowing users to draw Chinese symbols on their handset's touchscreen and then select matching symbols suggested by the iPhone Software.
In support of the handwriting recognition software in Snow Leopard, Apple also reportedly tweaked the system's Language & Text Preference Pane to include support for bidirectional text.
Also drawn to developers attention in build 10A354 is a new codec due to debut with Snow Leopard called MPEG-4 High Efficiency AAC (or HE-AAC). Apple said the codec is an extension of the Low Complexity AAC (or AAC-LC) codec that's optimized for low-bitrate steaming of audio and podcasts.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is expected to hit the market sometime this summer with a near finalized version likely to make a public appearance at Apple's annual developers conference in about a month.
Meanwhile, Apple this weekend also equipped developers with Mac OS X 10.5.7 build 9J61, which corrected one more minor issue with the impending Leopard update.
Comments
That means I'll be able to finally listen to my favorite radio stations that stream in that format. Thanks Apple for bringing support for this 5 years old format.
For those interested, more info can be found on this format on it's wikipedia page.
Could HE-AAC mean AAC+ ?
I think it's High Efficiency-Advanced Audio Codec for low bandwidth streaming situations. I'll varify that in a little bit.
edit: HE-AAC v1 is also known as AAC+ and AACplus according to Wikipedia.
This looks to be killing the possibility for us seeing rez independence in 10.6. That would require other API's, and if we're not seeing it in the new developer builds, then, I assume it's out. Too bad.
too bad, i guess Apple had another change of plans!!
This looks to be killing the possibility for us seeing rez independence in 10.6. That would require other API's, and if we're not seeing it in the new developer builds, then, I assume it's out. Too bad.
Ya, so far no trace whatsoever of resolution independence.
More and more i get the feeling that resolution independence can NOT be implemented on Carbon based applications.. so untill Apple dumps Carbon, i doubt we will see RI
I hope i'm wrong and that Apple can pull a rabbit out of its hat for a nice WWDC surprise but i highly doubt it..
Adi
This support for Chinese handwriting partly appears to confirm what I've thought for awhile. These new multiple-touch APIs are for Apple's trackpad, not a tablet. I still don't see a viable consumer market for such a device despite the idea being cool....
I don't bother with most of the trackpad swipes. I find the keyboard more direct for most stuff. You might be right, but I still think there's a market for a tablet, split between consumers and commercial.
The tablet could catch on all over retail. Apple has gotten industry praise for their POS checkout system - free of cash registers.
The tablet could be great mounted in vehicles that currently have laptops mounted. That's an ergonomic mess. I much rather have a detachable keyboard in a police car, ambulance, fire truck, delivery truck, etc.
I'd like a tablet in my living room as a remote, web browser, etc. Simply a larger and more powerful iPod touch. With an OS devoted to its tablet features.
If I were a doctor carrying a pseudo-tablet laptop around I'd go nuts. They're awkward. Tablet with docking station seems better.
A tablet could redefine thousands of kiosks.
Perfect kitchen counter device.
With a travel keyboard it will appeal to business travelers. The simple act of opening a laptop is a hurdle, ridiculous as it sounds to say so. George Jetson used to complain about having to push a button, his finger throbbed. Things change.
I think there's an expectation of a tablet baked into the stock price right now. If it doesn't show up by October we could see a runoff.
This looks to be killing the possibility for us seeing rez independence in 10.6. That would require other API's, and if we're not seeing it in the new developer builds, then, I assume it's out. Too bad.
I seem to be the only one who thinks resolution independence is a bad thing. It consumes vast amounts of processing power in exchange for worse detail rendering.
With the API frozen and this being an OSX with little consumer wow-factors the rest of the OS seems to be spit and polish in getting done for a June or July release.
I seem to be the only one who thinks resolution independence is a bad thing. It consumes vast amounts of processing power in exchange for worse detail rendering.
you are not alone. I too prefer Pixel Perfect Resolution Icons and interface rather then Scaler Graphics.
I seem to be the only one who thinks resolution independence is a bad thing. It consumes vast amounts of processing power in exchange for worse detail rendering.
I don't think you understand what Resolution Independence is on OS X. It doesn't blur and remove detail from anything as the bitmaps required for scaling are available in many resolutions. The rest of the information is vector based which looks good no matter what. Read the Ars Technica review of Leopard to see the mechanism that Apple wants to use in order to achieve Resolution Independence, and you will see that it does NOT make the rendering in worse detail.
The problem seems to be that Carbon applications have too many glitches in order to make it them scale properly.. so it looks like Apple wants to wait till 10.7 or 10.8 to finally get rid of Carbon and enable RI.
Adi
With the API frozen and this being an OSX with little consumer wow-factors the rest of the OS seems to be spit and polish in getting done for a June or July release.
I think we'll definitely have at least one more point update to Leopard. Apple seems to be waiting on something with 10.5.7 but what that is I could even speculate.
I doubt that SL could arrive any earlier than August with a date more likely late September. The APIs are solidified so developers can start optimizing their apps for GC and such with confidence, but there is still plenty of work that needs to be done to SL, and it's not just adding the rumored Marble UI.
This looks to be killing the possibility for us seeing rez independence in 10.6. That would require other API's, and if we're not seeing it in the new developer builds, then, I assume it's out. Too bad.
Supported by Leopard... in fact Safari 4 uses RI controls when zooming.
Supported by Leopard... in fact Safari 4 uses RI controls when zooming.
I don't believe Page Zooming is RI in any way. The text size variance is just the font scaling and the images and page format is scaled to match the text scaling. If the image is bitmap, it will still be bitmap, but if it's a distance vector image it will appear as if RI is there, but only for that image not for the whole display which RI refers to.
I seem to be the only one who thinks resolution independence is a bad thing. It consumes vast amounts of processing power in exchange for worse detail rendering.
Computers are plenty powerful enough for that today. Most of the time the computer is sitting around not doing anything. Once it does the render, it doesn't have to do anything more with it until you change whatever you're doing.
I don't know why you would think that there would be bad detail rendering. It would be the same as when enlarging icons now. Perfectly fine. Only pixel mode objects would have that problem, and the idea is to stop using such graphics objects.
Supported by Leopard... in fact Safari 4 uses RI controls when zooming.
Not really. Only developers can actually use Rez independence in 10.5 in any useful way, and what Safari does is only what many programs can do already on a very limited scale. Rez independence is a system wide function. It requires every program to adhere to the APIs involved, or there will be serious problems. It's believed, for good reason, that Apple only included it in the developer tools for 10.5 to allow developers play with it and get used to it.
With the API frozen and this being an OSX with little consumer wow-factors the rest of the OS seems to be spit and polish in getting done for a June or July release.
Not really, Leopard can still be updated up to 10.5.10 even when Snow Leopard is out. This was the case with Tiger.