Can I use a Mac to create a PC application?

This post is generated by a total newbie to C++.

I'm really curious to know if I develop an application on my Mac; will there be any reason that I couldn't run the app on a PC?

It's my understanding that the development tools for the platforms may differ: although a program should be able to be compiled for use on multiple operating systems. Do I understand this correctly?

Thank you for any feedback. This bit of information will help me make a first major decision about how I'd like to move forward in learning C++.

Sincerely,

Joseph

I haven't tried anything on a Mac but am pretty sure this is correct:

The CODE, if correct, will normally work on both systems, but you have to compile it to run it--i.e., the compiled executable file for PC isn't going to work on a Mac and vice-versa. So, in answer to your question, the app won't run unless you take the source code and recompile it on the other system.

I'm pretty sure that's right, and if not, one of the experts here will surely correct me.

By default everything is set up for "native" architecture -- i.e., you are building an executable for the machine you are compiling on. But you can set things up for cross-compiling, i.e., building an executable for some other machine. (This is necessary for things like embedded systems which may not have a compiler on them.) Setting this up is not exactly for the faint of heart; for instance you could see here: MinGW cross compiler for Linux build environment | MinGW (this says Linux but I'm pretty sure holds true for the Mac as well).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aisthesis

I haven't tried anything on a Mac but am pretty sure this is correct:

The CODE, if correct, will normally work on both systems, but you have to compile it to run it--i.e., the compiled executable file for PC isn't going to work on a Mac and vice-versa. So, in answer to your question, the app won't run unless you take the source code and recompile it on the other system.

I'm pretty sure that's right, and if not, one of the experts here will surely correct me.

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This is what I interpretted as well through sites and books. I haven't taken the plunge on either a Mac or PC yet; still reading as much information as I can to better understand C++ before I start down a development path. For me it's better to do a bit of research before I head in a particular direction; this saves me from wasting time once I get involved in a project. I'd hate to complete something only to find out at the end that it's stuck to a single system. That would be bad in my world.

My preference is to work on a Mac although I know the users I'm targeting for an application are solely on PCs. With this thread I hope to achieve confirmation of the Mac as the development environment and the PC as the target platform for the application.

Thank you both for the information.

You're making it more difficult for yourself than is necessary if you develop on a Mac when your target platform is PC.

Even if you manage to compile Windows binaries on apple, how will you test them?

You're either going to need to dual boot or run Windows in a VM or maybe even a remote desktop.

Looke here

He could also use Wine to test his binaries. I do that for the simple mod tools I write when I'm on Linux, but I always try to make sure to test the stuff under some version of Windows before I let it loose.

You could try using some version of MinGW or Cygwin or something like that to cross-compile your apps for Windows. I've never tried it with a Mac, but I do so in Linux regularly. And when I do use Windows for development, I typically use MinGW + GCC, simply because I am more familiar with GCC. Though I have to admit, I do like the newer MSVC compilers, too.

Here is the concept that hasn't been mentioned:
Universal binary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apple's Xcode can generate these.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nonoob

Here is the concept that hasn't been mentioned:
Universal binary - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apple's Xcode can generate these.

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That binary is only universal among (2) CPU architectures. It is not universal among operating systems which is what the OP is asking for.

doesnt it depend on the exe header?
the code should be interpreted same exept windows api functions because they wont be available in mac sys

binary = binary whatever all are binarys

btw u can code the same programm just replace the windows header with linux or mac headers. with #ifdef ..??:?
but u need to recompile it on the other sys there is also on sourceforge a crosscompiler wich can compile exe on linux.

Thank you all for dropping these bits of knowledge upon me. This is really helping.

This is what I'm thinking to move forward. I'm going to put together a modest PC in which to code for the audience I know I'm trying to reach. As I develop my skills into the future: I'll begin to learn the specifics of working on my mac for a pc app.

To me this seems to make the most sense based on some of the responses you guys have posted here. I am new and I don't need to make the workflow any more difficult than I have to.

Thank you, thank you.

Joseph

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aisthesis

You're making it more difficult for yourself than is necessary if you develop on a Mac when your target platform is PC.

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I don't see why that's true. For 10 years I developed Windows software using a Linux workstation. There were a lot of reasons for that, but making my life more difficult wasn't one of them.

As it happened, the code could compile on Linux (we had an old X11 GUI implementation that laid on top of it) and I managed to spend 90% of my time never even touching a Windows machine. I even debugged the thing primarily on Linux.