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macOS Programming on a Mac

T

ThunderBow

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 12, 2013
5
0
1 Infinity Loop, Cupertino California :)
Hey guys! I'm new to the threads so I'm not sure if there is any topic on this already, but heres my situation:
I'm trying to explore the world of programming and I have quite an interest in it. I have had my Mac for about half a year now and I was just recently sifting through the system files, just to browse and see what is deep down in the core of this badass machine :p

In school I am taking Java, and I have know of multiple other programming languages. While sifting through the system files, I came across folders for Python, Ruby, PHP and Perl. I became curious as to know which programming languages come PREINSTALLED on a Mac.

I'm not what languages it SUPPORTS, but what comes with it by default. As in if I went to the Apple store, bought a BRAND NEW laptop, booted it up and started searching through the files, what programming languages would be PREINSTALLED on this new laptop.
Thanks for the help :p and Mac FTW!!! :apple:
 
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,558
6,058
C, Obj-C, C++, and Obj-C++?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by your question, but if I were to make a program on a Mac, exclusively for Macs and/or iOS devices, those are the languages I'd be using. If I was looking to be more cross platform between Macs, PCs, and Android, I'd use Java, instead.
 
T

ThunderBow

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 12, 2013
5
0
1 Infinity Loop, Cupertino California :)
ArtOfWarfare said:
C, Obj-C, C++, and Obj-C++?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by your question, but if I were to make a program on a Mac, exclusively for Macs and/or iOS devices, those are the languages I'd be using. If I was looking to be more cross platform between Macs, PCs, and Android, I'd use Java, instead.
Click to expand...

Ehh... sort of. My question wasn't necessarily what coding languages should I use for making programs... Heres what I mean.
If you're on your desktop, on the top it says "Finder" (as normal) and theres also a button for "Go". Click go and scroll down to "Go to Folder". If you type in "/" without the quotes, and hit enter, you will be taken to the main system directory aka Macintosh HD. There, you have multiple folders which branch off into the seemingly endless tunnels on the computer. This is where I discovered folders that had the files for preinstalling programming languages. For instance, if you went into the "Library" folder, and started searching through the system files, you would find folders such as "Application Support", "Automator", "Fonts", so forth and so on. Here in the Library folder, you can also find folders for programming languages, such as Python, Ruby, Perl, and Java.

After finding these and doing some research online, I found out that these folders were factory installed... preinstalled by Apple (I guess for developer usage). I know that Mac's are open to many other programming languages such as C, C++ and Objective-C. However, so summarize my question, I was wondering if anybody knew of PREINSTALLED programming languages such as Python, Perl, and Java. To make it a little more clear, are there any programming languages preinstalled that have their own location in the system files such as Python, Ruby, Perl, and Java? (Again, I know Macs support other languages, but these are the preinstalled ones that I know of, ones that have their own folders buried deep in the system files)

I hope that clears up my question a bit more :p
 
phoenixsan

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
Maybe I am wrong.....

if so, pardon me. I have the idea that the folders you are seeing are like frameworks for software that actually uses them. By the other hand, a good IDE is provided in the Apple world with XCode. But it must be installed apart. And so on with programming languajes.

Again, wanting to weigh in onto your question. But as I had said, can be proved wrong.

:):apple:
 
M

mrichmon

macrumors 6502a
Jun 17, 2003
873
3
ThunderBow said:
In school I am taking Java, and I have know of multiple other programming languages. While sifting through the system files, I came across folders for Python, Ruby, PHP and Perl. I became curious as to know which programming languages come PREINSTALLED on a Mac.
Click to expand...

Java used to come pre-installed but with the switch to Oracle handling the OS X development for Java I'm not sure whether it continues to be part of the factory install.

First pass at programming languages and scripting languages as part of OS X 10.8.2:
  • sh
  • ksh
  • csh
  • tcsh
  • zsh
  • bash
  • awk
  • sed
  • ruby
  • python
  • perl
  • AppleScript
  • Lisp (You can get to a pretty clean Lisp engine within emacs)
  • bison
  • flex/lex
  • JavaScript (Within Safari)
  • m4
  • php
  • postgres
  • tcl/tk
  • wish
  • xpath
  • troff/nroff
  • x86 assembler (nasm - Possibly installed by the DeveloperTools package)
  • C (Installed by the DeveloperTools package)
  • C++ (Installed by the DeveloperTools package)
  • Objective-C (Installed by the DeveloperTools package)
  • C (Installed by the DeveloperTools package)

List based on browsing /bin and /usr/bin for the user-facing binary for each language. (Note: There are plenty of frameworks and libraries installed without the headers or main interpreters that are necessary to use the framework/library to develop new code. My list has excluded languages that cannot be developed in on a clean OS install.)
 
Last edited:
gnasher729

gnasher729

Suspended
Nov 25, 2005
17,980
5,565
ThunderBow said:
Ehh... sort of. My question wasn't necessarily what coding languages should I use for making programs... Heres what I mean.
If you're on your desktop, on the top it says "Finder" (as normal) and theres also a button for "Go". Click go and scroll down to "Go to Folder". If you type in "/" without the quotes, and hit enter, you will be taken to the main system directory aka Macintosh HD. There, you have multiple folders which branch off into the seemingly endless tunnels on the computer. This is where I discovered folders that had the files for preinstalling programming languages. For instance, if you went into the "Library" folder, and started searching through the system files, you would find folders such as "Application Support", "Automator", "Fonts", so forth and so on. Here in the Library folder, you can also find folders for programming languages, such as Python, Ruby, Perl, and Java.
Click to expand...

Go to developer.apple.com, get a free developer account, go to the App Store, download Xcode, read all the documentation you can lay your hands on.

The folders for programming languages are not for you to write programs, but so that programs that people write can run on every Macintosh.
 
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