Mac2Win library from Altura

[Protools5LEGuy]

http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php/topic,6725.msg51091.html#msg51091

https://juce.com/building-max-with-juce/

Building Max with JUCE
David Zicarelli of Cycling ‘74 discusses building Max with JUCE

How did you come across JUCE?
Max started its life as a Mac-only program back in the 1980s. As it became increasingly complex, we wanted to port it to Windows so we licensed a library called Mac2Win that essentially emulated the Mac OS on Windows. ProTools was also ported to Windows using this library, by the way. This library was very expensive, and it ported the pre-OS X version of the Mac OS, so about ten years ago we started looking for another cross-platform option. A coworker found out about JUCE, and within a few days he had an example of how it would work for us.

That Mac2Win library seems intriguing.

https://comp.sys.mac.programmer.codewarrior.narkive.com/jo8EPUlE/powerplant-discontinued

Because they did not write PowerPlant for Windows: they licensed the
porting library Mac2Win from Altura and compiled it that way. Mac2Win
is an older porting technology that essentially implemented the Mac API
(Classic and some parts of Carbon) in Windows. Unfortunately, the
latest version of PowerPlant that Altura supported in their downloads
was the Classic version, not the Carbon version. Presumably,
Metrowerks used a lot of #ifdef's or separate brnaches or something to
get around this problem; but it seems a moot point now.

As Metrowerks was one of the largest customers Altura had left, I doubt
that Mac2Win will have much further viability once CodeWarrior 10 is
released.

https://blog.4d.com/complete-windows-64-bit-product-line-is-now-altura-free/

We are pleased to announce that 4D v16 R4 is the very first version where the whole 4D Windows 64-bit product line is no longer relying on the Mac2Win library from Altura! As announced in last April, in this strategy announcement post, we have done the work on 4D Server Windows 64-bit, which was the last step to reach.

[Protools5LEGuy]

https://www.architosh.com/features/2000/2000-07intev-neme-1.phtml

AFR: Now you guys have been working with your code base to support dual platform development for quite awhile now. When you first started with a Windows version of MiniCAD did you port the Mac code base to Windows?

SF: Yes. We have been licensing an emulator from Altura which makes a library called Mac2Win. Claris used it to convert some of their Mac apps to Windows...Macromedia uses it. It has been a silent partner in a lot of applications. Altura was a good three quarter solution for us. It worked well for awhile, but there were problems.

SF: Now we have a new CAD Core and an Interface Shell (the CAD Core is common to both platforms). On the Mac the shell is done in PowerPlant and on Windows it is done in MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes). The Interface Shell is a complete PowerPlant application which controls the CAD Core. This shift was made to prepare ourselves for changes similar to OS X. At the time, the decision was made to simplify our support for multiple platforms, not to prepare for any particular one. It makes development to a different platform easier. In the future if Linux or BeOS become popular we can produce a version for that OS probably within a year. The other advantage to this new code model is that there is no common OS service code so you can more easily take advantage of each OS.

http://www.jonhoyle.com/maccompanion/columns/200509.html

Mac2Win

Essentially, Altura's Mac2Win is a port of the original Mac OS API to Windows.  By adding the Mac2Win libraries with your project, your application can be compiled and run on Windows.  The appeal of this for the Macintosh developer was that he could develop his project in the standard Mac Toolbox and compile for Windows without a large rewrite.  Unfortunately, only about 80% of the System 7 Toolbox was ported.  And of the functions that were supported, many behaved differently on Windows than on the Mac, requiring extensive debugging.  Mac2Win was an expensive, royalty-based product, well outside the price range of the small developer.  However, many well-known Macintosh applications got their initial Windows ports via Mac2Win, including Claris Works, Macromedia Director, 4th Dimension and Metrowerks CodeWarrior.  By the way, there is an interesting way to discover if a given Windows was built using Mac2Win: By hitting ALT-U-R-A (for the company name Altura), the Mac2Win libraries display Altura's secret About Box.

https://www.mactech.com/1997/05/10/md1-object-master-and-mac2win/

Here’s two announcements from Altura — Object Master Professional Edition
and new lower pricing for Mac2Win.s who purchase Object Master Professional Edition will receive the
current Release and the following two releases all for one price. The new
releases will automatically be distributed to Professional Edition
subscription customers when they are made available. “Our experience, as a
leading provider of cross-plaform development tools, tells us that in
order for developers to be productive, it is imperative that they have the
richest and most reliable tools,” said Lorenzen. “Object Master
Professional Edition will provide developers with the best development
environment that their money can buy.”

NEW FEATURES

Altura will be adding a number of new features to future releases of
Object Master. For Release 6, currently planned for June 1997, Object
Master will add the following capabilities:

o Java – Full Java support, including the creation of new classes, class
trees, template call generation, Toolbox assistant file generation. Full
support for JDK 1.1 language extensions.

o Objective C – Preliminary support. Parses the OpenStep APIs to help
developers understand the new architecture.

o Plug-in API – Allows developers to easily add support for their own
languages. Altura has leveraged this API to add the Java support to Object
Master.

SPECIAL PRICING

Object Master Professional Edition will have a suggested retail price of
$399. Current users of Object Master Release 5 will receive Release 6
automatically. Users of previous versions can upgrade to the Professional
Edition for $199. The upgrade will provide Release 5, Release 6 and 7.

**************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Altura Software, Inc. announces
new lower pricing for Mac2Win

Expands the market opportunities
for Mac OS developers

CONTACT:
Vince Hunt
Altura Software, Inc.
[email protected]
http://www.altura.com

PACIFIC GROVE, CA, — May 12, 1997 — Altura Software, Inc. today
announced the creation of a new entry-level pricing to substantially
increase the availability of their Mac OS to Windows porting
technology-Mac2Win. Mac2Win is Altura’s flagship product that allows Mac
OS applications to be easily moved to Microsoft Windows.

Today more than 50 software companies have used Mac2Win to port their Mac
OS applications to Windows. “Mac2Win has provided developers with the
ability to ship a native looking Windows product much faster than
otherwise possible,” said Lee Lorenzen, President of Altura Software. “And
an even more compelling benefit is that Mac2Win allows them to have a
single application code base for both their Mac OS and Windows products.”

BENEFITS TO APPLE AND DEVELOPERS

Mac2Win provides the capability developers need to continue their support
of the Mac OS while, at the same time, extending their revenue stream by
adding a Windows version. It also provides the bridge that will help keep
developers on the platform until Apple’s Rhapsody brings new revenue
opportunities.

Because Mac2Win lets developers have a single Mac-centric code base, it
ensures that they will not move away from the platform. Instead, Mac2Win
allows them to continue enhancing their Mac OS code while simultaneously
providing them with the revenue opportunities associated with the Windows
market. All this without the overhead of a full scale Windows development
team, or worse a divergent and redundant code base.

NEW PRICING

For a limited time Altura will offer developers a significantly lower
introductory price for Mac2Win.”We want to remove as many obstacles as we
can for Mac OS developers to reap the benefit of the Windows market while
still supporting their favorite platform,” said Lorenzen. “We are
significantly reducing our startup fees and adding additional services
that will expedite their efforts on Windows.”

Previously it would have cost between $2,000 and $12,000 to start porting
with Mac2Win. Now, for a limited time, Altura will reduce the initial
startup price to $495. Additionally, Altura is extending its reach beyond
large and medium sized developers to include small or entry-level
developers. Altura has created a new pricing tier for entry-level
developers that greatly reduces the licensing fees associated with
shipping their Mac2Win based products. The new tier makes it easy for
small or non-commercial Mac OS developers to move their products to Windows.

DEVELOPER KITCHEN

For the first time, Altura is hosting week-long Mac2Win developer
Kitchens. These Kitchens will provide an opportunity for Mac OS developers
to port their application code base to Windows with the help of Altura’s
veteran engineering staff. According to Lorenzen, “Developers will be able
to bring their Mac OS application source code to a Kitchen, spend a few
days working with our staff, and leave with a demonstrable Windows
application.”

SOURCE CODE INCLUDED

For a limited time, developers who acquire Mac2Win will have access to the
source code to assist them during the porting of their applications. The
availability of the source code will expedite their porting efforts
substantially.

ABOUT MAC2WIN

Mac2Win provides a mapping from the standard Macintosh Toolbox calls to
their Windows equivalents. This porting technology works by providing a
Windows Dynamic Link Library (DLL) that implements whatever Toolbox calls
a particular Mac OS application uses. This DLL is combined with a given
Mac OS application source code to create a Windows application with the
appropriate look and feel. The result is a single code base that supports
both Windows and Mac OS platforms.

AVAILABILITY

Altura is offering this introductory pricing, developer Kitchen, source
code options and entry-level developer license through July 30, 1997. Mac
OS developers wishing to expand their market, or non-commercial developers
looking to provide a cross-platform solution, should call Altura for more
detail on pricing and availability.

ABOUT ALTURA SOFTWARE

Altura Software, Inc. is a leading developer of porting technology
solutions for the Macintosh and Windows platforms. The company offers a
diverse line of developer tools: Mac2Win(tm) Porting Technology, Object
Master(tm) Programming Tool, QuickHelp(tm) – WinHelp for the Mac,
QuickView(tm) Multimedia Viewer and MacWinSock – WinSock API for the Mac
OS. Altura Software, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is based in Pacific
Grove, California. For more information on Altura Software and its
products, check out Altura’s web site at: http://www.altura.com.

# # #

Mac2Win, Object Master, QuickHelp, QuickView and MacWinSock are trademarks
of Altura Software, Inc. Apple and Mac OS are registered trademarks of
Apple Computer, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft
Corportation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.