64-bit version for Mac?

[dcblack]

It will be interesting if Apple follows through with their rumored migration to Arm 64-bit processors. I know this migration to 64-bit Intel is a preparation for the possibilty.

[borekb]

It's been something of a shock to continuously scramble to fix things for every new macOS release; Beyond Compare 1.8 still works on Windows 10 64-bit, and that came out in 1999.

I'm only half-joking when I ask if you have considered Electron. I know this would basically mean throwing away a lot of code but increasingly, working with Electron apps is just my preferred experience: they never have problems with Unicode, I can zoom the UI to make it comfortable, they work the same way across Windows and macOS, the underlying tech is fast enough today (see VSCode), etc. It must be a pain to maintain lots of native code that doesn't really have any value added.

BC could also gain other benefits from it, like using a Monaco editor as a replacement for the current text widget and other things that are just improving in the JS ecosystem year over year.

[dgarratt]

I'm now down to 3 apps which are 32bit and 2 of them appear to be from Apple. I don't think I would want to upgrade and go without Beyond Compare as I use it daily. Is there some indication % as to how close the 64 bit version is to release or beta or alpha testing ? Many thanks. Dave

[Aaron]

We don't have a percentage, but it's chugging along and we're still working hard to meet the Sept 2019 deadline.

[luckman212]

Glad to hear it's chugging along! Anything we can do to help? I am willing to pay for upgrade fees in advance etc if that helps at all. I believe many others would do the same... Beyond Compare is far and away the most beloved app on my machine. I use it not just daily but multiple times throughout the day. Can't count how many hours of time it's saved me.

[Chris]

Thank you for your support. We don't need anything right now. When the 64-bit Mac version is released in beta we'll update this thread and look forward to your feedback.

[lizhuoli1126]

Hi. Is the 64-bit version available for public test?

We gurantee and receive Apple's confirm for developers, the macOS 10.14.4 is the last version of macOS to support running 32-bit version app. In the June, 2019, the WWDC 2019, current Beyond Compare will not be available to run on macOS 10.15 beta. So please consider hurry up.

In all my personal frequently used app's, Beyond Compare is the only one still run 32-bit. I'm a Software Developer and I believe this will not take too long time, as if you can manage the dependency code clearly, and don't use too much as Assembly language code (I wonder, if Beyond Compare need these).

And I hope there are some email to notify our user as soon there are 64-bit version avaiable.

[Chris]

Sorry, the 64-bit version isn't available for public test yet. When it becomes available, we'll post an update to this thread, on Twitter, and on Facebook. If you subscribe to this thread, you will receive an email notification for new posts.

We're working as fast as we can on a 64-bit Mac version of Beyond Compare. The 32-bit version of Beyond Compare uses the Carbon API. Making a 64-bit version requires changing to the Cocoa API. Changing APIs means updating code in Beyond Compare that interacts with the operating system, so it is a very large project for our small development team.

[dempson]

Hi. Is the 64-bit version available for public test?

We gurantee and receive Apple's confirm for developers, the macOS 10.14.4 is the last version of macOS to support running 32-bit version app.

Not quite. Apple should be releasing macOS 10.14.5 by the end of May (it is already in beta), and there will almost certainly be a 10.14.6 update around July (which should get security updates for another two years). Those versions will also run 32-bit software.

If by "developers" you mean "developers who immediately switch to the first beta of the macOS 10.15 for the only computer on which they use Beyond Compare" then developers in that category will indeed be unable to use Beyond Compare from early June.

The rest of us who aren't as eager to run an early beta OS on our main computer will be testing macOS 10.15 on a second computer (or temporary startup drive) but will keep running macOS 10.14.x on our main computer until 10.15 is stable enough and essential third party software we use has caught up.

Apple acknowledges that some developers may be unable to upgrade to a new macOS version quickly by continuing to release Xcode updates which run on the previous macOS version until about April the following year.

I'd like to see the 64-bit Mac version of Beyond Compare ready in time for a September release (or as soon after that as possible); it will be a bonus if a beta is available earlier for those who want to run Beyond Compare on macOS 10.15 betas.

[intersol]

I am very concerned about the lack of progress on 64-bit support on BeyonCompare and it seems that at least this may be the end of more than 10 years love relationship. My impression is that they fail to understand how support and upgrades work on Apple systems.As a software developer you *must* always run/test with MacOS prereleases, read and *act* on Apple statements (like API deprecatios). The 64-bit drop was announced may years ago and I expect to upgrade the day 1 when the new OS is releases.

There is a very different support-process on Apple system, especially when compared with Windows. I bet 90%+ of ScooterSoftware staff is using Windows desktops, this would explain the take.

Regarding Electron platform, I asked myself the same question long time ago. While there are already few projects for diff tools using it, none is mature enough yet.

The public beta of 64-bit BC should have being released 2+ years ago. Now we do not even have a date about when it will be available.

[DonW]

The rest of us who aren't as eager to run an early beta OS on our main computer will be testing macOS 10.15 on a second computer (or temporary startup drive) but will keep running macOS 10.14.x on our main computer until 10.15 is stable enough and essential third party software we use has caught up.

You're not wrong in general, but I have to assume there's plenty of us who value Beyond Compare in our own development workflows *and* need to upgrade to and work on the beta OS versions in order to update our own projects. So sure, BC can target the full release as a deadline and satisfy consumers who can wait. But surely the customer base for BC trends towards developer who don't always have a choice but to be on the bleeding edge, painful as it may be.

When it's up to me I wait several point releases into a new MacOS release before updating. It's not always up to me.

[ericfxd0]

There shouldn't be an expectation that BC supports beta operating systems, though apparently there is. I personally wouldn't use only a beta operating system in a non-personal situation.

Scooter has said before that they will have the macOS 10.15 support ready when it is released, so I think we should expect that.

[Zoë]

I am very concerned about the lack of progress on 64-bit support on BeyonCompare and it seems that at least this may be the end of more than 10 years love relationship.

Don't take the lack of a public release as evidence of a lack of progress. BC 4 had a very long public alpha/beta because it was a new platform and it required a lot of design and feedback to make sure it integrated well. This release, while a significant effort for us, just needs to match the existing version. We can see where it's working and what needs improvement fairly easily.

My impression is that they fail to understand how support and upgrades work on Apple systems.As a software developer you *must* always run/test with MacOS prereleases, read and *act* on Apple statements (like API deprecatios).

You're right, we did fail to appreciate the difference between Apple's and Microsoft's development environments. Frankly, if we had known how much effort is required just to stay still, I'm not sure we would have launched a macOS version. The Windows version is a much larger market for us, and the only reason we've been able to keep maintaining the macOS version in the face of this is that Microsoft isn't breaking BC with every new release.

The public beta of 64-bit BC should have being released 2+ years ago. Now we do not even have a date about when it will be available.

We're just as disappointed at the schedule as you are, and it's not for lack of effort that it's taken this long.

All of the viewers are functional and it is stable enough for our inhouse use. It's still going to be a while before we consider it done to our usual standards, and I don't know whether we'll reach that point before September, but we're close to "good enough" for the people who need it right away. We are aware that our customer base is going to skew towards early adopters on this, and we are taking that into consideration on our release planning. We can't test the 10.15 beta any earlier than you can though, so even if it's usable on 10.14, it might take us some time to work out any new kinks that pop up.

[Zoë]

Official statement on our macOS 64-bit release:

https://www.scootersoftware.com/vbul...ta-coming-soon

[cacruden]

You're right, we did fail to appreciate the difference between Apple's and Microsoft's development environments. Frankly, if we had known how much effort is required just to stay still, I'm not sure we would have launched a macOS version. The Windows version is a much larger market for us, and the only reason we've been able to keep maintaining the macOS version in the face of this is that Microsoft isn't breaking BC with every new release.

That statement made me pause... I think I will now wait for the official release. I was trying to figure out whether to buy this product -- or Kaleidascope (which from the release notes -- I get the feeling it may not have active development as much)... so now I think I will just wait a bit.