Cirrus-on-a-Mac

[Marjolein Katsma]

After my Cirrus-on-a-stick suggestion here's some cross-platform fun - for your information and amusement:

My laptop Alan which serves mostly as development machine (containing nearly all source code and Apache/MySQL/PHP to test with) is aging and showing signs of imminent death. I've long wanted the oportunity to test websites with Mac browsers as well, and purely by coincidence a local electronics store had a one-day-only discount on 13.3" MacBooks (Intel Core Duo) - so I jumped and bought one. Now I'm exploring all sorts of cross-platform stuff.

First attempt: Installing CrossOver (which is Wine-based) and within that the latest Cirrus build; the CrossOver website lists BC 2 as "silver", meaning there are some problems but mostly it's usable; problems reported for FTP access, so I was hopeful for Cirrus. At first it looked good and I could configure some default session settings. Then I tried to open some folders or files for compariso, but whatever I try, that fails; interstingly, I also noted that every single dropdown/combobox in the UI has a problem in that only a single character is shown (usually the first letter of the default, seemingly also always lowercase) - possibly this is the cause that nothing can be opened, or at least related. The directory browser also behaves a bit funny though it at least is usable. But if I cannot open anything, I'm stuck. (A few other progrems I tried with CrossOver run fine, but I really want to be able to run Cirrus. I can try a few more things but it looks like a dead end.)

Second attempt: I installed a trial of Parallels desktop on my new MacBook (named Isaac), installed a Windos XP VM in that, and within it the latest Cirrus build. I haven't done a lot of tests yet, but it seems to be runing smoothly: although from the Mac I cannot select Cirrus for "open with", I found I could open a data compare session and then drag two files from Mac's Finder onto it, while Cirrus runs in its own window on the Mac desktop. Yummie. I'm attaching a screenshot of that in action! Of course, (S)FTP access will be a necesary test, but after this first impression I'm hopeful.

[Zoë]

I haven't tested Parallel's or VMware yet, but the only problems BC should have on them should involve filenames that aren't valid on Windows (question marks, backslashes, etc), and whatever trouble resource forks could cause.

I've tested both BC2 and Cirrus on my wife's Mac using CrossOver, and the issues are known.

BC2's FTP won't work at all using the default (SmartFTP) library; switching to Indy allowed access, but started corrupting files when I was uploading, so I wouldn't recommend using FTP on CrossOver at all. As for Cirrus, I think it's a problem with our low-level file APIs, since the user interface seemed otherwise functional. If I have a chance I'm going to try to fix it, but don't have a great way to debug it from home right now, so it may take a bit.

[Michael Bulgrien]

Context Menu for OS-X Parallels

I haven't tested Parallels or VMware yet, but the only problems BC should have on them should involve filenames that aren't valid on Windows

The main advantage of VMware (IMO) is the ability to allocate resources for each side of the fence (in other words, in a dual-core environment, one core can be dedicated to the Mac side, and the other core can be dedicated to the PC side).

The main advantage of Parallels (IMO) is the smoother integration between the environments (being able to click on a file on the Mac side to open it with the associated Widows app).

BC users have been asking for an OS-X port for some time now. Until now, the Scooter response has been that Delphi is not well-suited for the port. May I suggest a compromise? Would the Scooter team consider developing a "context menu" interface for OS-X that will enable users to select left, select right, then compare files or folders from OS-X in a Parallel's environment?...and a Mac-based installation to put such a configuration into place? Launching BC3 from OS-X in a Parallels environment should be a whole lot easier than a full port to OS-X, and would give a significant number of Mac users a whole lot more bang for the buck.

And who knows... once the simple context menu is figured out, it may not be that difficult to figure out how to launch BC3 from other products (integrated version control apps) in an OS-X Parallel's environment.

[Marjolein Katsma]

I haven't tested Parallel's or VMware yet, but the only problems BC should have on them should involve filenames that aren't valid on Windows (question marks, backslashes, etc), and whatever trouble resource forks could cause.

I've tested both BC2 and Cirrus on my wife's Mac using CrossOver, and the issues are known.

BC2's FTP won't work at all using the default (SmartFTP) library; switching to Indy allowed access, but started corrupting files when I was uploading, so I wouldn't recommend using FTP on CrossOver at all.

Ah, I hadn't seen that about the FTP problems on the CrossOver website. Would uploading always corrupt files, or are there special circumstances? Anyway, it might be helpful to post this on their site.

As for Cirrus, I think it's a problem with our low-level file APIs, since the user interface seemed otherwise functional.

Well, not all of it, with the one-letter dropdowns the most curious case. Directory browser was flaky (bits would disappear from the UI and one or two click later re-appear). And I initially installed the (not-full) debug version, but then merely accessing the Session menu would invariably crash it (all other menus were accessible). The non-debug version did not have that problem, but all of the other ones I noted; it's possible installing "quartz-wm" may help here but I've yet to try that.

If I have a chance I'm going to try to fix it, but don't have a great way to debug it from home right now, so it may take a bit.

Well, I have a nice little test machine here... except my trials are ticking away. But I'd be happy to test whatever you want to throw at me.

[Marjolein Katsma]

The main advantage of VMware (IMO) is the ability to allocate resources for each side of the fence (in other words, in a dual-core environment, one core can be dedicated to the Mac side, and the other core can be dedicated to the PC side).

The main advantage of Parallels (IMO) is the smoother integration between the environments (being able to click on a file on the Mac side to open it with the associated Widows app).

Indeed. For me, the smooth integration of Parallels makes it the most attractive solution, and I'm concentrating on that now since the trial period is so much shorter (and starts from download, not from installation. ) I'll play with VMware as well anyway.

But of course it all depends on your use case - VMware isolates machines, Palallels integrates them, or at least that's the basically different model for each, though both can do some of the other thing.

BC users have been asking for an OS-X port for some time now. Until now, the Scooter response has been that Delphi is not well-suited for the port. May I suggest a compromise? Would the Scooter team consider developing a "context menu" interface for OS-X that will enable users to select left, select right, then compare files or folders from OS-X in a Parallel's environment?...and a Mac-based installation to put such a configuration into place? Launching BC3 from OS-X in a Parallels environment should be a whole lot easier than a full port to OS-X, and would give a significant number of Mac users a whole lot more bang for the buck.

Drool! What a splendid idea, Michael! And given how well Parallels already supports drag and drop and copy and paste both ways, it sounds quite feasible to me as well. I'd love to have such a feature!

And who knows... once the simple context menu is figured out, it may not be that difficult to figure out how to launch BC3 from other products (integrated version control apps) in an OS-X Parallel's environment.

And don't forget that Parallels not only is "made for integration", it also supports installing other OSs in a virtual machine... (That's also a big plus compared to CrossOver which is Windows-specific.) I'm already considering adding a Linux version as well. (But not just yet.)

[Tim]

Thanks, Michael. That's an interesting suggestion. We'll look into it when we get the chance.

[Zoë]

Ah, I hadn't seen that about the FTP problems on the CrossOver website. Would uploading always corrupt files, or are there special circumstances?

I think it was generally files over a certain size and it was inconsistent, so some files always failed and some succeeded after multiple tries.

Well, not all of it, with the one-letter dropdowns the most curious case.

You know, for some reason it being a UI glitch hadn't occurred to me. I did some more testing tonight and sessions with saved paths do load correctly. The problem is that the session manager, browse, etc, all go through the path edits, which messes things up. Once they're loaded though, local, FTP, SFTP, and archive comparisons all seem to work correctly. I haven't done extensive transfer tests yet though, so that may still be a problem.

It's possible installing "quartz-wm" may help here but I've yet to try that.

I don't think so. I think I have quartz-wm installed, and I'm seeing similar issues. Not the browsing one, but the crash in the session menu.

Well, I have a nice little test machine here... except my trials are ticking away. But I'd be happy to test whatever you want to throw at me.

Testing isn't the problem; we have a copy of CrossOver for Office. I just don't have my dev environment set up at home right now, so making changes and seeing the effects is kind of laggy.