Cross-Platform Development in C++: Building Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows Applications

Cross-Platform Development in C++ is the definitive guide to developing portable C/C++ application code that will run natively on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux/Unix platforms without compromising functionality, usability, or quality.

Long-time Mozilla and Netscape developer Syd Logan systematically addresses all the technical and management challenges associated with software portability from planning and design through coding, testing, and deployment. Drawing on his extensive experience with cross-platform development, Logan thoroughly covers issues ranging from the use of native APIs to the latest strategies for portable GUI development. Along the way, he demonstrates how to achieve feature parity while avoiding the problems inherent to traditional cross-platform development approaches.

This book will be an indispensable resource for every software professional and technical manager who is building new cross-platform software, porting existing C/C++ software, or planning software that may someday require cross-platform support.

Throughout the book, Logan illuminates his techniques with realistic scenarios and extensive, downloadable code examples, including a complete cross-platform GUI toolkit based on Mozilla’s XUL that you can download, modify, and learn from. Coverage includes 

• Policies and procedures used by Netscape, enabling them to ship Web browsers to millions of users on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux
• Delivering functionality and interfaces that are consistent on all platforms
• Understanding key similarities and differences among leading platform-specific GUI APIs, including Win32/.NET, Cocoa, and Gtk+
• Determining when and when not to use native IDEs and how to limit their impact on portability
• Leveraging standards-based APIs, including POSIX and STL
• Avoiding hidden portability pitfalls associated with floating point, char types, data serialization, and types in C++
• Utilizing platform abstraction libraries such as the Netscape Portable Runtime (NSPR)
• Establishing an effective cross-platform bug reporting and tracking system
• Creating builds for multiple platforms and detecting build failures across platforms when they occur
• Understanding the native runtime environment and its impact on installation
• Utilizing wxWidgets to create multi-platform GUI applications from a single code base
• Thoroughly testing application portability
• Understanding cross-platform GUI toolkit design with Trixul

Syd Logan is a software developer living and working in Southern California. A graduate of San Diego State University with B.S. and M.S. degrees in computer science, Syd was a member of the Netscape Client Product Development (CPD) team, where he held both engineering and management positions during the development of Netscape 6 and 7. After Netscape, Syd remained at AOL where he implemented VoIP and peer-to-peer video features as a member of the AOL Instant Messenger team. Syd’s previous publications include Developing Imaging Applications with XIELib and Gtk+ Programming in C (Prentice Hall, 1997 and 2001). His technical interests include machine learning, operating systems design, algorithms, and just about anything that has to do with C, C++, and Unix.