Somehow I have managed to go for the last 10 years without touching a Mac.
As an IT consultant, this may be unusual, but my predilection is for Linux and Open Source software. By necessity, I have had to use Microsoft Windows from time to time, however the Mac and I have not crossed paths since the early days of the Macintosh Classic.
When the opportunity presented itself earlier this year to try the Apple PowerMac G5 running OS X and write a few words on how it met my needs for a Java development environment, I was curious. After all, many luminaries of the Java world choose the Mac as their platform of choice.
My preferred environment
I like to use open source, cross platform tools, and luckily there are some very high quality packages that meet those requirements, and are available on the Mac.
My day-to-day development environment is a laptop running the Fedora Core 1 Linux distribution, with Sun's JDK version 1.4.2_03, the Eclipse IDE v2.1.2, and the Ant build tool v1.6.1. I also use a CVS client (over ssh of course) and a smattering of Apache Jakarta tools.
I thought a reasonable starting point would be to tool-up my new Mac and see how it compares. I spend a lot of time verifying builds, testing and then applying small fixes and changes, so build times are important to me.
As the packages I was to install on the Mac would be the same as the ones I use on my Linux laptop, evaluating the Mac as a development platform came down to how well it would run my tools, and what other features it offered that my existing setup did not.
Setting up the PowerMac G5
The Mac went together very easily. The G5 system box (with 2 x 2 gigahertz processors and 2.5 gigabytes of ram!) is very large, but it tucked under the table nicely, and the widescreen cinema display attached with it's single cable which carries video, power and USB. The keyboard and mouse daisy-chained off the display, which kept cabling to a bare minimum. The hardware felt sturdy and well designed.
Once put together the PowerMac G5 started up smoothly, and almost silently. I had hoped the G5 would pick up my aging AirPort and connect wirelessly, but it did not. I thought this may be due to incompatible WiFi variants, but it was a bit disappointing, especially as my wireless access point was made by Apple. Out came the spare Cat5 cable, and I was connected. I did not need to spend any more time on installation or configuration of Panther (MacOS 10.3) - after assembly and powering up, I was ready to move onto setting up my development environment.
I have always been a UNIX user, so the move to UNIX under the covers of MacOS X made me feel more comfortable with the Mac. I was quickly able to set up some shell aliases and preferences, and onto installing development tools that I would need.
Installing my development tools
The installation of Ant was trivial, requiring just the download, unpack, and run. I use Eclipse 2.1 on my laptop, but knew that it would not build my current project due to an unsupported windowing toolkit on MacOSX, so I downloaded and installed Eclipse 3, which had a fix for this problem. The first run of Eclipse resulted in a lockup, but after installing the latest 1.4.2 JDK from Apple it was fine, and I had my IDE up and running.
The next step was to check out my project code and I discovered there was no CVS client included. Some quick internet searches lead me to Xcode, Apple's IDE, which should include a CVS client, but it appeared that if you did not have the included CD containing Xcode (and I did not) you had to buy it. I tried a free client called MacCVSClient, but couldn't get it to connect to my CVS repository. Then I remembered that Eclipse has a built in CVS client. The Eclipse client did the trick, and soon I had my project's source checked out and ready to go.
How does it fly?
The tools I had installed worked as I expected them to, but faster, and in brilliant wrap-around vision.
Build times were fast, but not blindingly fast. In comparison, builds between the G5 and my Centrino laptop running Linux, the Mac came in about 50-80% faster than the laptop, with the fastest speedups occurring on builds requiring lots of disk IO. As far as the price-performance ratio goes, the laptop was ahead.
The Mac is a beautiful piece of equipment to use. The cinema screen is clear and bright, the system box is impressive with its brushed metal case, and very little time was needed to set up the system. For the most part, the dual CPUs operated silently, with the fans only kicking in during code building.
The MacOS UI took me some getting used to, and is not something I will miss, nor is the single button mouse! The Mac platform seems aimed at simplicity and an easy -out of the box" experience, which it achieves very well. This contrast with the Linux laptop I use, where getting the laptop set up just right was somewhat of a struggle. However I personally prefer to -get involved" with the operating system I am using, and enjoy the satisfaction of configuring a system just the way I like it.
In summary
The Apple PowerMac G5 system with the cinema display made a fine Java development platform, and should be considered by anyone who likes a stable, attractive and quiet computer, and is not constrained by a budget. It was able to run all the tools I require for my development environment capably and quickly, and it was a pleasure to use.
Ben Stringer is an IT consultant with 15 years of experience in defence, finance and R&D. For the past 2 years he has been the secretary of the Australian Java Users Group, and hosts the Victorian chapter's meetings.
Do you need help with Java, C, or C++? 
1
Chris Mitchell - 29/10/04
Ben,
You can download the Apple Dev environment (XCODE) from the Apple Developer Connection site. (http://developer.apple.com/).
You will need to register a free Apple ID to get access to the files, but there is definitely no reason to buy the CD.
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2
N T - 29/10/04
You don't need to pay for the XCode developer tools, you just go here and register:
http://developer.apple.com/membership/online.html
Also, most people use a multi-button USB mouse plugged into their mac. Surprisingly, the OS has a great deal of context-menus to support such mice.
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3
Fokke Baarda - 29/10/04
Intersting read. Two little things. You can use any two-button mouse (or 10-button mouse) with OS X; most Mac-users I know have one. You should have tried the mouse of your laptop with the G5. And the system can be configured in detail to satisfy the needs of any power user, with extremely powerful options under the elegant skin.
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4
B. Smith-Mannschott - 29/10/04
XCode generally ships with Mac OS. In any case, it is available free of charge from developer.apple.com as the membership required to download development tools can be had free of charge.
http://developer.apple.com/membership/online.html
Futhermore, a great many traditional linux/unix tools, which run in the terminal or through the included X11 implmentation are available though package managers such as FINK.
http://fink.sourceforge.net/
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5
Pascal Robert - 29/10/04
You should try CVL if you want a standalone CVS client, http://sente.epfl.ch/software/cvl/
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6
Benson Leung - 29/10/04
Hey Ben. Interesting article about going from a Linux environment to the G5.
Just a few pieces of advice. If you're going to use Airport, make sure that you attach the included aerial on the back of the G5.
Also, you mentioned that you need to pay to get Xcode for Mac OS X. That's true if you want them to send you a CD, but if you go to http://connect.apple.com, and sign up for a free ADC account, you can download the 350 MB disc image and burn yourself a copy of Xcode. And yes, Xcode comes with cvs and svn.
Enjoy!
-Benson
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7
Paul Donovan - 29/10/04
I'm not sure why you thought you had to pay for Xcode - it's free. You can download it after registering at the Apple developer site. The installers may also have already been on the machine, in /Applications/Installers.
And it's possible that you didn't get Airport to work because you had plugged in the wireless antenna on the G5 - it's weird, but I've read of someone else being caught out by the same problem.
- Paul
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8
Michael Dinsmore - 29/10/04
Xcode is included on new Macs, but may not be installed; check under /Applications/Installers. Or, it may be on an extra CD provided with new machines.
Or if it's not there for whatever reason, it can be downloaded (for free!) from Apple's Developer Resources website: http://developer.apple.com/. Registration is required, but there is a Free level, which does in fact provide access to the Xcode toolset.
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Jeroen - 29/10/04
I believe the XCode installer is included in thet Application folder of new Macs. The CD can also be downloaded from Apple after registering as developer.
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10
Dale Gillard - 29/10/04
It's always good to read a review by someone not having ever experienced using a Mac.
>"I discovered there was no CVS client included. Some quick internet searches lead me to Xcode, Apple's IDE, which should include a CVS client, but it appeared that if you did not have the included CD containing Xcode (and I did not) you had to buy it."
Xcode is free. It's usually on a separate CD included with the Mac's software. Though on some models, the extra CD is an image at the root level of the hard drive. In either case, it can be freely downloaded - you just need to create a free developer account on Apple's web site.
>"The MacOS UI took me some getting used to, and is not something I will miss, nor is the single button mouse!"
I use various UIs and am surprised you found the Mac's UI so difficult to use and your years of experience presumably using Windows and various distros of Linux. This suggests to me that habits are hard to break and Linux doesn't offer much different to Windows from the UI perspective.
I assume you know that you can use almost any 2/3/5 button USB mouse with Mac OS X, and you stuck with the 1 button for some reason? And that the Ctrl+click action simulates the right mouse button click when using the one button mouse?
Cheers
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11
Valk Raider - 30/10/04
I have been developing in Java and on a variety of envrionments for about 4 years. I was always using Windows on a PC, with various different environments for IDEs and AppServers. During that same time, I was using a Mac at home. Since Mac OSX, the Mac has been my prefererred client.
About 4 months ago, I was able to switch to the Mac as my sole development platform. I am using Eclipse 3, Tomcat, Ant, and CVS - and also a few other random tools and Database utilities.
I lilke the Mac much much better. My projects are cross compatible with Linux, Unix, and PCs. We have deployed to several different platforms...
I am using a 1.5Ghz Powerbook G4 with 1GB RAM for my development machine. Sure it isn't quite as quick as the dual G5 machine - but it fits in the overhead bin on the plane... (grin)
And some corrections or additions to the article:
I have never used a one button mouse with a Mac. Just like the crappy DELL mouses (which the plural for a computer mouse by the way) that ship with DELL machines, the one-button Apple mouse gets thrown in a drawer. I have always used multi-button mice - currently I have a 5 button trackball. I recommend, if you like the style of the Apple mouse, but need a scroll wheel and 2 buttons - check out "TheMouse" made by MacMice.
As for XCode - it is a free download from Apple, but you have to join the Apple Developer Connection (basic account is free) - if you have an iTunes account or Apple account, it will just tie in to those...
Thanks for the nice article, and I hope more people move to the Mac in the "real world". As a side note, at a couple client sites we were at recently, they would not let consultants plug in their Windows laptops into the network because of virus/trojan issues. But they let those of us with Mac OSX laptops use the network all we want... It was quite refreshing.
My *only* two complaints so far? The way Finder litters .DS_Store files all over when you connect to Windows network shares, and the lack of good GPS/Mapping software for the Mac (there are only about 4 programs and they are all mediocre and none support Garmin). Thats it. Everything else is better on a Mac.
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12
Jonathan - 30/10/04
Your article contains quite a glaring error - XCode and the other MacOS X developer tools are in fact a completely free download from the Apple developer website (you have to join Apple Developer Connection, but there is a free option to do so). Also, I suspect that you simply didn't find the Developer tools installer that does come with new systems - it just isn't installed by default. It is called something like "Install Classic and the Developer Tools.pkg" on the System and Software Restore DVD.
Also, wrt to Airport - did you attach the external antenna to your system for wireless connectivity? It slots into a port at the back of the machine.
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13
daniel - 30/10/04
It is free to get the Xcode CD image from Apple Developer site you must sign for the free developer account and all you need to do is download the image disc.
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14
Brian M. Frank - 30/10/04
Your G5 should have come with a CD with he developer tools on it, or sometimes, it is included as a installer package on the stock hard drive. Search for a folder named Developer Tools located in /Applications/Installers/. There you should find the package Developer.mpkg. This will install all developer tools and documentation. If neither of these exist (CD or package on hard drive), then a free registration at http://developer.apple.com will allow you to download the tools for free. See http://developer.apple.com/tools/download/ for more info. If there is one thing that Apple is doing right (of many, in my opinion) its providing easy and free access to a complete development environment for any user to use or experiment with. As far as I know, they are the only major computer manufacturer to do so.....
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15
Brian M. Frank - 30/10/04
The X-Code developemtn tools shoudl have been included on a CD with your machine, or they are located as a package (.mpkg file) for installation at /Applications/Installers/Developer Tools or /Applications/Installers/Xcode Tools. If neither of these exist (the CD or the installer package) a free membership with Apple allows you to download the tools for free. See http://developer.apple.com/tools/download/ for more information. If there is one thing that Apple is doing right (amongst many in my opinion) it is making a set of high quality development tools available for any one to use or experiment with. I think they might possibly be the only major computer manufactuer to do so....
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16
Roberto Avanzi - 30/10/04
Beautiful article - there's a minor mistake, though. The developer tools, including XCode, are free. You need to sign-up for a _free_ ADC membership, then you can download them from Apple's site.
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17
Ian Eisenberg - 30/10/04
XCode is, in fact, included with every Mac from the eMac all the way up the line to the G5. I am not sure why this was not pointed out or told to the author from any one of a hundred sources avaiable to him.
Just wanting to clarify this point.
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18
Peter Herndon - 30/10/04
One correction and one suggestion. Correction: OS X comes with the cvs command-line tools preinstalled. If you want a GUI, you are correct, OS X does not include one, though a few are available. Neither does Windows, for what it's worth.
Suggestion: buy a multi-button mouse. Most switchers and most developers hate the single-button mouse. That's fine, since OS X will recognize both a right button and a scroll wheel without additional software -- just plug in your mouse of choice.
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19
Tarun Reddy - 30/10/04
Just a couple of notes:
-Xcode is available for free. It actually probably comes on your computer (see the Installers folder in the Application Folder for the complete development environment) but can be easily downloaded at http://connect.apple.com/. You can sign up for the free account and it will give all to you. CVS comes with the package as a command line component.
-Fink. http://fink.sf.net/ Download it. Use it. Awesome.
-The G5 will work with the Airport, but you need to make sure you have a wireless card in your machine. It doesn't come with one by default.
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20
Bruno Gaufier - 30/10/04
Hello,
This may be interesting if you still have the G5 and are willing to try xCode :
You can download any xCode version for free from Apple : Just register as a developer, download the CD image and burn it.
IMHO, CVS integration within xCode is not very good. Before switching to Perforce, I was using CVS with a freeware named CVL. This one is way better than xCode for that purpose)
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21
Jonathan McGuire - 30/10/04
xCode should be free if you go to http://developer.apple.com/ you may have to sign up for a free account but that account should gain you access to xCode.
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22
Marc Bailey - 30/10/04
Step 1: Install the developer tools from Apple. This includes all the libraries, gcc, cvs, editors etc. etc. etc. It's a CD that comes free with the O/S, and the fact that you did not install this completely discredits your review - indeed it makes you wonder what was going on if you didn't have access to the CD.
Step 2: Plug in any mouse of your choice. The fact that you didn't even bother again shows you up as an incompetent reviewer.
Step 3: Run benchmark code. You didn't even attempt to evaluate the multiprocessing or Altivec floating point. How about accelerated Java 3d or JOGL or grid processing. What a joke.
Step 4: You can customise Mac OS X just as Solaris, BSD, Linux or any *ix implementation. You don't even have to run the aqua shell and can quite happily run any X11 based UI like KDE, Gnome and Gnustep.
15 years of experience? In what?
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23
Eric Kerby - 30/10/04
Sorry, Ben, but you don't have to buy XCode if it was not included in your box. All you have to do is visit developer.apple.com and create a free developer account. Then you can easily download XCode for free!
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24
Michael Sitarzewski - 30/10/04
IIRC, XCode is a free download (free registration required) from the Apple Developer's Connection: http://www.apple.com/developer/
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25
Matt - 30/10/04
You can grab Xcode for free from connect.apple.com (requires free ADC account) or the installer should sit in /Applications/Installers...
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26
Dmitry Markman - 30/10/04
you don't have to buy XCode
developer tools comes with any Apple's computer
or you can download it from ADC site
you have to be ADC member
it's free
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27
Jim Harner - 30/10/04
For a real treat try a 15" PowerBook with a new Airport. We are developing Java applications on Macs and they are great.
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28
Richard Stacpoole - 30/10/04
The developer tools, which contains xCode, are included on your system. Look in /Applications/Installers/ and there should be a Developer Tools installer package. Double click and you are away. (This will also install CVS etc.)
If it is not there there is a free online developer account that you can sign up for and use to download the developer tools. You should sign up for it anyway to download the latest Java updates and seeds.
As for the mouse, use any USB mouse and it will work, multiple buttons and scroll wheels.
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29
Jeff Mincey - 30/10/04
Thank you for an interesting and engaging article. But you make one comment which bears some elaboration -- namely, "...I personally prefer to 'get involved' with the operating system I am using, and enjoy the satisfaction of configuring a system just the way I like it."
In what way do you feel OS X hinders you from getting involved with the OS? I ask only because I see Linux as a microkernel typically bundled with the usual UNIX (or GNU) command shells, X11, and window managers such as KDE or Gnome. And I see OS X as an operating system with a kernel architecture accompanied by the usual UNIX command shells, X11, and the option to run KDE or Gnome -- PLUS Apple's own Quartz and Aqua. So where you lose me is in how the presence of an additional GUI option makes you WORSE off than you otherwise would be.
OS X can optionally be run headless altogether. So what flexibility do you enjoy under Linux which you feel is denied you under OS X?
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30
Fawzi Mohamed - 30/10/04
A couple of comments:
- airport: did you attach the external airport antenna to the back of the G5 case, the aluminum is very good at stopping the signal...
- XCode: it really pays off to install them. Actually you should have them somewhere (maybe in a .dmg (disk image) in your application folder).
Otherwise register at
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31
dave - 30/10/04
You should have the Development tools available in "/Applications/Installers/Developer Tools/" or you can download them for free from "http://developer.apple.com/tools/download/" so long as you sign up for the free Developer Connection Membership.
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32
David van Deinse - 30/10/04
Liked the article about JAVA on MAC G5, but was puzzled about the airport connecting did not find your "old" network.
I installed a G5 in my very old (one of the first airport base stations) ariport network right out of the box.
You did put the little antenna in the back of the G5?
Greetings
David
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33
David Shaw - 01/11/04
Just FYI, XCode is free. You can download it from Apple's Developer Connection (ADC) after obtaining a free account.
http://www.apple.com/developer/
I do enterprise Java development on a Powermac G5 and an iBook.
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34
patrick machielse - 01/11/04
A nice article about Java development on Mac! However, it is also a prime example of doing things the hard way :-)
To correct an error first: the developer tools (containing xCode) should have come with the computer. They used to be delivered on a CD, but I believe they are now in a disc image or installer package on the hard drive. Locate this and in a few minutes you'll have the full suite of development tools installed. This includes the JDK and CVS. Even when you can't locate the tools on your hard drive, you can get the tools for free: just sign up as an 'online' developer on developer.apple.com and you can download the latest version of the tools.
Installing the complete suite is worth it even if you just use the JDK. A lot of extra tools (and sample code) are installed which are also useful for Java development. For instance, 'Quartz Debug' is _very_ helpful for checking screen updates.
So, setting up your favorite environment on Mac OS X takes a simple 2 steps:
-) install the developer tools (free!)
-) install your favorite IDE (if you don't like xCode).
Happy coding,
Patrick
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35
anonymous - 02/11/04
U r working on a laptop and comparing it to 2xCPU PowerMac?! How much did the pay u :) ?
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36
anonymous - 02/11/04
U r working on a laptop and comparing it to 2xCPU PowerMac?! How much did the pay u :) ?
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37
Somebody Here - 02/11/04
One quick question? What about Java 5?
Ooops not there....
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38
Sanjay Samani - 02/11/04
Ben, I know its a bit of a dumb question, but its fooled some other PowerMac G5 reviewers, so apoligies if you've already done this. Have you plugged in the Airport antenna in the back of the G5? The Alu case spoils the signal, so there is an external antenna that you need to fit. This may allow you to pick up your Airport network.
Other possibilities are obviously security settings, e.g., the network is not visible or is filtered by MAC address
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39
Adam McNutt - 03/11/04
Sure would be nice to know the specs on the laptop. I'm betting it didn't have dual 2 GHz procs and 2.5 GB of RAM to compile with. So your build times comparison doesn't have any backing. I'm willing to bet it's also faster than a P90.
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40
Fredrik Wahlgren - 11/11/04
The mac comes with a one button mouse. However, you can attach a mouse with two buttons and the Mac will support that. I even think it will support three buttons
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41
Chandrakant - 28/08/06
cofigure dhcpd server through cgi with c or java
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42
M.Swaminathan - 08/08/07
Hi,
Please change the italic fonts to normal fonts... this site is not well... and dont use the bold for all paragraph... its my suggession... (or change the font)...
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