Executor (software)
Encyclopedia
Executor is software for x86
-based PCs
that allows older 68k
-based Apple Macintosh
programs to be run under various x86-based operating system
s. Executor was created by ARDI (Abacus Research and Development, Inc.). As of 2005, Executor development has been indefinitely postponed.
images or other Apple intellectual property. Executor, much like Wine
for running Windows applications on Unix-like platforms, translates Macintosh Toolbox
API calls and QuickDraw
routines into equivalent Win32 or POSIX
API calls. The MS-DOS version of Executor runs using the CWSDPMI
protected mode
DOS extender
.
Executor translates 68k big-endian
binary code into x86 little-endian binary code. Executor can only run Macintosh programs designed to run on 68000
-based Macintosh hardware. Executor can mimic either Macintosh System 7.0.0
or System 6.0.7
for older applications that do not work in System 7.0.0 mode. With a 486DX4 75MHz processor, performance was roughly comparable to a Quadra 610.
Due to the GUI
-oriented nature of classic Mac OS applications, Executor has its own GUI environment known as Browser. Browser attempts to somewhat mimic the classic Mac OS desktop and the Finder
application without having features such as the trash can or Mac OS control panels. The default Apple menu also does not exist in Browser but is replaced with a rough-equivalent; running Mac applications will have Apple menu functions available. Executor does not have support for networking of any type, including AppleTalk
support. Executor also lacks the ability to run components (such as extensions or control panels) that are highly integrated with classic Mac OS versions. Due to the differences between the actual MacOS ROM and the emulation provided by Executor, other compatibility issues may exist. For example, heise Magazine
reports issues with installation of many programs, and running early versions of StarWriter
and Adobe PageMill
. However, once installed, Microsoft Word
and Excel
, and BBEdit Lite
are usable.
Executor can run on x86-based PCs running Microsoft Windows
and various specific Linux
distributions. All versions of Executor require a minimum configuration of a 90 MHz Pentium
processor, 32 MB of RAM with 4 MB available to Executor, and a minimum of 8 MB of hard drive space for installation.
However, the Unofficial Macintosh Emulation Pages reports successfully running Executor with 24MB of RAM under Windows 95.
The Linux version of Executor has been tested under Red Hat Linux
5 through 7, SuSE 6, Caldera OpenLinux
2, Debian
2.1, and Yellow Dog Linux
.
Older versions of Executor also run under MS-DOS
and NeXTSTEP
.
After considering an open source
release of the source code
for some time, Matthews released the source code for executor and syn68k on October 5, 2008 under a very permissive MIT-style license.
X86 architecture
The term x86 refers to a family of instruction set architectures based on the Intel 8086 CPU. The 8086 was launched in 1978 as a fully 16-bit extension of Intel's 8-bit based 8080 microprocessor and also introduced segmentation to overcome the 16-bit addressing barrier of such designs...
-based PCs
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
that allows older 68k
68k
The Motorola 680x0/m68000/68000 is a family of 32-bit CISC microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and were the primary competitors of Intel's x86 microprocessors...
-based Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
programs to be run under various x86-based operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s. Executor was created by ARDI (Abacus Research and Development, Inc.). As of 2005, Executor development has been indefinitely postponed.
Overview
Unlike other true Macintosh emulators, Executor requires no startup ROMRead-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
images or other Apple intellectual property. Executor, much like Wine
Wine (software)
Wine is a free software application that aims to allow computer programs written for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. Wine also provides a software library, known as Winelib, against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like...
for running Windows applications on Unix-like platforms, translates Macintosh Toolbox
Macintosh Toolbox
The Macintosh Toolbox is a set of application programming interfaces with a particular access mechanism. They implement many of the high-level features of the Mac OS. The Toolbox consists of a number of "managers," software components such as QuickDraw, responsible for drawing onscreen graphics,...
API calls and QuickDraw
QuickDraw
QuickDraw is the 2D graphics library and associated Application Programming Interface which is a core part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system. It was initially written by Bill Atkinson and Andy Hertzfeld. QuickDraw still exists as part of the libraries of Mac OS X, but has been...
routines into equivalent Win32 or POSIX
POSIX
POSIX , an acronym for "Portable Operating System Interface", is a family of standards specified by the IEEE for maintaining compatibility between operating systems...
API calls. The MS-DOS version of Executor runs using the CWSDPMI
CWSDPMI
CWSDPMI is a DPMI host written by Charles W Sandmann from 1996 to present, currently at r7. It is loosely based upon prior GO32 code used in DJGPP v1. It can provide DPMI 0.90+ services for programs compiled with latest versions of DJGPP etc. compilers. Since r5, it can also be used for programs...
protected mode
Protected mode
In computing, protected mode, also called protected virtual address mode, is an operational mode of x86-compatible central processing units...
DOS extender
DOS extender
A DOS extender is a computer software program which enables software to run under a protected mode environment even though the host operating system is only capable of operating in real mode....
.
Executor translates 68k big-endian
Endianness
In computing, the term endian or endianness refers to the ordering of individually addressable sub-components within the representation of a larger data item as stored in external memory . Each sub-component in the representation has a unique degree of significance, like the place value of digits...
binary code into x86 little-endian binary code. Executor can only run Macintosh programs designed to run on 68000
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
-based Macintosh hardware. Executor can mimic either Macintosh System 7.0.0
System 7 (Macintosh)
System 7 is a single-user graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers. It was introduced on May 13, 1991 by Apple Computer. It succeeded System 6, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded by Mac OS 8 in 1997...
or System 6.0.7
System 6
System 6 is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers. It was released in 1988 by Apple Computer and was part of the Mac OS line of operating systems. System 6 was shipped with various Macintosh computers until it was succeeded by System 7 in 1991. The boxed...
for older applications that do not work in System 7.0.0 mode. With a 486DX4 75MHz processor, performance was roughly comparable to a Quadra 610.
Due to the GUI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
-oriented nature of classic Mac OS applications, Executor has its own GUI environment known as Browser. Browser attempts to somewhat mimic the classic Mac OS desktop and the Finder
Macintosh Finder
The Finder is the default file manager used on Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems; it is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications...
application without having features such as the trash can or Mac OS control panels. The default Apple menu also does not exist in Browser but is replaced with a rough-equivalent; running Mac applications will have Apple menu functions available. Executor does not have support for networking of any type, including AppleTalk
AppleTalk
AppleTalk is a proprietary suite of protocols developed by Apple Inc. for networking computers. It was included in the original Macintosh released in 1984, but is now unsupported as of the release of Mac OS X v10.6 in 2009 in favor of TCP/IP networking...
support. Executor also lacks the ability to run components (such as extensions or control panels) that are highly integrated with classic Mac OS versions. Due to the differences between the actual MacOS ROM and the emulation provided by Executor, other compatibility issues may exist. For example, heise Magazine
Heinz Heise
Heinz Heise is a publishing house based in Germany.- History :Heise was created in Hanover in 1949 as an address and telephone directory publisher, then later expanded to include magazines and loose leaf collections. In 2001, the company was divided into separate enterprises, all of which came...
reports issues with installation of many programs, and running early versions of StarWriter
StarWriter
StarWriter can refer to:*The Canon Inc. StarWriter, a typewriter with inkjet printhead produced by Canon.*StarOffice Writer, the word processor module in StarOffice, formerly known as StarWriter....
and Adobe PageMill
Adobe PageMill
PageMill was a software program published by Adobe Systems for editing web page HTML in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get fashion. It was one of the first such editors.-History:...
. However, once installed, Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
and Excel
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
, and BBEdit Lite
BBEdit
BBEdit is a proprietary text editor made by Bare Bones Software. It was originally developed for Macintosh System Software 6 and is now available for Mac OS X.BBEdit is marketed under the trademark slogan, "It doesn't suck."-History:...
are usable.
Executor can run on x86-based PCs running Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and various specific Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
distributions. All versions of Executor require a minimum configuration of a 90 MHz Pentium
Pentium compatible processor
A Pentium compatible processor is a 32-bit processor computer chip which supports the instructions in the IA-32 instruction set that were implemented by the Intel P5 Pentium processor family...
processor, 32 MB of RAM with 4 MB available to Executor, and a minimum of 8 MB of hard drive space for installation.
However, the Unofficial Macintosh Emulation Pages reports successfully running Executor with 24MB of RAM under Windows 95.
The Linux version of Executor has been tested under Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux
Red Hat Linux, assembled by the company Red Hat, was a popular Linux based operating system until its discontinuation in 2004.Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released on November 3, 1994...
5 through 7, SuSE 6, Caldera OpenLinux
Caldera OpenLinux
Caldera OpenLinux is a defunct Linux distribution that was created by the former Caldera Systems corporation. It was the early "business-oriented distribution" and foreshadowed the direction of developments that came to most other distributions and the Linux community generally.-Novell and...
2, Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
2.1, and Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux
Yellow Dog Linux, also known as YDL, is a free and open source operating system for high performance computing on multicore architectures. It focuses on GPU systems and computers using the Power Architecture . YDL is currently developed by Fixstars...
.
Older versions of Executor also run under MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
and NeXTSTEP
NEXTSTEP
NeXTSTEP was the object-oriented, multitasking operating system developed by NeXT Computer to run on its range of proprietary workstation computers, such as the NeXTcube...
.
Current status
Currently, Executor isn't being supported or developed. Clifford Matthews, ARDI's Founder, released serial codes that worked until December 31, 2006, and again until the end of June 2007. On July 23, 2007, a new working serial code with no expiration date was released, while the status of Executor remains unchanged.After considering an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
release of the source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
for some time, Matthews released the source code for executor and syn68k on October 5, 2008 under a very permissive MIT-style license.