THINK C
Encyclopedia
THINK C was an extension of ANSI C
for Mac OS
developed by THINK Technologies; although named Lightspeed C in the original mid-1986 release, it was later renamed THINK C. THINK Technologies was later acquired by Symantec Corporation and the product continued to be developed by the original author, Michael Kahl. Version 3 and subsequent versions were essentially a subset of C++
and supported basic object oriented programming concepts such as single inheritance as well as extensions to the C standard that conformed more closely to the requirements of Mac OS programming. After version 6, the OOP facilities were expanded to a full C++ implementation, and the product was rebranded Symantec C++ for versions 7 and 8, now under development by different authors.
THINK C (and later, Symantec C++) featured a class library and framework for Mac programming called the THINK Class Library, which was used extensively for Macintosh application development.
The Lightspeed/THINK C IDE
was quite influential, though considered not as advanced as that belonging to THINK Pascal, its sister language product; it was considered the standard environment when MPW
was considered an overpriced niche product, and most Macintosh products were developed in it for many years. With the transition of the Mac from 68K
to PowerPC
, however, Symantec was widely seen as having dropped the ball, and competitor Metrowerks
' product CodeWarrior
took control of the marketplace.
Despite the decline in popularity of their IDE, Symantec was eventually chosen by Apple to provide next-generation C/C++ compilers for MPW in the form of Sc/Scpp for 68K alongside MrC/MrCpp for PowerPC. These remained Apple's standard compilers until the arrival of Mac OS X
replaced them with GCC. Symantec subsequently exited the developer tool business.
ANSI C
ANSI C refers to the family of successive standards published by the American National Standards Institute for the C programming language. Software developers writing in C are encouraged to conform to the standards, as doing so aids portability between compilers.-History and outlook:The first...
for Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
developed by THINK Technologies; although named Lightspeed C in the original mid-1986 release, it was later renamed THINK C. THINK Technologies was later acquired by Symantec Corporation and the product continued to be developed by the original author, Michael Kahl. Version 3 and subsequent versions were essentially a subset of C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
and supported basic object oriented programming concepts such as single inheritance as well as extensions to the C standard that conformed more closely to the requirements of Mac OS programming. After version 6, the OOP facilities were expanded to a full C++ implementation, and the product was rebranded Symantec C++ for versions 7 and 8, now under development by different authors.
THINK C (and later, Symantec C++) featured a class library and framework for Mac programming called the THINK Class Library, which was used extensively for Macintosh application development.
The Lightspeed/THINK C IDE
Integrated development environment
An integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development...
was quite influential, though considered not as advanced as that belonging to THINK Pascal, its sister language product; it was considered the standard environment when MPW
Macintosh Programmer's Workshop
Macintosh Programmer's Workshop or MPW, is a software development environment for the Classic Mac OS, written by Apple Computer. For Macintosh developers, it was one of the primary tools for building applications for System 7.x and Mac OS 8.x and 9.x. Initially, MPW was sold as a commercial product...
was considered an overpriced niche product, and most Macintosh products were developed in it for many years. With the transition of the Mac from 68K
Motorola 68000
The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
to PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
, however, Symantec was widely seen as having dropped the ball, and competitor Metrowerks
Metrowerks
Metrowerks was a company that developed software development tools for various desktop, handheld, embedded, and gaming platforms. Its flagship product, CodeWarrior, comprised an IDE, compilers, linkers, debuggers, libraries, and related tools...
' product CodeWarrior
CodeWarrior
CodeWarrior is an integrated development environment for the creation of software that runs on a number of embedded systems. Prior to the acquisition of the product by Freescale Semiconductor, versions existed for Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube,...
took control of the marketplace.
Despite the decline in popularity of their IDE, Symantec was eventually chosen by Apple to provide next-generation C/C++ compilers for MPW in the form of Sc/Scpp for 68K alongside MrC/MrCpp for PowerPC. These remained Apple's standard compilers until the arrival of Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
replaced them with GCC. Symantec subsequently exited the developer tool business.
External links
- 1989 review of THINK C 4.0, MacTechMacTechMacTech is the journal of Apple technology, a monthly magazine for software developers, system administrators, and other technical users of the Apple Macintosh line of computers....
magazine - 1986 overview of C on Macintosh with Lightspeed C, MacTech magazine
- Mention of Lightspeed C introduction, July 1986 MacTech Magazine