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Is programming for Mac more expensive?

by Jeremy Lacer
9 replies
Hello everyone,

I'm about the outsource software, but I have a question. There are more and more Internet Marketers that use Mac instead of Windows, so I want to make my software compatible for both.

My question is, do outsources ask more money for this? And what is the downside of developing for Windows as well as Mac?

Thanks a lot .
#expensive #mac #programming
  • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
    If your budget is not huge (or even if it is), it often pays to develop both codebases at the same time, in the same framework. The most popular way to do this with C++ is with the QT framework: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework)

    You could also do something in Java, though Java is not installed by default in all Windows machines (I think it's still on the Mac by default).

    Once a product starts to pay off, it's worth it to invest in a team that can maintain two separate codebases, say in Objective-C (Mac), and C# with .NET (Windows). Doing so from the start would be more expensive, so it really depends on what your budget is.

    The downside to either method is that it is more difficult, and thus slower, to push out changes to two platforms instead of one. This is true whether you use QT or not, though it may be slightly easier under QT. In practice, you need two codebases, even if you use QT. That doesn't mean both applications wouldn't share a ton of code though, they definitely would.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Lacer
      Originally Posted by wayfarer View Post

      If your budget is not huge (or even if it is), it often pays to develop both codebases at the same time, in the same framework. The most popular way to do this with C++ is with the QT framework: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework)

      You could also do something in Java, though Java is not installed by default in all Windows machines (I think it's still on the Mac by default).

      Once a product starts to pay off, it's worth it to invest in a team that can maintain two separate codebases, say in Objective-C (Mac), and C# with .NET (Windows). Doing so from the start would be more expensive, so it really depends on what your budget is.

      The downside to either method is that it is more difficult, and thus slower, to push out changes to two platforms instead of one. This is true whether you use QT or not, though it may be slightly easier under QT. In practice, you need two codebases, even if you use QT. That doesn't mean both applications wouldn't share a ton of code though, they definitely would.
      Alright thanks for your answer. My budget is $600.

      I've found a programmer that can do it in Java. Have you ever heard complaints from people that they had to install Java first?

      Thanks .
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  • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
    Yeah, some people will refuse to install Java, especially with some of the security issues recently in the news. Although there have been some patches made, people are still skeptical. However, Java is probably a good choice considering how low your budget is. If it starts to make money I definitely recommend stepping up to something that compiles to native code, like QT, if you can find the right contractor to do the development.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Lacer
      Originally Posted by wayfarer View Post

      Yeah, some people will refuse to install Java, especially with some of the security issues recently in the news. Although there have been some patches made, people are still skeptical. However, Java is probably a good choice considering how low your budget is. If it starts to make money I definitely recommend stepping up to something that compiles to native code, like QT, if you can find the right contractor to do the development.
      Alright. I don't exactly know how many % uses Mac on the WF but I want to be sure that my audience is as big as possible.
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  • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
    Well, I am a Mac user, for one I never buy WSOs though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Valdor Kiebach
    Adobe Air is cross platform but you will face the problem of users having to install adobe air on their machine.

    Some people won't just as some won't install Java and some won't install .net
    Just get it developed however you can and if people don't want to install extras to run it then they dont buy it.
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    • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
      Originally Posted by Valdor Kiebach View Post

      and some won't install .net
      .NET is always installed on Windows, it's only certain versions it doesn't always come with. Your developer will be able to help you with this, if you ever reach this stage. If you chose to develop just for windows, or windows and mac separately, .NET is almost surely the way to go on Windows.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Lacer
    I've decided to let it be developed for Windows first with .Net. My programmer is using C# to code it.

    Thanks for your help!
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