PowerPlant
Encyclopedia
PowerPlant is an object-oriented GUI toolkit, application framework
and set of class libraries for Mac OS
, created by Metrowerks
. The framework was fairly popular at the height of the Classic Mac OS era, and was primarily used with CodeWarrior
. It was designed to work with a GUI editor called Constructor; unusually for such programs, Constructor was primarily a resource
editor specializing primarily in UI elements, including several custom resource types, 'PPob' ("PowerPlant object" -- a general view description), 'CTYP' (custom widgets), and Mcmd (used for dispatching menu-related events).
A new version, PowerPlant X, was introduced in 2004 as a native Carbon
framework, using Carbon Events.
After Metrowerks was acquired by Motorola
, then spun out as part of Freescale Semiconductor
, PowerPlant and the rest of the CodeWarrior desktop development tools were discontinued. In February 2006, the PowerPlant class libraries were released as open source
under the BSD license hosted on SourceForge
. Although it could theoretically be recompiled for x86-64 Macs, it is Carbon-dependent and therefore can only be used in 32-bit mode.
During its heyday, PowerPlant was the most popular framework available for Mac programmers, replacing both the THINK Class Library and MacApp
as the premier object-oriented toolkit for the MacOS; however, the transition to OS X was rather difficult for many programmers. It has been speculated that the transition difficulties may have been a major driving force behind Apple's refusal to allow Adobe to distribute Flash on iPhone OS
.
Application framework
In computer programming, an application framework consists of a software framework used by software developers to implement the standard structure of an application for a specific development environment ....
and set of class libraries 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...
, created by 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...
. The framework was fairly popular at the height of the Classic Mac OS era, and was primarily used with 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,...
. It was designed to work with a GUI editor called Constructor; unusually for such programs, Constructor was primarily a resource
Resource fork
The resource fork is a construct of the Mac OS operating system used to store structured data in a file, alongside unstructured data stored within the data fork. A resource fork stores information in a specific form, such as icons, the shapes of windows, definitions of menus and their contents, and...
editor specializing primarily in UI elements, including several custom resource types, 'PPob' ("PowerPlant object" -- a general view description), 'CTYP' (custom widgets), and Mcmd (used for dispatching menu-related events).
A new version, PowerPlant X, was introduced in 2004 as a native Carbon
Carbon (API)
Carbon is one of Apple Inc.'s procedural application programming interfaces for the Macintosh operating system. It provides C programming language access to Macintosh system services...
framework, using Carbon Events.
After Metrowerks was acquired by Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, then spun out as part of Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a producer and designer of embedded hardware, with 17 billion semiconductor chips in use around the world. The company focuses on the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets with its product portfolio including microprocessors, microcontrollers,...
, PowerPlant and the rest of the CodeWarrior desktop development tools were discontinued. In February 2006, the PowerPlant class libraries were released as 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...
under the BSD license hosted on SourceForge
SourceForge
SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
. Although it could theoretically be recompiled for x86-64 Macs, it is Carbon-dependent and therefore can only be used in 32-bit mode.
During its heyday, PowerPlant was the most popular framework available for Mac programmers, replacing both the THINK Class Library and MacApp
MacApp
MacApp was Apple Computer's primary object oriented application framework for the Mac OS for much of the 1990s. First released in 1985, it is arguably the first such system to be widely used, notably on a microcomputer platform...
as the premier object-oriented toolkit for the MacOS; however, the transition to OS X was rather difficult for many programmers. It has been speculated that the transition difficulties may have been a major driving force behind Apple's refusal to allow Adobe to distribute Flash on iPhone OS
IPhone OS
iOS is Apple's mobile operating system. Originally developed for the iPhone, it has since been extended to support other Apple, Inc. devices such as the iPod Touch, iPad, and Apple TV. Apple, Inc. does not license iOS for installation on third-party hardware...
.
External links
- http://www.metrowerks.com/MW/Develop/Desktop/PowerPlantMac.htm
- http://www.metrowerks.com/MW/Whitepapers/PowerPlant.htm
- http://sourceforge.net/projects/open-powerplant/