Apple to Offer Carbon Libraries for Pre-Sonata Systems

Mac OS 9.0, which is code-named Sonata, will include Carbon support via the inclusion of Apple's Carbon libraries. Carbon Libraries under Sonata will allow any application updated to the new Carbon API set for Mac OS X to also function properly under Sonata.

By updating their applications to be Carbon compliant, developers are able to deliver an application that will run on, and can take full advantage of, Mac OS X's advanced feature set, such as protected memory, multitasking, and so forth, without a need to completely rewrite their code from scratch. By contrast, once applications have been updated to the new Carbon API set, they will not run on the current Mac OS 8.x architecture without the help of a custom set of Carbon Libraries.

Previously it was assumed that Sonata would mark the first and only point of inclusion for the Carbon Libraries — meaning consumers wishing to run Carbon compliant applications under a pre-Mac OS X system would be forced to upgrade to Sonata (Mac OS 9.0). The latest rumors state that, in an effort to entice developers to jump on the Mac OS X bandwagon, Apple now has plans to release the Carbon libraries for older Mac OS 8.x systems.

According to reliable Apple sources, shortly after Sonata ships, Apple will begin distributing a revised version of CarbonLib that is qualified to ship on Mac OS releases dating all the way back to Mac OS 8.1. This will not only expand the Carbon compliant install base, but will also allow developers to take advantage of many of the technologies that are new to Mac OS 9 and deliver them on earlier releases for your customers.

An announcement is expected sometime in late October, early November.