Skip to main content
P
Peaceful_fact15B9
Participant
September 26, 2012
Answered

Are plugins cross-platform?

  • September 26, 2012
  • 1 reply
  • 3551 views

Are plugins developed for after effects compatible accross both Mac and Windows, or does one need to take into consideration the platform their using when developing a plugin?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer shachar carmi

generally speaking, there should not be a problem porting from pc to mac (and vice versa) using the exact same code.

over 99% of the API is completely cross platform without any special notes.

there are some rarities, and these are documented.

most major differences between platforms come when you use the OS API. (opening an OS level window for options, for example)

but in terms of handling buffers, pixels, ram and the use of the API suites, you shouldn't have any worries.

1 reply

S
Community Expert
shachar carmiCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
September 29, 2012

generally speaking, there should not be a problem porting from pc to mac (and vice versa) using the exact same code.

over 99% of the API is completely cross platform without any special notes.

there are some rarities, and these are documented.

most major differences between platforms come when you use the OS API. (opening an OS level window for options, for example)

but in terms of handling buffers, pixels, ram and the use of the API suites, you shouldn't have any worries.

B
BillClag
Inspiring
October 24, 2012

The core API magic will compile on both platforms, sort of.  Adobe did a great job with that.  There are many caveats beyond the obvious OS level windows.  You can use the Adobe methods for warnings and error messages.  That is preferred. 

The PC defines a long as 32 bit and the Mac defines a long as 64 bit.  It is best practice to use the Adobe API to define types as Adobe has thought this through well. 

There are the core OS issues, like the PC uses back slashes in paths and the Mac uses forward slashes when generating paths.  THis comes up when generating private log files, special preferences and such. 

Oh, and PC prefers UTF-16 for file operations and Mac uses UTF-8.  We use UTF-8 for all internal operations and convert to/from UTF-16 when needed for PC.

There are byte order issues for image manipulation, such as using stock libraries to generate jpg thumbnails from the RGBA renders. 

Visual Studio generates a single file for the plug-in but Xcode will generate a "bundle" which is a folder with specific standards.  Installers for plug-ins are also quite different for PC and Mac.  There are many gotcha's. 

If you are going from PC to Mac it is best to have someone who really knows Mac to do that side.  PC and Mac development environments are very different worlds.

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices