Tips
Thomas Maul
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How to notarize your merged 4D application (macOS 12 & Xcode 13)

Note: Update for macOS 12/Monterey and Xcode 13. For Xcode 12 and older, see this blog post.

 

With Monterey (macOS 12), it’s highly recommended that you notarize applications distributed over a public network. A significant number of developers transfer their applications using a connected storage device or via file-sharing; notarization isn’t required in these cases where the user already trusts the developer. Notarization aims to assure users that the application isn’t malicious and is only required for applications downloaded from a website.

Using our built-in signature feature when building your applications with 4D v18, your application is ready to be notarized. This process is conducted outside of 4D. It involves adding an electronic signature to your application and submitting your signed application to an automated inspection service. Here’s everything you need to know:

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Product
Vanessa Talbot
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Developing with 4D in a dark environment on macOS

Since 4D v19, you can create applications on macOS that support dark mode, so you can match your users’ taste by giving them the possibility to choose either light or dark style applications.

With 4D v19 R3, we are giving you, as a developer, the choice when developing your application. 4D Developer Edition integrates seamlessly with the light or dark look of macOS to avoid the battle between light and dark mode that has been waging for years!

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Tips
Vanessa Talbot
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Toggle Dark & Light Mode on macOS in one click

As of 4D v19, you have the possibility to create applications that support the Dark and Light mode on macOS. To do this, you have to modify and check many small details: icons, widgets, texts, background colors, etc.

As a result, you need change the appearance of your mac dozens of times per hour. OK, you might be thinking, “What? All it takes is three clicks. Open the preferences panel, click the general icon, then the light or dark control, that’s it!“. But honestly, if you are a developer or a tester, repeating these actions over and over again becomes very tedious. 

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Guest Post
Roland Mulder
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4D v19 performance on Apple M1

by guest author Roland Mulder, CEO Micro Consulting SA, Switzerland

 
My company develops Office Maker and BiblioMaker, a business and library management software mainly used in Switzerland by thousands of users. The first lines of code were written in 1986 on a Macintosh Plus with 4D version 1 (“4e Dimension” back then).
 
I remember my astonishment in 1989 when I first launched our software on a Macintosh SE30. Everything was suddenly so fast! I simply could not believe my eyes.
 
These fond memories came back when I first launched our applications on a new iMac M1 after compiling natively with 4D v19. As you can imagine, after 35 years of constant development, they have become much larger and sophisticated beasts. My eyes opened wide as soon as I double-clicked on the first one. Such a fast launch! And my jaw fell to the floor when I opened elaborate multipage entry layouts with plenty of filled list boxes. Absolutely instantaneous!

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News
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macOS Big Sur and Apple Silicon Compatibility Information

In order to help you anticipate testing and running the new operating system with your 4D applications, we want to clarify the support of the different Apple Big Sur configurations on our 4D product lines (including products already delivered and future releases). Please see macOS Big Sur and Apple silicon compatibility status for each release below:

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News
Nicolas Brachfogel
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Latest news about 4D on Silicon

Since Apple’s first announcement about Silicon, we’ve been keeping you informed through a series of blog posts and this post is no different!

So what’s going on? Well, the first Silicon Macs equipped with the brand new M1 chip are now available on the market. Here are two important pieces of information we need to share with you:

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News
Nicolas Brachfogel
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A brand new 4D compiler for Apple Silicon

In a previous blog post, we introduced you to the new Silicon Macs that Apple is launching at the end of this year, as well as our plans to smoothly transition your 4D applications to them.

These new Macs use a new type of processor: ARM processors from the same family Apple uses in iPhones and iPads. A new processor family means a new instruction set and, for us here at 4D, a new compiler.

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