IBM Puts Forth PowerPC Development Tools

Earlier this week, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that it has made available dedicated developer resources for its PowerPC architecture at its DeveloperWorks Web site.

These resources include a comprehensive portal offering PowerPC technical training, PDF book downloads for developers writing processor-specific application code, a library of related PowerPC resources and downloads for evaluation of IBM's solutions supporting systems on the PowerPC architecture.

Gina Poole, vice president of Web communities and developer relations at IBM, said that Big Blue is providing these resources so that those who are employing PowerPC architecture in their devices or who are writing software for architecture can collaborate and innovate new functionalities to further the platform.

Implications for Apple

Kathy Mandelstein, program director of worldwide developer marketing at IBM, told MacNewsWorld that Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) PowerPC G5 chip, which IBM manufactures at its Fishkill, New York plant, has become a priority in her division. "We [at DeveloperWorks] are working with the Apple Developers Connection to share resources and content."

Although IBM is not presently offering specific solutions to run on the G5, Mandelstein did note that some IBM middleware is being looked at for possible ports to the Apple G5 architecture.

When MacNewsWorld asked Apple about the implications of IBM's announcement on "Tiger," the company's upcoming iteration of its Unix-based Mac OS X, company representatives declined to comment.

Value for Developers

Apple typically does not discuss future product strategies or features. However, IBM's announcement does raise questions about the collaborative relationship between the two companies, and also the ways in which Apple's development community might leverage writing code to optimize G5 performance within applications should Apple decide to release OS X-specific resources pertinent to the PowerPC architecture.

In an interview with MacNewsWorld, Thomas Murphy, vice president of research services at Meta Group, said that, in itself, IBM's decision to make these resources available is not a landmark one for Mac developers because many of them do not necessarily write to the chipset level. However, the resources will be of value to developers of the Mac OS platform and developers writing device drivers.

Through the Linux Back Door

According to Illuminata senior analyst Gordon Haff, IBM needed to take this step because of the upswing of interest in the development of Linux on the PowerPC platform, adding that the thrust of the announcement focused on IBM's substantial investment in Linux.

At the same time, a clear connection exists between OS X, with its FreeBSD layer, and Linux, which also is based on Unix, Haff told MacNewsWorld.

"If Linux on Power becomes a great success story, it brings development a step closer to the Macintosh," Haff told MacNewsWorld.

One theory is that if Apple were to shift to a Linux core underlying OS X, access to IBM's portfolio of Linux on PowerPC solutions would become readily available with less complex migration for programmers, he said.

Haff acknowledged it is still too early to speculate with any certainty, but significant success could encourage Apple and third-party developers to port applications to run on Apple's Xserve server solution and Xserve workstations.