No - in fact, the Mac OS X is a platform that builds on top of a modified BSD Unix. There was a very good article about it in the last issue of linuxmagazin.de.
It consists of an operating system kernel, tools and some layers that control all the Mac OS specific stuff. One layer for Mac OS 9 apps, one for modified OS 9 apps, and one layer for true OS X apps.
In the article, they describe the OS known as "Darwin", which is Mac OS X without the Mac-specific stuff. It is described as a roadwork and not very secure in itself.
If you want to port StarOffice, you can either port it to Darwin with X-Windows on top, or you could port it to Mac OS X. Porting it to Darwin would be quite straightforward, because it is a kind of Unix. Porting it to Mac OS X however, is a big thing, because it is not based on X-Windows, the GUI is totally different etc.
It would be easier to port StarOffice to Mac OS X than most Windows applications, but it still requires somebody who are willing to do it, and until now, such a group of people haven't been there.
The Darwin group also has problems with attracting open-source developers. Recently, the maintainer of the Fink project, which is very centrally placed in Darwin, stepped down as maintainer.
Personally, I think Darwin is just another example of something that will loose to the laws of natural selection in the open-source community, after which it will be mainly maintained by Apple.
Lars. |
