I happen to have access to an old Mac G4 for computer chess.
1- Is there any place I can download a compiled version of xboard for mac? My knowledge about compiling is null so I'm not able to do it myself.
2- Is there a utility to process epd test sets for mac?
Thank you!,
Two questions for mac users
Moderators: hgm, chrisw, Rebel
-
zullil
- Posts: 6442
- Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:31 am
- Location: PA USA
- Full name: Louis Zulli
Re: Two questions for mac users
1- Is there any place I can download a compiled version of xboard for mac?
http://www.finkproject.org/
http://www.finkproject.org/
-
Marc MP
Re: Two questions for mac users
Thank you for the tip! I'll check it out.zullil wrote:1- Is there any place I can download a compiled version of xboard for mac?
http://www.finkproject.org/
-
Tord Romstad
- Posts: 1808
- Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:19 pm
- Location: Oslo, Norway
Re: Two questions for mac users
As already suggested, using Fink is an option, but if XBoard is all you need I suspect that simply compiling the source code yourself is easier. Just make sure you have X11 and Apples development tools installed, and follow the instructions in the "INSTALL" text file included with XBoard's source code.Marc MP wrote:I happen to have access to an old Mac G4 for computer chess.
1- Is there any place I can download a compiled version of xboard for mac? My knowledge about compiling is null so I'm not able to do it myself.
For XBoard engines, I am not sure. For UCI engines, you can use Polyglot. Just run Polyglot with a command like "polyglot epd-test -epd arasan6.epd -max-time 10".2- Is there a utility to process epd test sets for mac?
Tord
-
sje
- Posts: 4675
- Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:43 pm
Re: Two questions for mac users
If you don't already have the latest version of Mac OS/X (10.4/Tiger), you'll want to get it. It includes all of the latest development tools along with plenty of other software. Avoid using OS/X 10.2 or earlier as the provided compiler gcc 2.95 is bug infested.
Deactivating certain OS features like Spotlight (an auto indexer) and Dashboard (widget applications) can really help performance on older machines. Also, bumping the RAM will speed up the box; the old PowerMac G4 boxes can handle up to 2 GB under OS/X.
Compilation in Mac OS/X is fairly easy and can be done via the Xcode IDE or with the command line provided by the Terminal application. There are some problems getting certain third party chess software to work on PowerPC machines due to endian differences; sometimes these are worth fixing, sometimes not.
Deactivating certain OS features like Spotlight (an auto indexer) and Dashboard (widget applications) can really help performance on older machines. Also, bumping the RAM will speed up the box; the old PowerMac G4 boxes can handle up to 2 GB under OS/X.
Compilation in Mac OS/X is fairly easy and can be done via the Xcode IDE or with the command line provided by the Terminal application. There are some problems getting certain third party chess software to work on PowerPC machines due to endian differences; sometimes these are worth fixing, sometimes not.