Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

It isn't really the same, exactly because of that divergence, and platform differences not covered by Catalyst.

Also they aren't the only frameworks that are divergent, although that is another discussion.



Let’s have that discussion. I’m all ears. Can you name any other pair of frameworks that provide identical functionality, but they are divergent such that each framework is mutually exclusive to its target platform?

And no just because the compass is #ifdef’d out when CoreLocation is compiled for MacOs does not count as “divergent”


OpenGL and Metal?

The various incantations of AI frameworks that have been introduced throughout the years?

SwiftUI vs UIKit vs AppKit vs Cocoa Touch vs Catalyst?

SceneKit vs RealityKit?

I understand as target platform also the various versions of macOS.


How are any of these divergent between MacOs and iOS? You still link against the same framework, and the code is nearly identical between the two except for occasional differences in the hardware limitations.

Go look at any of Apple’s sample code. Outside of UIKit/Appkit, most of their samples target both platforms simultaneously


OpenGL is still supported, and Metal has been around for 12 years.

Cocoa Touch is just the umbrella term for iOS frameworks including UIKit, and Catalyst also uses UIKit.


OpenGL isn't really supported, it limps along for existing code, nowadays depending on the OS version, it actually has Metal underneath, but not what Metal is capable of doing with the hardware.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: