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What is a universal binary?

April 26, 2017binary universal

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What is a universal binary?

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A Universal Binary is a single executable that contains a program in versions for both PPC and Intel CPUs. This is also called a Fat binary. Universal Binary applications and libraries can only be created using Apple’s XCode compiler and are not compatible with Codewarrior compiled libraries (plugins).

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A universal binary is a program which contains native code for both PowerPC (PPC) and X86 series (i.e., those made by Intel) processors. This allows the program to run at full speed on either platform; for example, on a PowerBook G4 (PPC) and a MacBook Pro (Intel). Our software which is not available as a universal binary will still run (with the exception of AP Grapher) on Intel based Macs, but it will be running in the Rosetta emulation mode which means that all PPC instructions are converted to Intel instructions at run time. This slows the program down a bit, but since most of our software isn’t too processor intensive, you probably won’t see a difference. Our universal software is marked with the ying-yang symbol.