Help with Linux app built with LC on Mac

[Martin Koob]

Hi Paul

I wonder if you would have a better experience using Docker https://www.docker.com/ to set up a container running Linux on your Mac to do your testing.

I am no expert on Docker and less so on Linux.  I have used Docker to run a web service locally on my Mac to test cmi5 packages for conformance to the standard. The web service is called CATAPULT.  A company called Rustici did all the work and created the image that builds the container and launches the webservice.  On my end I just had to download it, install it and do some configuration (This was the hardest part for me — it involved a few rounds of trial and error but that is more on me as I was hurrying and typing first and reading documentation later.)

Once it was installed I just had to issue a few terminal commands to build the container and then launch the CATAPULT web service  that is used to test cmi5 documents for conformance to the cmi5 standard. Then I accessed the web service using my desktop browser to go to a localhost address.

So that is not exactly what you want to do but I think it can be done.

Here is a blog article on the subject of running Linux apps on a Mac using Docker.
https://blog.alexellis.io/linux-desktop-on-mac/

It was written in 2016 and was using El Capitan so will be out of date — for one thing it wouldn’t be taking into account Apple Silicon CPUs since the first Mac with the M1 was in 2013.  But there is a hub where you can find up to date prebuilt images that are shared with the Docker community  https://hub.docker.com/ .  This includes a whole range of uses  including running Linux Distributions on your Mac (or Windows) machine.


I have not had a need to text an LiveCode app on Linux so I have not used one for this purpose but perhaps it may work better than Parallels.

Anyway just throwing that out there.  I don’t know if it would resolve the x86 vs ARM issue but I see when narrowing down the search I was able to choose the OS and Architecture from the list of filters.  That would imply to me it is emulating the architecture but as I said I only use one ready made image so I don’t know the ins and outs of this.  I am curious though if that is the case.


FILTERS

Trusted content
	✔︎	Docker Official Image
		Verified Publisher
		Sponsored OSS

Operating Systems
	✔︎	Linux
		Windows

Architectures
		ARM
		ARM 64
		IBM POWER
		PowerPC 64 LE
		IBM Z
	✔︎	x86
		x86-64


In the results of that search there were Linux distributions, for example Debian and Ubuntu.

Debian

https://hub.docker.com/_/debian

Ubuntu

https://hub.docker.com/_/ubuntu


Let me know if this is what you were looking for.

Martin Koob

> On Jan 14, 2025, at 11:52 PM, Paul - Livecode via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:

> 

> 

> Just a quick follow up for anyone following or interested in this issue. Apparently the problem is caused by Parallels on Apple M series devices are running Linux on an ARM platform, so there is no emulator for the x86 commands, it is just a processor compatibility issue. Linux on ARM is a relatively new concept, it may improve in the future, but who knows?

> There’s no easy answer (for me at least), I tried installing some suggested ARM compatibility software, but either my lack of understanding of Linux, or their inability to rum LC standalones left me with no resolution, so it’s back to testing on an older Intel Mac with Parallels and Linux for now.

> 

> Paul

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