During Apple's Platform State of the Union keynote, Apple revealed that macOS High Sierra would be the "last macOS release to support 32-bit apps without compromises." Considering that Apple has been warning us for a good year or more that 32-bit apps were going to be dropped in iOS, this does not come as too much of a surprise. I've had a few people inquire about a 64-bit version of 33 RPM being created. Even though 33 RPM has not been updated in nearly five years, this seemed like a simple enough request. Another Edenwaith app, Permanent Eraser, is an older app which is built for both 32 and 64 bit support, so I was hoping that all I would need to do is adjust a couple of settings and recompile 33 RPM.
Or so I hoped.
Returning to an old project was a good opportunity to perform some clean up and rethink some things with this app. I did not want to spend too much time on what was intended to be a minor update, otherwise I might tumble deep down the rabbit hole of endless features. A couple of ideas did seem plausible such as establishing a new code repository, code signing the app, fixing a few bugs which have crept up in newer versions of macOS, add TouchBar support, and compile the app with 64-bit support.
Considering that 33 RPM began its development in earnest in 2005, it was originally developed with a much earlier version of Xcode. The app was last updated in 2012, which still used Xcode 3 so it could be compiled as a Universal Binary for both PowerPC and Intel processors. Since most of the new ideas for the next version would be mostly keyed for more modern systems, I looked into compiling the app using Xcode 9 on macOS Sierra. Despite a 6 version difference between the original project and the current version of Xcode, it didn't act up too much upon trying to get the project to compile (in comparison to an old Project Builder project which would require finding an old version of Xcode to migrate it to the newer Xcode project format). Once I tried to compile the code, I first encountered the following error:
"QTKit/QTKit.h" file not foundWell.....huh. That's odd. 33 RPM is highly dependent upon QuickTime for a majority of its functionality, so why wouldn't the QTKit framework be found? The QTKit documentation page answers that question:
QuickTime Kit was deprecated in OS X v10.9. Use the AVFoundation framework instead.
Not only had QTKit been deprecated, but the framework was removed from Xcode 8. Fortunately, there is a workaround by extracting the MacOSX10.11.sdk from Xcode 7 and placing it in Xcode 8 or 9's Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKS/ folder.
After getting the MacOSX10.11.sdk put in place, it resolved the issue where the QTKit framework was not found, but it resulted in a barrage of 68 new errors, where many of the common QuickTime types (Movie, QTPropertyValueType, kQTMetaDataItemPropertyID_Key, etc.) could not be identified. When I went back to Xcode 3 and tried to compile the app with 64-bit support, it resulted in the same type of errors, so this seemed to indicate an issue with the 64-bit support. If I reverted the project back to 32-bit, it compiled without any issues.
Even with the older SDK in place, an app relying on QuickTime was not going to compile with 64-bit support. Apple has a Transitioning QTKit Code to AV Foundation guide, which recommends using the nm (display name list - symbol table) command line utility to get a list of the QuickTime APIs used within an app.
$ nm -m /Applications/33\ RPM.app/Contents/MacOS/33\ RPM | egrep "QuickTime|QTKit" (undefined [lazy bound]) external .objc_class_name_QTMovie (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external .objc_class_name_QTMovieView (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _AttachMovieToCurrentThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _DetachMovieFromCurrentThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _DisposeMovie (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _EnterMoviesOnThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _ExitMoviesOnThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMediaSampleDescription (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieIndTrackType (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieTimeBase (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieTimeScale (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieTrackCount (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetTrackDuration (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionBegin (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionEnd (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionFillBuffer (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionSetProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieExportDoUserDialog (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieExportGetSettingsAsAtomContainer (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _NewMovieFromHandle (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _PutMovieIntoHandle (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTCopyMovieMetaData (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetComponentProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetComponentPropertyInfo (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetMovieProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetMoviePropertyInfo (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetTimeInterval (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMakeTime (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMakeTimeRange (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMediaTypeMPEG (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMediaTypeVideo (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetItemCountWithKey (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetItemProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetItemPropertyInfo (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetNextItem (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataRelease (from QuickTime) (undefined) external _QTMovieDataSizeAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieDidEndNotification (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieDisplayNameAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieEditableAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExport (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExportManufacturer (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExportSettings (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExportType (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieFileNameAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieLoadStateAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieLoopsAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieOpenAsyncOKAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMoviePlaysSelectionOnlyAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieRateAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieTimeScaleAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieURLAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieVolumeAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTSetComponentProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTSetMovieProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTSoundDescriptionGetProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _SCRequestImageSettings (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external .objc_class_name_QTMovie (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external .objc_class_name_QTMovieView (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _AttachMovieToCurrentThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _DetachMovieFromCurrentThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _DisposeMovie (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _EnterMoviesOnThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _ExitMoviesOnThread (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMediaSampleDescription (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieIndTrackType (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieTimeBase (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieTimeScale (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetMovieTrackCount (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _GetTrackDuration (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionBegin (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionEnd (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionFillBuffer (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieAudioExtractionSetProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieExportDoUserDialog (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _MovieExportGetSettingsAsAtomContainer (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _NewMovieFromHandle (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _PutMovieIntoHandle (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTCopyMovieMetaData (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetComponentProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetComponentPropertyInfo (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetMovieProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetMoviePropertyInfo (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTGetTimeInterval (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMakeTime (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMakeTimeRange (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMediaTypeMPEG (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMediaTypeVideo (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetItemCountWithKey (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetItemProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetItemPropertyInfo (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataGetNextItem (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTMetaDataRelease (from QuickTime) (undefined) external _QTMovieDataSizeAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieDidEndNotification (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieDisplayNameAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieEditableAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExport (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExportManufacturer (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExportSettings (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieExportType (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieFileNameAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieLoadStateAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieLoopsAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieOpenAsyncOKAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMoviePlaysSelectionOnlyAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieRateAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieTimeScaleAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieURLAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined) external _QTMovieVolumeAttribute (from QTKit) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTSetComponentProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTSetMovieProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _QTSoundDescriptionGetProperty (from QuickTime) (undefined [lazy bound]) external _SCRequestImageSettings (from QuickTime)
With these problems in mind, where does this leave 33 RPM? With the deprecation of QuickTime and its lack of proper 64-bit support, this makes it impossible for 33 RPM to be a 64-bit app in its current state. The most obvious path is to transition the app from using QTKit to AV Foundation. If I do take this approach, it would also open up the possibility of also porting this app to iOS, which is something I've considered over the years, especially considering how abysmal, unfriendly, and ugly the stock iOS Music app has become over the past few years. This approach would likely take a fair amount of time, effectively rewriting the entire current app. Fortunately, we have at least another year before Apple really starts enforcing their new 64-bit only dictum. Apple also said, "In the next major release after High Sierra, we're going to aggressively start warning users if apps are not compatible for 64-bit.", so 32-bit apps may or may not work properly in 2018 and beyond, or we might see the coaxing messages we have seen on iOS for the past year or two which has warned users that older 32-bit iOS apps will not be supported in the future.
Had QuickTime not been deprecated and eschewed proper 64-bit support, I would have gladly made an update to 33 RPM so it would run on a future macOS without any additional compromises. However, it will likely take a good amount of time and effort to update 33 RPM to use the more modern AV Foundation framework. I will continue to look into this and determine how difficult it will actually be to update this app for more modern Apple platforms. But for now, continue to enjoy using 33 RPM and thanks to all who have supported and used 33 RPM over the past nine years.