This page provides important information for users of the Ice binary distribution for macOS.

On this page:

Overview of the macOS Binary Distribution

Ice for C++, Objective-C on macOS are provided through the Homebrew formulas.

This ice formula includes the following components by default:

Run-time libraries for C++ and Objective-C (macOS)
Executables for IceGrid, IceStorm, Glacier2, IceBridge, and IcePatch2 services (macOS)
Tools and libraries for developing Ice applications (macOS)
Xcode SDKs for C++ and Objective-C (macOS, iOS and iPhone Simulator)
The Slice compilers for all supported languages

Installing the macOS binary distribution

Using Homebrew, you can install the distribution with this command:

brew install zeroc-ice/tap/ice@3.7

You can install the IceGrid GUI by running:

brew install zeroc-ice/tap/icegridgui@3.7

You can also download IceGrid GUI on its own by downloading IceGrid GUI.dmg.

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Setting up your macOS environment to use Ice

After installing Ice, read the relevant language-specific sections below to learn how to configure your environment and start programming with Ice.

C++

Compiling and Linking

When compiling Ice for C++ programs, you must pass the -pthread option. A typical compile command would look like this:

c++ -c -DICE_CPP11_MAPPING -pthread myprogram.cpp

c++ -c -pthread myprogram.cpp

C++11 and C++98 in the tabs above correspond to the Ice C++ mapping you're using.

When linking a program you must link with at least the Ice library. A typical link command would look like this:

c++ -o myprogram myprogram.o -lIce++11

c++ -o myprogram myprogram.o -lIce

Additional libraries are necessary if you are using an Ice service such as IceGrid or Glacier2.

If you want to include Ice in your application bundle, you will need to copy the necessary Ice libraries to the Contents/Frameworks subdirectory of your bundle and use @loader_path/../Frameworks as the run path when linking the application.

Please refer to the dyld man page on your macOS system to learn more about @loader_path.

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Objective-C

Compiling and Linking

When compiling Ice for Objective-C programs, you must pass the -pthread option. A typical compile command would look like this:

cc -c -pthread myprogram.m

When linking a program you must link with libIceObjC. A typical link command would look like this:

cc -o myprogram myprogram.o -lIceObjC -framework Foundation

Additional libraries are necessary if you are using an Ice service such as IceGrid or Glacier2.

If you want to include Ice in your application bundle, you will need to copy the necessary Ice libraries to the Contents/Frameworks subdirectory of your bundle and use @loader_path/../Frameworks as the run path when linking the application.

Please refer to the dyld man page on your macOS system to learn more about @loader_path.

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Using Xcode SDKs

In order to use one of the Ice Xcode SDKs with your Xcode project, you need to:

add the SDK to the Additional SDKs setting
- Apple Silicon: /opt/homebrew/opt/ice/sdk/$(PLATFORM_NAME).sdk
- Intel: /usr/local/opt/ice/sdk/$(PLATFORM_NAME).sdk
link your application with at least
- C++11: -lIce++11 -liconv -lbz2
- C++98: -lIce -liconv -lbz2
- Objective-C: -ObjC -lIce -lIceObjC -lc++ -liconv -lbz2
On iphoneos and iphonesimulator, link your application with CFNetwork.framework and UIKit.framework

The following optional libraries are included in the Ice Xcode SDKs:

Name	Link your C++11 application with	Link your C++98 application with	Link your Objective-C application with	Additional dependencies
Glacier2 client library	`-lGlacier2++11`	`-lGlacier2`	`-lGlacier2ObjC`
IceDiscovery plug-in	`-lIceDiscovery++11`	`-lIceDiscovery`	`-lIceDiscovery`
IceGrid client library	`-lIceGrid++11`	`-lIceGrid`	`-lIceGridObjC`
IceIAP plug-in (iphoneos and iphonesimulator only)	`-lIceIAP++11`	`-lIceIAP`	`-lIceIAP -lIceIAPObjC`	`ExternalAccessory.framework`
IceLocatorDiscovery plug-in	`-lIceLocatorDiscovery++11`	`-lIceLocatorDiscovery`	`-lIceLocatorDiscovery`
IceSSL plug-in	`-lIceSSL++11`	`-lIceSSL`	`-lIceSSL -lIceSSLObjC`	`Security.framework`
IceStorm client library	`-lIceStorm++11`	`-lIceStorm`	`-lIceStormObjC`

The Ice Xcode SDKs include only static libraries.

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Using the Sample Programs on macOS

Sample programs for all programming languages are available in a separate GitHub repository. Simply clone this repository:

git clone -b 3.7 https://github.com/zeroc-ice/ice-demos.git
cd ice-demos

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Starting IceGrid GUI on macOS

You can launch IceGrid GUI with the IceGridGUIapplication installed in your /Applications directory. IceGrid GUI is a Java application.

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