A universal binary is an executable that runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers, which was first introduced at the 2005 Worldwide Developers Conference to ease the transition from the existing PowerPC architecture to Intel in 2006 and 2007. Universal binaries are fat binary that include both PowerPC and x86 versions of a compiled application, allowing the application to run on both architectures. Apple used a similar technique during the transition from 68k processors to PowerPC in the mid-1990s. Apple s Xcode 2.1 allows for the creation of these files.
= External links =
Apple [http://developer.apple.com/transition/index.html Developer Transition Resource Center]
Apple [http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/universal_binary/universal_binary.pdf Universal Binary Programming Guidelines]
A good collection of completed Universal Binary ports: [http://www.osx86.theplaceforitall.com/software/ Amazing Programs for your x86 Tiger Mac]
Track current porting progress: [http://unibin.blogspot.com Universal Binaries Blog]