Most Mac owners do not realize that they are the owners of a full blown Unix workstation. This has been a welcome fact for many fellow Linux users like me (I’ve used Linux since about 1994 starting with the Slackware Linux distribution) due to all of the open-source software tools that are available. The availability of the GNU compiler collection and supporting development utilities truly makes the Mac a Unix software developer’s dream.
The first thing you will want to do is to understand how to access the Unix command line under Mac OS X. Open up the Finder and look in the Applications > Utilities folder on your hard drive. Double click on the Terminal icon, and you will now have access to your Mac’s Unix underpinnings!
Note: I’ve reduced the size of my Terminal window to make the text more readable in the screenshots below.
Execution of the uname -a command on the Mac command line.
You will also want to make sure that you have the Xcode developer tools installed from your Mac OS X install media. The GNU C compiler is included as part of the Xcode software install, as are some of the other supporting tools such as gdb.
The GNU gcc -v compiler command as executed on my machine.
For additional reference on the Unix underpinnings of Mac OS X I recommend you check out some of the following books as reference resources:
MAC OS X UNIX Toolbox: 1000+ Commands for the Mac OS X
Mac OS X for Unix Geeks (Leopard)
Mac OS X Snow Leopard Bible
