v1.0.0 is located on the install cd for OS 9.0.0 and, also not on our page, v1.1.1 can be found in the OS 9.1 Update tome. CarbonLib consists of one classic Extensions file, of which a version began being supplied with the OS at about Mac OS 9.0.0 and CarbonLib can be updated or otherwise installed into system versions older than 9.0 down to Mac OS 8.1 - CarbonLib v1.6.1 (year 2003) is its highest version. Ultimately the familiar more-modern OS-X-only 'API' got another name, Cocoa.ĬarbonLib is required when running carbonized software in the classic Mac OS versions 8.1 to 9.2.2, not required for Mac OS X because carbonized applications are Mac OS X native.
Quoting Apple: 'CarbonLib allows Apple's developers to write an application with one set of sources deployed across Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X systems with minimal effort.' In a loose sense Carbon can be thought of as Apple's OS X emulator for on 8/9, opposite of Apple's Classic emulator for on X.
Carbon is the name for Apple's 'API' which bridges Mac OS 8/9 and Mac OS X so that a class of individual 'carbonized' program files can be run from both OS's (8/9+X) that are incredibly different from each other.
