Motivation
There are two general alternative solutions. The first is to simply provide two separate binaries, one compiled for the x86 architecture and one for the PowerPC architecture. However, this can be confusing to software users unfamiliar with the difference between the two, although the confusion can be remedied through improved documentation, or the use of hybrid CDs. The other alternative is to rely on emulation of one architecture by a system running the other architecture. This approach results in lower performance, and is generally regarded an interim solution to be used only until universal binaries or specifically compiled binaries are available (see Rosetta).
Universal binaries are larger than single-platform binaries, because multiple copies of the compiled code must be stored. However, because some non-executable resources are shared by the two architectures, the size of the resulting universal binary can be, and usually is, smaller than both binaries combined. They also do not require extra RAM because only one of those two copies is loaded for execution.
Read more about this topic: Universal Binary
Famous quotes containing the word motivation:
“Self-determination has to mean that the leader is your individual gut, and heart, and mind or we’re talking about power, again, and its rather well-known impurities. Who is really going to care whether you live or die and who is going to know the most intimate motivation for your laughter and your tears is the only person to be trusted to speak for you and to decide what you will or will not do.”
—June Jordan (b. 1939)