Regarding software incompatibility issues on MacOS and M-series processors

This article will address the incompatibility of some software between MacOS and Windows and provides some insight on the matter.

Background

Some applications, namely some development applications from Microsoft, Engineering software, and accounting software do not have official installer provided by the developer for MacOS. This means that Mac users will need to run a virtualized Windows system or utilize translation layer application like Wine or CrossOver to install the software.

To add to the complication, in 2020, Apple have transitioned their MacBook processors to use their in-house ARM-based system chip from the Intel-based CPU. These ARM-based processors are under the M-series chip and the instruction sets is not directly compatible with the Intel-based x86_64 processor. To ease the transition, Apple have created the translation layer called Rosetta 2 that allows user to install and run x86_64 applications. Still, it is not perfect as some software such as Microsoft SQL Server will still fail to run due to other hardware limitations.

The use of virtualization (running ARM-based Windows) and emulation (running x86_64 version of Windows) can help solve some of the frustration of the compatibility issue, however it does come with the drawbacks of lowered performance and lack of graphical support, which is important in graphic-intensive applications. Using translation layer like Wine is unstable (CrossOver may be more stable but it is proprietary) and will not guarantee that all function in the application will run properly.

Due to the above complications and the low co-operation between Apple and other software developers in ensuring compatibility, Mac user continue to face issue with running applications that is required for their learning process.

Compatibility List

Below is quick reference guide on some software and its compatibility based on research and experience by the Technology Services. The compatability of virtualized environment is for M-series MacBook virtualizing Windows ARM64. If you are using Intel-based MacBook, you should expect all the software to work when virtualizing Windows x86-64.

Supported - Installer available to install the exact software.
Unsupported - No installer available for this software, nor alternative is provided.
Equivalent Exists - Software providing nearly identical functionality can be installed as an alternative.

¹ There is an unofficial script exists to install and bypass checks for Microsoft SQL Server and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). Tested working on UTM environment. However, no information on any broken feature.

² Software will crash due to lack of support from IBM.

³ No evidence or information on any feature missing or broken when running on ARM64 environment.

⁴ TASM assembler can be emulated (Chinese article) via DOSBox using a Visual Studio Code extension. No information on any missing instruction set.

Virtualization

Following table are a list of commonly used virtualization software:

Compatibility Layer