Latest tinderbox appropriate for Catalina (10.15.7)

Q & A - getting started with Tinderbox
1

What is the most recent version of tinderbox that will work with Catalina?

I have an older laptop that I have still running Catalina in order to be able to use some older software but would like to run tinderbox on it.

It seems Tinderbox 9.3.0 will work. Is that true? Is that the most recent release that will work?

(Of course then I have to ask how I can share tinderbox files between this and the most recent version of Tinderbox on the mac running Monterey)

thanks, Frederick

PS I looked for a release notes page but couldn’t find what I was looking for. Probably missed it.

1 Like
2

v9.3.0 runs on OS 10.13 or later (see here), although a few features may only work on above baseline OSs.

From v5.9.0, the minimum OS supported is macOS 11 (see), again some features have a minimum OS support level above baseline.

TBX files are backwards compatible though it is up to the user to ensure their use doesn’t depend on any features added in v9.5.0. What those might be is an exercise for the user but a list of changes can be checked by reading all the child notes of the Change Log.

3

Mark

thank you very much - I appreciate your effort to respond.

It appears I’m running the latest for Catalina. It is easy to forget how much Mac OS has changed (partly I wish they would stop the endless updates, many of which I don’t need, but that is another story)

looks like eventually I may be forced into abandoning the software that still works on the older system and upgrading the system and/or the laptop (is a laptop from 2014 considered ‘old’?)

by the way the link for tbRef from the tinderbox getting started page ( Tinderbox: Learn About Tinderbox) leads to a version of tbRef that says it is out of date (A Tinderbox Reference File )

I have to click ‘current version’ two times for some (redirects?) reason, to get here: A Tinderbox Reference File

I’m not sure if it is being clever or whether the getting started page might require an update.

also, the tbRef might want to get rid of the reference to the tutorial CDs as there is no link from those pages, unless I’m missing something ( Tinderbox Documentation And Other Resources )

thanks, Frederick

regards, Frederick

4

I think you misunderstood the first link I sent. The banner on the page is because it is on the v9.0.0 baseline version of the site, but it gives you the supported version for v9.0.0 through v.9.3.0. The equivalent page on the current v9.5.0 baseline site (the second link) lists the current tech requirements. So, no mistake.

I update the whole site when the app changes significantly. As you can see here, aTbRef is on its ninth baseline. I keep the old ones online for those using older versions and because people often bookmark links. the warning panel is there for the latter to remind people to update their (saved) links.

Anyway, I hope that resolves the confusion.

1 Like
5

Thanks Mark, yes I figured that out.

What I’m wondering about is when I navigate to the Eastgate tinderbox pages and look for aTbRef I seem to navigate to older versions initially, a separate issue. Apologies for combining threads.

by the way great work on aTbRef - I got a local HTML up in no time due to the great instructions and code.

regards, Frederick

6

No worries. If it helps, https://atbref.com always points to the current baseline, i.e. currently to A Tinderbox Reference File. As a saved bookmark that should also update. From v5 through v9 the URLs remained pretty stable- generally just changing the number N of the atbrefN in the URL. Significant improvements/rewriting of parts of aTbRef and changes in the app meant the layout of aTbRef changed for the v9.5 baseline and hopefully most URLs should remain the same bar the site baseline version.

Bottom line, if just bookmarking aTbRef’s home page use https://atbref.com.

HTH

1 Like
7

It always bears repeating: we’ll never meet a volunteer contributor for any software with the dedication and thoroughness of Mark Anderson.

5 Likes