Improve setup guide for macOS users on Apple Silicon #10
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- Add Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) compatibility notes - Provide Hex Fiend alternative when wxHexEditor fails to build - Fix Python configuration issue for udis86 Addresses compilation issues on ARM64 macOS while maintaining compatibility with existing Intel Mac instructions.
- Make it clear that Hex Fiend won't display the XML annotations - Explain that tags file is for separate reference - Set proper expectations for the alternative workflow
ImHex provides better analysis capabilities for PostgreSQL files: - Modern hex editor with pattern matching - Built-in data structure visualization - More suitable for analyzing complex binary formats - Available on macOS ARM64 via Homebrew
The SSE intrinsics compilation issues have been resolved. wxHexEditor builds successfully on Apple Silicon with the Python configuration fix. Updated instructions to reflect this success while keeping ImHex as an alternative option for users who prefer it.
- Remove redundant note, integrate ARM64 fix into step sequence - Make Python configuration step clearly Apple Silicon specific - Cleaner, more actionable instructions for users - Confirmed working with successful wxHexEditor + pg_hexedit integration
- Update testing info: Apple Silicon M1 on Sequoia 15.6 - Remove ImHex alternative section - wxHexEditor works perfectly - Focus on the proven solution that provides full functionality
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Why do the macOS installation instructions recommend ImHex, which AFAICT also doesn't know anything about the XML format generated by pg_hexedit? I would quite like to be able to support a different hex editor, but I don't see the logic in giving a qualified recommendation for an editor that has zero support for the annotations that pg_hexedit actually generates. Besides, even if we were to do that, why would we do so here? ImHex is cross-platform. I'm ok with the revised instructions for MacOS. Since sounds like this is the only way to get wxHexEditor built on modern MacOS? |
@petergeoghegan I'm not sure why you mention ImHex – in the last version of PR, it is not present. I should squash commits... It was in one of the previous attempts to get result done.. |
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In the end of the day, the meaningful change is in this line:
(maybe should have some words that python here is installed via homebrew, which, I suppose, is quite common, but of course doesn't cover 100% cases) |
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Summary
Updates macOS installation instructions to support Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Macs with tested build steps for wxHexEditor and pg_hexedit.
Changes
Problem
Apple Silicon users encountered build failures due to missing Python configuration for the udis86 dependency during wxHexEditor compilation.
Solution
Added step 3 with explicit Apple Silicon identification and exact Python configuration command needed for successful builds.
Testing
Verified on Apple Silicon M1 running macOS Sequoia 15.6. wxHexEditor builds successfully and pg_hexedit XML annotations display correctly with full functionality.
Documentation-only changes that maintain backward compatibility with Intel Mac instructions.