Current Status (August 2008)

Executor is a software application for Windows and Linux systems that allows users to run older Macintosh applications. It's not a true emulator - so it doesn't require a ROM image or Operating System to be installed. It resembles an emulator, however, as programs are run via a GUI designed to mimic the MacOS. On an x86 Machine, Executor can run many (but not all) applications designed for System 7.0.0 or System 6.0.7. Users running Executor in Linux on a PowerPC machine can run some PowerPC applications.

Executor is currently a "dead" project. Its lead designer, Cliff Matthews, has moved on to other projects. In 2007 Matthews published a serial number on his website to allow interested users to use the full version of Executor (previously a commercial software package) without any future expiration. He hinted at that time that he may release the source code of the software under an open source license in the future. His site is presently offline, though an archived version is available over here (note that the serial number there is no longer valid... check below for a download link and a working serial number).

History

Clifford Matthews incorporated his company ARDI (Abacus Research and Development, Inc.) in 1989 in Delaware. Since 1986, he had been developing an application called ROMlib, a tool used to port programs written for the Macintosh. According to Matthews, "we had difficulty persuading people that ROMlib could indeed be used with large programs, so in-house we wrote some "glue" that would read a Mac program into memory and then start running it, calling ROMlib routines whenever OS or toolbox traps were encountered. That was the birth of Executor."

Executor 1.0 was released in October, 1993. Version 2.0 shipped three years later. The software was pricey then, retailing for about $295.

Development continued until 2002, when the final version of the program, 2.1pr16, was released. Matthews has since founded a company called Stolen Bases.

Required Reading

|Article|	|Author|	|Home Page|
Online Documentation (Official)	ARDI staff	ARDI (dead link)
Command Line Switches	Gene DeClark	Executor Info Page
Preferences Dialog Box	Gene DeClark	Executor Info Page
Wikipedia Article	Everyone	Wikipedia

Links

Executor Home (via Archive.org)
Executor Information Page

Files

|File Name|	|Size|	|Source|
Executor 2.1pr16 (s: 99991004 a: n9rk57f369byp)	2.5 MB	ARDI (dead link)

System Specs

Emulates: A sort of computer that sort of runs System 7.0
ROM Required: no
Memory: Unlimited
Sound: Supported
Mac OS supported: sort of System 7.0.0 or System 6.0.7
Modem Support: No
Ethernet Support: No
Hard Drive size: Unlimited
Current Version: 2.1pr16
Creator:Cliff Matthews
Price:sort of free
Runs On: Linux, Windows

Screenshots