cross-platform

name	cross-platform
description	Cross-platform development patterns for macOS, Windows, and Linux

Cross-Platform Development

When to Use

• Adding new platform support
• Writing platform-specific code
• Testing across platforms

Platform Detection

Bash (macOS/Linux)

detect_os() {
    case "$(uname -s)" in
        Darwin*)    echo "macos" ;;
        Linux*)
            # Check for WSL
            if grep -qi microsoft /proc/version 2>/dev/null; then
                echo "wsl"
            else
                echo "linux"
            fi
            ;;
        CYGWIN*|MINGW*|MSYS*) echo "windows" ;;
        *)          echo "unknown" ;;
    esac
}

PowerShell (Windows)

function Get-Platform {
    if ($IsWindows -or $env:OS -eq "Windows_NT") {
        return "windows"
    } elseif ($IsLinux) {
        return "linux"
    } elseif ($IsMacOS) {
        return "macos"
    }
    return "unknown"
}

Notification Tools by Platform

Platform	Primary	Fallback
macOS	terminal-notifier	osascript
Linux	notify-send	zenity, wall
Windows	BurntToast	System.Windows.Forms
WSL	wsl-notify-send	notify-send

Platform-Specific Patterns

macOS

send_macos_notification() {
    local title="$1"
    local message="$2"

    if command -v terminal-notifier &> /dev/null; then
        terminal-notifier \
            -title "$title" \
            -message "$message" \
            -sound "Glass"
    else
        osascript -e "display notification \"$message\" with title \"$title\""
    fi
}

Linux

send_linux_notification() {
    local title="$1"
    local message="$2"

    if command -v notify-send &> /dev/null; then
        notify-send "$title" "$message" \
            --urgency=normal \
            --app-name="Code-Notify"
    elif command -v zenity &> /dev/null; then
        zenity --notification --text="$title\n$message"
    else
        echo "[$title] $message" | wall 2>/dev/null
    fi
}

Windows (PowerShell)

function Send-WindowsNotification {
    param(
        [string]$Title,
        [string]$Message
    )

    if (Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name BurntToast) {
        New-BurntToastNotification -Text $Title, $Message
    } else {
        Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
        $notification = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.NotifyIcon
        $notification.Icon = [System.Drawing.SystemIcons]::Information
        $notification.BalloonTipTitle = $Title
        $notification.BalloonTipText = $Message
        $notification.Visible = $true
        $notification.ShowBalloonTip(10000)
    }
}

WSL

send_wsl_notification() {
    local title="$1"
    local message="$2"

    if command -v wsl-notify-send.exe &> /dev/null; then
        wsl-notify-send.exe --category "$title" "$message"
    else
        # Fall back to Linux notification
        send_linux_notification "$title" "$message"
    fi
}

Path Handling

Unix vs Windows Paths

# Convert Unix path to Windows path (in WSL)
to_windows_path() {
    local unix_path="$1"
    wslpath -w "$unix_path"
}

# Convert Windows path to Unix path (in WSL)
to_unix_path() {
    local win_path="$1"
    wslpath -u "$win_path"
}

Home Directory

# Bash
HOME_DIR="$HOME"

# PowerShell
$HomeDir = $env:USERPROFILE

Git Handling Across Platforms

Safe Git Commands

# Works on all platforms
get_project_name() {
    local git_root
    if git rev-parse --git-dir &> /dev/null; then
        git_root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null)
        if [[ -n "$git_root" ]]; then
            basename "$git_root"
            return 0
        fi
    fi
    basename "$PWD"
}

PowerShell Git Handling

function Get-ProjectName {
    try {
        $gitRoot = & git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>$null
        if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0 -and $gitRoot) {
            return Split-Path $gitRoot -Leaf
        }
    } catch {
        # Not in git repo
    }
    return Split-Path (Get-Location) -Leaf
}

Testing Strategy

CI/CD Matrix

strategy:
  matrix:
    os: [macos-latest, ubuntu-latest, windows-latest]

Platform-Specific Tests

# test/test-platform.sh
test_current_platform() {
    local os=$(detect_os)
    case "$os" in
        macos)  test_macos_notification ;;
        linux)  test_linux_notification ;;
        wsl)    test_wsl_notification ;;
        *)      echo "Unknown platform: $os" ;;
    esac
}

Common Pitfalls

1. Line Endings: Windows uses CRLF, Unix uses LF

   • Use .gitattributes to enforce line endings

2. Path Separators: Windows uses \, Unix uses /

   • Use variables like $HOME instead of hardcoded paths

3. Case Sensitivity: Windows is case-insensitive

   • Be consistent with file naming

4. Command Availability: Commands differ by platform

   • Always check with command -v before use

Success Metrics

• Works on macOS 10.14+
• Works on Ubuntu 20.04+
• Works on Windows 10+ (PowerShell 5.1+)
• Works on WSL2
• Graceful fallback when tools missing