Missing support for Apple Silicon architecture on ARM-based Macs

[ehsanhaghighat]

Thanks for the tool - I found that the import doesn't handle COMSOL6/macarm64.

[john-hen]

Hi, thanks for bringing this up. I don't have access to an M1 Mac, so can't test any of this. The fix you're suggesting in the title, do you mean to replace any occurrence of "maci64" with "macarm64" in discovery.py?

Also, I suppose you used the "universal2" Python installers for macOS, so this is running natively on Apple Silicon, not through Rosetta. And when you installed Comsol 6, could you choose between the two variants? In other words, is there a chance Comsol could either run natively or through the emulation layer on the M1 Mac? Probably shouldn't matter for the discovery mechanism, just trying to get a feel if there's a way we might break backward compatibility.

[doub1emint]

I have the same problem, and I replace any occurrence of "maci64" with "macarm64" in discovery.py. it worked!
thanks for effective suggestions.

[max3-2]

In other words, is there a chance Comsol could either run natively or through the emulation layer on the M1 Mac? Probably shouldn't matter for the discovery mechanism, just trying to get a feel if there's a way we might break backward compatibility.

COMSOL states on their site for Apple Sillicon that is is a good practice to

Generally, install both the native (M1) and Intel versions of COMSOL and use the version that suits you best.

So I assume that you can install both in parallel and the discovery will show both, as soon as the second search would be implemented. How (if) is a priorization implemented if not on Version number? So what would be the default on macs with both options installed?

I sadly do not have unconditional access to COMSOL anymore so I can just assume some things. Still waiting on a project where I can justify using it

[john-hen]

Ah, okay. That's a good hint, was not aware of that. And yes, that is a complication because it's not clear which one to choose. Would make sense to select depending on which Python is running, but I don't know exactly (yet) how to do that. I'm starting a new job soon. Won't be working with Comsol, but will have a Mac M1 as my developer machine, and perhaps (not guaranteed) access to a Comsol campus license. So will be looking into it then, though in due time obviously. Also, if both can be installed and is even recommended, it should actually work, I would assume, if that recommendation is followed. Though obviously, it would be preferable to use the Apple Silicon variant.

[john-hen]

So, turns out, my "new Mac" isn't all that new, it's still Intel-based. I can test on that, but not on Apple Silicon. But I do have a campus license, including the latest Comsol version. If anyone wants to submit a PR that handles both system architectures on a Mac, I could help out with testing, with that limitation in mind. Otherwise it's unlikely I'll fix this issue myself anytime soon.

[silveira-lucas]

I have the same problem, and I replace any occurrence of "maci64" with "macarm64" in discovery.py. it worked! thanks for effective suggestions.

Hi doub1emint,
I tried your suggestion without success. I changed every instance of the word "maci64" for "macarm64", even in the comments. I also searched for it in the other package files. However, strange enough, I still the error message which mentioning "maci64". I appreciate any help, please pleaaaase :)

[doub1emint]

Hi, silveira,
I'm sorry to hear that and I have no idea about your problem.