Rosetta is a dynamic binary translator developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, an application compatibility layer between different instruction set architectures. It enables a transition to newer hardware, by automatically translating software. The name is a reference to the Rosetta Stone, the artifact which enabled translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs.The first version of Rosetta, introduced in 2006 in Mac OS X Tiger, was part of the Mac transition from PowerPC processors to Intel processors, allowing PowerPC applications to run on Intel-based Macs. The second version, introduced in 2020 as a component of macOS Big Sur, is part of the Mac transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon, allowing Intel applications to run on Apple silicon Macs. Background Macintosh has used CPUs with several different instruction set architectures: the Motorola 68000 series, PowerPC, Intel x86, and ARM64 in Apple silicon. Each instruction set architecture is incompatible with its predecessor, necessitating a transition plan based on a software layer to emulate the previous instruction set on the succeeding one...