I have a machine I retrofitted and setup with Mach3. I got it running, but have yet to cut anything really.

I was considering purchasing a Mach3 license, but now I see Mach4 is out. So I have some questions.

1) Does it currently work with ESS (Ethernet SmoothStepper)?
2) Can I still have a macro to work my tool changer and will my Mach3 macro I made work on mach4?
3) Is there a post processor for Mach4 for BobCAM, or is it the same as Mach3?

Since I still have a lot to learn, I figure I might as well just get to Mach4 now if I can instead of learning more with Mach3.

Looking for advice. I currently have no purchased licenses. I just got everything running using the free Mach3 version.

The Mach4 plug-in for the Ethernet SmoothStepper exists but is still in
the testing phase.

Mach4 supports programmable macros, but your existing Mach3 macro
code cannot be used. Mach3 used a variation of Basic as the programming
language. Mach4 uses LUA as the programming language. It servers the
same purpose, but is looks more like "C" and it runs faster.

The post processor for Mach3 will probably work fine with Mach4. Mach4
is trying to be follow the Fanuc conventions more closely, but most post
processors use relatively basic functions that are not affected by the
changes.