Nov 98 Online
Volume Number: 14
Issue Number: 11
Column Tag: MacTech Online
Unwrapping the Yellow Box
by Jeff Clites, online@mactech.com
Very soon now, the initial betas of OS X should be going out to developers. For the first
time, we will have a real choice between two very powerful and very different sets of
programming interfaces - the Carbon API and the Yellow Box API. Since the Carbon
API is mostly identical to the current OS 8.x API, it will be very tempting for
developers to continue programming "classical" Mac applications, and Apple has been
emphasizing this backward compatibility. On the other hand, you could make a case
that most of the $350 million that Apple spent a little less than a year ago was paying
for the Yellow Box, and the technologies supporting it. From all reports, the Yellow
Box is far superior to the current Mac APIs, allowing programmers to develop
powerful applications in a fraction of the time. But what if no one uses it?
It seems unthinkable that Apple would abandon it, but OpenDoc, QuickDraw GX, and
PowerTalk were excellent technologies as well, and they were dropped in part because
developers failed to adopt them. Call me paranoid, but with Apple's current silence on
the subject there is danger that they may be unwittingly scaring away potential Yellow
Box developers. This month, I am going to point out some resources available to new
Yellow Box programmers, with the hope that every Mac developer will give the Yellow
Box a test drive, and see if it lives up to its claims. If you like it and decide to do Yellow
Box development professionally, then by starting now, you'll gain a leg up on the
competition.
The News
If you want to stay up-to-date with Yellow Box goings-on, your best bet is StepWise,
which tracks current news as well as technical aspects of Yellow Box development. You
should also take a look at The Rhapsody User, which has extensive references to
articles all over the web, and RhapNet, which hosts a collection of editorials.
Stepwise NEXTSTEP/OpenStep Server
http://www.stepwise.com/
The Rhapsody User
http://www.kagi.com/inai/rhap/
RhapNet
http://www.macnn.com/rhapnet/
General Information
For general information on the Yellow Box and its technologies, start with Apple's Mac
OS X Server page, and their Rhapsody FAQ. (Note that much of the Yellow Box-related
information you will find on the web is still labeled as Rhapsody or even OpenStep but
is likely to be relevant.) The Rhapsody Basics page has pointers on how to get started,
and the RhapsodyOS and Reality web sites have pages which summarize unofficial
information on the upcoming system releases.
Apple - Mac OS X Server
http://developer.apple.com/macosx/server/
Rhapsody Developer FAQ
http://developer.apple.com/macosx/server/rhapfaq/rhaptechfaq.html
Rhapsody Basics
http://developer.apple.com/macosx/server/rhapdev/rhapsody_basics.html
RhapsodyOS: FAQ
http://RhapsodyOS.com/faq/
Reality's Mac OS X Page
http://www.macnn.com/reality/macosx.shtml
Dive In!
I hope I have convince you to take a serious look at the Yellow Box and all it has to
offer. NeXT made its mark by creating a sophisticated, modern OS and object
framework, and refining it over many years while serving a corporate clientele. With
this enterprise pedigree, Apple has the tools to aggressively pursue the business
market. Will the Mac be the business platform for the next decade? Many of the larger
software companies seem hesitant to commit to migrating their code base to the Yellow
Box, and this provides a golden opportunity for new companies to step in and take the
lead. Apple Enterprise is the jumping off point for the business end of things.
Apple Enterprise
http://www.apple.com/enterprise/
If imagining the potential of a world without Microsoft Word is too much for you,
stroll over to the home of the new Hello World, the 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall site,
where there is source code for rendering the classic song in more programming
languages that you ever knew existed (although, ironically, not in Objective-C). It has
to be seen to be believed.
99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
http://www.ionet.net/~timtroyr/funhouse/beer.html
These and piles of other links are available from the MacTech Online web pages at
http://www.mactech.com/online/.