Dec 99 Online
Volume Number: 15
Issue Number: 12
Column Tag: MacTech Online
MacTech Online
by Jeff Clites <online@mactech.com>
The Apache XML Project
In last month's column, we covered the Apache HTTP Server and briefly touched on
some other projects which fall under the umbrella of the Apache Foundation. As fate
would have it, right after that article went to press, the Apache XML project was
announced. The goal of this project is to bring the various XML development projects
together under one roof and provide feedback to the various standards bodies from an
implementation perspective, as well as to coordinate XML-related developments
within other Apache projects. It currently encompasses four sub-projects, covering
XML parsers, XSLT stylesheet processors, XML-based web publishing, and XSL
formatting object processors. These projects are variously in C++, Java, and Perl.
The Apache XML Project
<http://xml.apache.org/>
XML promises to be the Next Big Thing in information interchange, but it remains to
be seen whether it will live up to its hype as a successor to HTML. From a political
point of view, however, the Apache XML project is a very good sign, since it has the
backing of (and source-code contributions from) several corporations, including IBM,
Lotus, and Sun. Be sure to check out the press release for the full story on the project
and its corporate involvement. Then, for an overview of both the promise and the hype,
take a look at two CNET articles, which cover the recent announcement of the Apache
XML project, and give an overview of industry response to the growing XML
phenomenon.
xml.apache.org Project Press Release
<http://xml.apache.org/pr/0001.txt>
Apache to create XML open-source tools
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1431504.html>
XML to "revolutionize" info exchange
<http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-336875.html>
From a technical standpoint, it isn't clear what direct impact these projects will have
on the Macintosh platform. Mac OS X will make extensive use of XML as the format for
many of its configuration files (replacing OpenStep's plist format), and consequently
includes its own XML parser (based on Jim Clark's expat), so it's hard to tell how
much of a need there will be for third-party parsers. On the other hand, some of the
other projects could be especially interesting. FOP, for instance, processes a tree of
XSL formatting objects into a PDF document; given that Mac OS X's imaging model is
PDF-based, this sort of utility could be quite useful. It is also yet another point of
connection between the Open Source and Macintosh communities, as it's a technology
which could be useful to the platform and at the same time the platform would be an
ideal development environment for it.
FOP: XSL Formatting Object processor in Java
<http://xml.apache.org/fop/index.html>
Samba Redux
A few months back we covered Samba, an open-source package which allows Unix-like
machines (including Mac OS X Server) to act as file servers to Windows machines. At
the time, I mentioned that Samba didn't really give you the ability to act as a client to
Windows file servers, unless you happen to be running Linux, and I hoped that Mac
developers would step up and fill this void. (The package which allows this is called
smbfs, and it's essentially a Linux kernel plugin which enables you to mount SMB
shares. It's actually not an official part of the Samba suite, although it is distributed
with it as a convenience.) As it turns out, someone has filled this void (although they
didn't get the idea from me). Sharity, a commercial product by Objective Development,
allows Mac OS X Server and its brethren to act as SMB/CIFS clients, giving them
access to Windows file servers. There is also Sharity-Light, a GPL version which is
based on the above-mentioned Linux package, but it is no longer being developed. They
are definitely worth a look to those trying to sneak their machine into a
Windows-dominated setting, or to those who just want a potentially more secure
alternative to NFS for their file-sharing activities.
Sharity - an SMB / CIFS Client for Unix
<http://www.obdev.at/Products/Sharity.html>
Sharity-Light
<http://www.obdev.at/Products/shlight.html>
Be sure to look around Objective Development's site while you are there - they have a
number of other nifty products. If you are using Mac OS X Server now, or when you
move to Mac OS X some time in the future, you will be especially interested in
LaunchBar, which is an application launcher and a replacement for OpenStep's
application dock. You'll also want to check out the review on Stepwise, which gives it
high marks.
LaunchBar 2.0 for Mac OS X Server
<http://www.obdev.at/Products/LaunchBar.html>
First Look: LaunchBar Beta
<http://www.stepwise.com/Articles/News/LaunchBarRelease.html>
Last but not least, when you are done with these links be sure to wander over to the
MacTech Online web pages at <http://www.mactech.com/online/>.