moonrockreptiles- The NeXT Mac OS: Part 1

The NeXT Mac OS: Part 1

written by: Mike S.

I'm sure everyone reading this has heard something about Mac OS X, the next generation Mac OS built on the technologies acquired from the purchase of Steve Jobs' second company, NeXT, inc.

Like most other people I didn't know anything about NEXTSTEP until the big purchase announcement was made and it was decided the Mac OS was to become something very different.

I thought, "If Apple is going to replace my OS of choice, I should at least see what they were replacing it with." With that in mind, I took to the web and ordered my own copy of NEXTSTEP 3.3 with the intention of installing it under Virtual PC. In this, my first article written outside an Internet forum, I will share with you my opinions and experiences of the OS that would become Mac OS X

Before I begin I just want to mention that I've used many operating systems including: DOS, most flavors of Windows, the BeOS, every Mac OS since System 7.5.3. Furthermore, I've dabbled just a bit with Linux and OS/2 Warp so I look at this from the perspective of a multi-platform user.

Just what is so special about NEXTSTEP? When Jobs left Apple he went out to create another computer company and this time around he had some new ideas. He had the NeXT team of engineers create a fully object oriented operating system. What does that mean exactly? Well, an object refers to a reusable piece of code and coding apps using these reusable objects results in getting new applications out faster.

The best example of the advantages of object oriented programming is a demo called the three minute word processor. In this demo a programmer using objective C builds a simple, yet fully functional word processor in just three minutes. Very impressive.

Building an entire operating system around objects opens up some very powerful features. You see, in NEXTSTEP an object isn't just reusable but it's also able to be called upon by every other application. This sharing is the basis of what is possibly NeXT's greatest feature, Services.

Services are a set of tools or utilities that are available system wide and reside in a services menu. There are several services included with the OS but I've not had a chance to try all of them. Some of the seemingly more useful ones include mail, webster, grab and librarian

Services are a wonderful thing and I found myself using them quite often even when doing simple things like installing drivers or getting assistance. As you probably know NEXTSTEP is built around Unix and because of this it relies heavily on file and folder permissions. In most graphical Unix environments, if you were logged in as a user and needed to write to a sensitive area, say to install a driver, you'd either have to log out and then back in as root or give yourself superuser status at the command line and only the command line. While you could do the same with NeXT services come to the rescue to make your life easier. Using the Open Sesame service you are able to open an application or installer package as root, or any other user for that matter, provided you have the correct password.

This is advantageous as it lets you stayed logged in as a user, thus preventing you from accidentally messing up the system and providing increased security, while still being able to do things you need more permissions for.

Services are actually applications that allow themselves to be called upon at any time. They are still stand alone fully functional apps but the fact that they are available as services makes them even more useful. The following is an example of how Services can work together to save you time.

Let's say you're writing a visual tutorial on how to use NeXTSTEP and it is to be sent to a colleague via Email. Normally, you'd expect to take your screen snapshots, use the open command, paste them in, write some text for each one, spell check (if theapp has a spell checker), save the file, open your email client and attach your work. That's fine and we're used to working like that but here's how you could do it in NEXTSTEP.

You'd launch your word processor and begin to write. When you got to a point where you needed to bring in an image you'd select the grab service and select the kind of capture you want. Full screen, window, selection or timed shot. The snapshot would then be taken and placed directly into your document. After it's all written you'd then select the Webster service which will spell check your entire document. You don't have to worry about selecting an app that has built in spell checking because you get system wide spell checks in any program and even at the OS level. Once you're done with that you'd then access the mail service and select mail document. NeXTMail will launch with your finished work ready to be sent leaving you only to select who you want to send it too. No more futzing with attachments and open dialogs.

Any app can offer services if it's written to do so. Unfortunately, I've been unable to get NeXT to share my IP address so I can't get it online to test more programs and services.

That's just about covers it for this installment but check back for part 2 where I will compare various aspects of Mac OS and NEXTSTEP.


	The NeXT Mac OS: Part 1 written by: Mike S. I'm sure everyone reading this has heard something about Mac OS X, the next generation Mac OS built on the technologies acquired from the purchase of Steve Jobs' second company, NeXT, inc. Like most other people I didn't know anything about NEXTSTEP until the big purchase announcement was made and it was decided the Mac OS was to become something very different. I thought, "If Apple is going to replace my OS of choice, I should at least see what they were replacing it with." With that in mind, I took to the web and ordered my own copy of NEXTSTEP 3.3 with the intention of installing it under Virtual PC. In this, my first article written outside an Internet forum, I will share with you my opinions and experiences of the OS that would become Mac OS X Before I begin I just want to mention that I've used many operating systems including: DOS, most flavors of Windows, the BeOS, every Mac OS since System 7.5.3. Furthermore, I've dabbled just a bit with Linux and OS/2 Warp so I look at this from the perspective of a multi-platform user. Just what is so special about NEXTSTEP? When Jobs left Apple he went out to create another computer company and this time around he had some new ideas. He had the NeXT team of engineers create a fully object oriented operating system. What does that mean exactly? Well, an object refers to a reusable piece of code and coding apps using these reusable objects results in getting new applications out faster. The best example of the advantages of object oriented programming is a demo called the three minute word processor. In this demo a programmer using objective C builds a simple, yet fully functional word processor in just three minutes. Very impressive. Building an entire operating system around objects opens up some very powerful features. You see, in NEXTSTEP an object isn't just reusable but it's also able to be called upon by every other application. This sharing is the basis of what is possibly NeXT's greatest feature, Services. Services are a set of tools or utilities that are available system wide and reside in a services menu. There are several services included with the OS but I've not had a chance to try all of them. Some of the seemingly more useful ones include mail, webster, grab and librarian Services are a wonderful thing and I found myself using them quite often even when doing simple things like installing drivers or getting assistance. As you probably know NEXTSTEP is built around Unix and because of this it relies heavily on file and folder permissions. In most graphical Unix environments, if you were logged in as a user and needed to write to a sensitive area, say to install a driver, you'd either have to log out and then back in as root or give yourself superuser status at the command line and only the command line. While you could do the same with NeXT services come to the rescue to make your life easier. Using the Open Sesame service you are able to open an application or installer package as root, or any other user for that matter, provided you have the correct password. This is advantageous as it lets you stayed logged in as a user, thus preventing you from accidentally messing up the system and providing increased security, while still being able to do things you need more permissions for. Services are actually applications that allow themselves to be called upon at any time. They are still stand alone fully functional apps but the fact that they are available as services makes them even more useful. The following is an example of how Services can work together to save you time. Let's say you're writing a visual tutorial on how to use NeXTSTEP and it is to be sent to a colleague via Email. Normally, you'd expect to take your screen snapshots, use the open command, paste them in, write some text for each one, spell check (if theapp has a spell checker), save the file, open your email client and attach your work. That's fine and we're used to working like that but here's how you could do it in NEXTSTEP. You'd launch your word processor and begin to write. When you got to a point where you needed to bring in an image you'd select the grab service and select the kind of capture you want. Full screen, window, selection or timed shot. The snapshot would then be taken and placed directly into your document. After it's all written you'd then select the Webster service which will spell check your entire document. You don't have to worry about selecting an app that has built in spell checking because you get system wide spell checks in any program and even at the OS level. Once you're done with that you'd then access the mail service and select mail document. NeXTMail will launch with your finished work ready to be sent leaving you only to select who you want to send it too. No more futzing with attachments and open dialogs. Any app can offer services if it's written to do so. Unfortunately, I've been unable to get NeXT to share my IP address so I can't get it online to test more programs and services. That's just about covers it for this installment but check back for part 2 where I will compare various aspects of Mac OS and NEXTSTEP.
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