Apple to slice WebObjects from Snow Leopard Server?
updated 12:35 pm EDT, Wed July 8, 2009
WebObjects gone in S. Lep.
With the release of Snow Leopard Server, Apple will drop deployment support for the WebObjects web application server, sources claim. WebObjects is an enterprise framework for creating web apps, as well as deploying them through a related Java server. The technology was originally acquired by Apple in 1996, when it bought NeXT, headed by former (and now present) Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
A license for WebObjects was initially extremely expensive, costing $50,000; prices fell to $699 in 2000, and disappeared in 2005. Apple itself has made extensive use of the code, which has undergirded projects like .Mac, the iTunes Store and the online Apple Store. It has gradually disappeared from .Mac's replacement, MobileMe, but signing up for the service is still handled through WebObjects.
References for the deployment runtime are said to have vanished from Snow Leopard Server, though why is unclear. The standard currently has little popularity outside of Apple however, given the commonality of options like PHP, MySQL and Ruby on Rails. All three are bundled with Mac OS X Server, which may indicate that Apple is only holding on to WebObjects to support legacy efforts.
w***
07/08, 01:06pm reply
w*** was good technology, I wish it had seen wider adoption.
afaby
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jul 2005
???
07/08, 01:15pm reply
God I wish I just could make up stuff and end the story's headline with a question mark.
Was Michael Jackson from Mars?
Does the Queen of England like sauerkraut?
gskibum3
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2006
Sheesh.
07/08, 01:59pm reply
The ONLY thing that happened is that they dropped installing w*** as part of the standard install. It will still be able to be installed and run on Snow Leopard, just as it will be able to be installed and run on anything else with a recent JVM and JDK.
w*** is stronger now than ever, and now, because of this, it can be developed independently of the OS releases which are completely unrelated. The w*** developer community is actually very happy with what is happening with w***.
Apple is hiring w*** people, both to develop the frameworks, and to work on their apps. Every dollar they make comes through w***. It is the store, iTunes, the iTunes store, the app store, MobileMe's backbone, etc. Apple is not killing w***. They RELY on it. It's a competitive advantage for them.
http://www.wocommunity.org for actual info about w*** instead of sensationalism.
gudin
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2000
shocked!
07/08, 03:15pm reply
Shocked, I say, that it was still even around. Given that Apple gave up on it many years ago, I'm surprised they came back to it at all...
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
sigh
07/08, 03:16pm reply
testudo, where do you get your information? w*** is EVERYWHERE at Apple.
Wait, I'm sorry, I suggested your post came from "information."
gudin
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2000
w*** is Enterprise
07/08, 04:30pm reply
I have never used WebObjects, but surely PHP, MySQL and Ruby on Rails are no substitute for enterprise-level web application servers.
I can't imagine any organisation being able to build and maintain systems like MobileMe or the iTunes store with disparate components like PHP and MySQL. That's why NetWeaver, WebSphere, WebLogic, Sun Java System Application Server and the other enterprise systems exist.
Mimi-mim
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2007
Better article . . .
07/08, 08:20pm reply
For more accuracy and details:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/07/webobjects-sliced-from-106but-prognosis-of-death-premature.ars
gudin
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2000