NEXTSTEP
Encyclopedia
NeXTSTEP was the object-oriented
, multitasking
operating system
developed by NeXT Computer
to run on its range of proprietary workstation
computers, such as the NeXTcube
. It was later ported to several other computer architecture
s.
A preview release of NeXTSTEP (version 0.8) was shown at the launch of the NeXT Computer
on October 12, 1988. The first full release, NeXTSTEP 1.0, shipped on September 18, 1989. The last version, 3.3, was released in early 1995, by which time it ran not only on the Motorola
68000 family processors used in NeXT computers, but also Intel x86, Sun
SPARC
, and HP PA-RISC
-based systems.
NeXTSTEP was later modified to separate the underlying operating system from the higher-level object libraries. The result was OpenStep
, which ran on multiple underlying operating systems, including NeXT's own OPENSTEP. Apple's Mac OS X
is a direct descendant of NeXTSTEP, through the OPENSTEP lineage.
NeXTSTEP was notable for the last three items. The toolkits offered considerable power, and were used to build all of the software on the machine. Distinctive features of the Objective-C language made the writing of applications with NeXTSTEP far easier than on many competing systems, and the system was often pointed to as a paragon of computer development, even a decade later.
NeXTSTEP's user interface was refined and consistent, and introduced the idea of the Dock
, carried through OpenStep
and into Mac OS X
, and the Shelf
. NeXTSTEP also created or was among the very first to include a large number of other GUI
concepts now common in other operating systems: 3D "chiseled" widgets, large full-color icon
s, system-wide drag and drop of a wide range of objects beyond file icons, system-wide piped services
, real-time scrolling and window dragging, properties dialog boxes ("inspectors"), window modification notices (such as the saved status of a file), etc. The system was among the first general-purpose user interfaces to handle publishing color standards, transparency, sophisticated sound and music processing (through a Motorola 56000
DSP
), advanced graphics primitives, internationalization, and modern typography, in a consistent manner across all applications.
Additional kits were added to the product line to make the system more attractive. These included Portable Distributed Objects (PDO), which allowed easy remote invocation, and Enterprise Objects Framework
, a powerful object-relational database
system. The kits made the system particularly interesting to custom application programmers, and NeXTSTEP had a long history in the financial programming community.
, WorldWideWeb
, was developed on the Nextstep platform.
Some features and keyboard shortcuts now commonly found in web browsers can be traced to Nextstep conventions. The basic layout options of HTML
1.0 and 2.0 are attributable to those features available in NeXT's Text class. The level (WAD) editor
for the game Doom was also developed on NeXT machines, as was Altsys Virtuoso, version 2 of which was ported to Mac OS and Windows to become Macromedia FreeHand
version 4, the modern "Notebook" interface for Mathematica
, and the advanced spreadsheet Lotus Improv
. The software that controlled MCI
's Friends and Family program was developed using Nextstep.
About the time of the 3.2 release, NeXT teamed up with Sun Microsystems
to develop OpenStep
, a cross-platform object-oriented API standard derived from Nextstep. Implementations of that standard were released for Sun's Solaris, Windows NT
, and NeXT's version of the Mach kernel. NeXT's implementation was called OPENSTEP for Mach and its first release (4.0) superseded Nextstep 3.3 on NeXT, Sun and Intel IA-32 systems.
Following an announcement on December 20, 1996, on February 4, 1997, Apple Computer acquired NeXT for $429 million, and used the OPENSTEP
for Mach operating system as the basis for Mac OS X
.
A free software
implementation of the OpenStep standard, GNUstep
, also exists.
The anime series Serial Experiments Lain was influenced by NextStep and Mac OS, references may be found throughout the show and its affiliated media. Most notably the slogan for the Lain PSX Game "Close the world, Open the nExt".
Versions up to 3.3 were published.
Object-oriented operating system
An object-oriented operating system is an operating system which internally uses object-oriented methodologies.An object-oriented operating system is in contrast to an object-oriented user interface or programming framework, which can be placed above a non-object-oriented operating system like DOS,...
, multitasking
Computer multitasking
In computing, multitasking is a method where multiple tasks, also known as processes, share common processing resources such as a CPU. In the case of a computer with a single CPU, only one task is said to be running at any point in time, meaning that the CPU is actively executing instructions for...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
developed by NeXT Computer
NeXT
Next, Inc. was an American computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that developed and manufactured a series of computer workstations intended for the higher education and business markets...
to run on its range of proprietary workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
computers, such as the NeXTcube
NeXTcube
The NeXTcube was a high-end workstation computer developed, manufactured and sold by NeXT from 1990 until 1993. It superseded the original NeXT Computer workstation and was housed in a similar cube-shaped magnesium enclosure. The workstation ran the NeXTSTEP operating system.- Hardware :The...
. It was later ported to several other computer architecture
Computer architecture
In computer science and engineering, computer architecture is the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modelling of those systems....
s.
A preview release of NeXTSTEP (version 0.8) was shown at the launch of the NeXT Computer
NeXT Computer
The NeXT Computer was a high-end workstation computer developed, manufactured and sold by Steve Jobs' company NeXT from 1988 until 1990. It ran the Unix-based NeXTSTEP operating system. The NeXT Computer was packaged in a 1-foot die-cast magnesium cube-shaped case, which led to the machine being...
on October 12, 1988. The first full release, NeXTSTEP 1.0, shipped on September 18, 1989. The last version, 3.3, was released in early 1995, by which time it ran not only on the Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
68000 family processors used in NeXT computers, but also Intel x86, Sun
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
SPARC
SPARC
SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987....
, and HP PA-RISC
PA-RISC
PA-RISC is an instruction set architecture developed by Hewlett-Packard. As the name implies, it is a reduced instruction set computer architecture, where the PA stands for Precision Architecture...
-based systems.
NeXTSTEP was later modified to separate the underlying operating system from the higher-level object libraries. The result was OpenStep
OpenStep
OpenStep was an object-oriented application programming interface specification for an object-oriented operating system that used a non-NeXTSTEP operating system as its core, principally developed by NeXT with Sun Microsystems. OPENSTEP was a specific implementation of the OpenStep API developed...
, which ran on multiple underlying operating systems, including NeXT's own OPENSTEP. Apple's Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
is a direct descendant of NeXTSTEP, through the OPENSTEP lineage.
Description
NeXTSTEP was a combination of several parts:- a Unix-likeUnix-likeA Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating system based on the Mach kernel, plus source code from BSDBerkeley Software DistributionBerkeley Software Distribution is a Unix operating system derivative developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 to 1995... - Display PostScriptDisplay PostScriptDisplay PostScript is an on-screen display system. As the name implies, DPS uses the PostScript imaging model and language to generate on-screen graphics...
and a windowing engine - the Objective-CObjective-CObjective-C is a reflective, object-oriented programming language that adds Smalltalk-style messaging to the C programming language.Today, it is used primarily on Apple's Mac OS X and iOS: two environments derived from the OpenStep standard, though not compliant with it...
language and runtime - an object-orientedObject-oriented programmingObject-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
(OO) application layer, including several "kits" - development tools for the OO layers
NeXTSTEP was notable for the last three items. The toolkits offered considerable power, and were used to build all of the software on the machine. Distinctive features of the Objective-C language made the writing of applications with NeXTSTEP far easier than on many competing systems, and the system was often pointed to as a paragon of computer development, even a decade later.
NeXTSTEP's user interface was refined and consistent, and introduced the idea of the Dock
Dock (computing)
The Dock is a prominent feature of the graphical user interface of the Mac OS X operating system. It is used to launch applications and switch between running applications...
, carried through OpenStep
OpenStep
OpenStep was an object-oriented application programming interface specification for an object-oriented operating system that used a non-NeXTSTEP operating system as its core, principally developed by NeXT with Sun Microsystems. OPENSTEP was a specific implementation of the OpenStep API developed...
and into Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, and the Shelf
Shelf (computing)
The Shelf is an interface feature in NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP, and is used as a repository to store links to commonly used files, directories and programs, and as a temporary "holding" place to move/copy files and directories around in the file system hierarchy...
. NeXTSTEP also created or was among the very first to include a large number of other GUI
Gui
Gui or guee is a generic term to refer to grilled dishes in Korean cuisine. These most commonly have meat or fish as their primary ingredient, but may in some cases also comprise grilled vegetables or other vegetarian ingredients. The term derives from the verb, "gupda" in Korean, which literally...
concepts now common in other operating systems: 3D "chiseled" widgets, large full-color icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
s, system-wide drag and drop of a wide range of objects beyond file icons, system-wide piped services
Services menu
The Services menu is a user interface element in a computer operating system. The services are programs that accept input from the user selection, process it, and optionally put the result back in the clipboard. The concept originated in the NeXTSTEP operating system, from which it was carried...
, real-time scrolling and window dragging, properties dialog boxes ("inspectors"), window modification notices (such as the saved status of a file), etc. The system was among the first general-purpose user interfaces to handle publishing color standards, transparency, sophisticated sound and music processing (through a Motorola 56000
Motorola 56000
The Motorola DSP56000 is a family of digital signal processor chips produced by Motorola Semiconductor starting in the 1980s and is still being produced in more advanced models in the 2000s. The 56k series was quite popular for a time in a number of computers, including the NeXT, Atari Falcon,...
DSP
Digital signal processor
A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...
), advanced graphics primitives, internationalization, and modern typography, in a consistent manner across all applications.
Additional kits were added to the product line to make the system more attractive. These included Portable Distributed Objects (PDO), which allowed easy remote invocation, and Enterprise Objects Framework
Enterprise Objects Framework
The Enterprise Objects Framework was introduced by NeXT in 1994 as a pioneering object-relational mapping product for its NeXTSTEP and OpenStep development platforms. The EOF abstracts the process of interacting with a relational database, mapping database rows to Java or Objective-C objects. This...
, a powerful object-relational database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
system. The kits made the system particularly interesting to custom application programmers, and NeXTSTEP had a long history in the financial programming community.
Influence
The first web browserWeb browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
, WorldWideWeb
WorldWideWeb
WorldWideWeb, later renamed to Nexus to avoid confusion between the software and the World Wide Web, was the first web browser and editor. When it was written, WorldWideWeb was the only way to view the Web....
, was developed on the Nextstep platform.
Some features and keyboard shortcuts now commonly found in web browsers can be traced to Nextstep conventions. The basic layout options of HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
1.0 and 2.0 are attributable to those features available in NeXT's Text class. The level (WAD) editor
Doom WAD
Doom WAD format is default format of package files for the video game Doom or its sequel Doom II, that are containing sprites, levels, and game data. WAD stands for Where's All the Data?...
for the game Doom was also developed on NeXT machines, as was Altsys Virtuoso, version 2 of which was ported to Mac OS and Windows to become Macromedia FreeHand
Macromedia FreeHand
Macromedia FreeHand is a computer application for creating two-dimensional vector graphics that are oriented primarily to professional illustration, desktop publishing and content creation for the Web. FreeHand is similar in scope, intended market, and functionality to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDraw...
version 4, the modern "Notebook" interface for Mathematica
Mathematica
Mathematica is a computational software program used in scientific, engineering, and mathematical fields and other areas of technical computing...
, and the advanced spreadsheet Lotus Improv
Lotus Improv
Lotus Improv was a spreadsheet program from Lotus Development that attempted to re-define the way a spreadsheet should work. Instead of treating the grid as the system for referencing data, Improv made all data exist in named ranges. Operations on the data then referred to these names, rather than...
. The software that controlled MCI
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
's Friends and Family program was developed using Nextstep.
About the time of the 3.2 release, NeXT teamed up with Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
to develop OpenStep
OpenStep
OpenStep was an object-oriented application programming interface specification for an object-oriented operating system that used a non-NeXTSTEP operating system as its core, principally developed by NeXT with Sun Microsystems. OPENSTEP was a specific implementation of the OpenStep API developed...
, a cross-platform object-oriented API standard derived from Nextstep. Implementations of that standard were released for Sun's Solaris, Windows NT
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
, and NeXT's version of the Mach kernel. NeXT's implementation was called OPENSTEP for Mach and its first release (4.0) superseded Nextstep 3.3 on NeXT, Sun and Intel IA-32 systems.
Following an announcement on December 20, 1996, on February 4, 1997, Apple Computer acquired NeXT for $429 million, and used the OPENSTEP
OpenStep
OpenStep was an object-oriented application programming interface specification for an object-oriented operating system that used a non-NeXTSTEP operating system as its core, principally developed by NeXT with Sun Microsystems. OPENSTEP was a specific implementation of the OpenStep API developed...
for Mach operating system as the basis for Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
.
A free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
implementation of the OpenStep standard, GNUstep
GNUstep
GNUstep is a free software implementation of Cocoa Objective-C libraries , widget toolkit, and application development tools not only for Unix-like operating systems, but also for Microsoft Windows. It is part of the GNU Project.GNUstep features a cross-platform, object-oriented development...
, also exists.
The anime series Serial Experiments Lain was influenced by NextStep and Mac OS, references may be found throughout the show and its affiliated media. Most notably the slogan for the Lain PSX Game "Close the world, Open the nExt".
Release history
| Version | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.8 | October 12, 1988 | |
| 0.8a | 1988 | |
| 0.9 | 1988 | first available version; for NeXT hardware only |
| 1.0 | 1989 | |
| 1.0a | 1989 | |
| 2.0 | September 18, 1990 | |
| 2.1 | March 25, 1991 | |
| 2.1a | ||
| 2.2 | ||
| 3.0 | September 8, 1992 | |
| 3.1 | May 25, 1993 | Support for the i486, PA-RISC PA-RISC PA-RISC is an instruction set architecture developed by Hewlett-Packard. As the name implies, it is a reduced instruction set computer architecture, where the PA stands for Precision Architecture... , and SPARC SPARC SPARC is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by Sun Microsystems and introduced in mid-1987.... architectures. |
| 3.2 | October 1993 | |
| 3.3 | February 1995 | Last and most popular version released under the name Nextstep |
| 4.0 (beta) | 1996 | Beta circulated to limited number of developers before OpenStep OpenStep OpenStep was an object-oriented application programming interface specification for an object-oriented operating system that used a non-NeXTSTEP operating system as its core, principally developed by NeXT with Sun Microsystems. OPENSTEP was a specific implementation of the OpenStep API developed... and Apple acquisition |
Versions up to 3.3 were published.
See also
- Application Bundle
- Miller ColumnsMiller ColumnsMiller columns are a browsing/visualization technique that can be applied to tree structures. The columns allow multiple levels of the hierarchy to be open at once, and provide a visual representation of the current location. It is closely related to techniques used earlier in the Smalltalk...
, the method of directory browsing that Nextstep's File Viewer used. - OpenStepOpenStepOpenStep was an object-oriented application programming interface specification for an object-oriented operating system that used a non-NeXTSTEP operating system as its core, principally developed by NeXT with Sun Microsystems. OPENSTEP was a specific implementation of the OpenStep API developed...
, the object-oriented application programming interfaceApplication programming interfaceAn application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
derived from NeXTSTEP. - Window MakerWindow MakerWindow Maker is a free and open source window manager for the X Window System, allowing graphical applications to be run on Unix-like operating-systems...
, a window managerWindow managerA window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
designed to emulate the NeXT GUI for the X Window SystemX Window SystemThe X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
.