macOS, originally Mac OS X, previously shortened as OS X, is a Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and laptop computers, it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows and ahead of all Linux distributions, including ChromeOS and SteamOS. As of 2024, the most recent release of macOS is macOS 15 Sequoia, the 21st major version of macOS.
Cocoa is Apple's native object-oriented application programming interface (API) for its desktop operating system macOS.
Carbon was one of two primary C-based application programming interfaces (APIs) developed by Apple for the macOS operating system. Carbon provided a good degree of backward compatibility for programs that ran on Mac OS 8 and 9. Developers could use the Carbon APIs to port (“carbonize”) their “classic” Mac applications and software to the Mac OS X platform with little effort, compared to porting the app to the entirely different Cocoa system, which originated in OPENSTEP. With the release of macOS 10.15 Catalina, the Carbon API was officially discontinued and removed, leaving Cocoa as the sole primary API for developing macOS applications.
A computing platform, digital platform, or software platform is the infrastructure on which software is executed. While the individual components of a computing platform may be obfuscated under layers of abstraction, the summation of the required components comprise the computing platform.
AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. that facilitates automated control of Mac applications. First introduced in System 7, it is currently included in macOS in a package of automation tools. The term AppleScript may refer to the scripting language, to a script written in the language, or to the macOS Open Scripting Architecture that underlies the language.
The history of macOS, Apple's current Mac operating system formerly named Mac OS X until 2011 and then OS X until 2016, began with the company's project to replace its "classic" Mac OS. That system, up to and including its final release Mac OS 9, was a direct descendant of the operating system Apple had used in its Mac computers since their introduction in 1984. However, the current macOS is a UNIX operating system built on technology that had been developed at NeXT from the 1980s until Apple purchased the company in early 1997.
Watson was a software program released by Karelia Software for the Macintosh on November 27, 2001, which provided Internet content through a familiar Mac OS X-like interface through the use of plug-ins.
WebObjects is a discontinued Java web application server and a server-based web application framework originally developed by NeXT Software, Inc.
Xcode is Apple's integrated development environment (IDE) for macOS, used to develop software for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. It was initially released in late 2003; the latest stable release is version 16, released on September 16, 2024, and is available free of charge via the Mac App Store and the Apple Developer website. Registered developers can also download preview releases and prior versions of the suite through the Apple Developer website. Xcode includes command-line tools that enable UNIX-style development via the Terminal app in macOS. They can also be downloaded and installed without the GUI.
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS families as well as other Apple software; new hardware products are sometimes announced as well. WWDC is also an event hosted for third-party software developers that work on apps for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices. Attendees can participate in hands-on labs with Apple engineers and attend in-depth sessions covering a wide variety of topics.
Mac OS X Tiger is the 5th major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. Tiger was released to the public on April 29, 2005, for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. Included features were a fast searching system called Spotlight, a new version of the Safari web browser, Dashboard, a new 'Unified' theme, and improved support for 64-bit addressing on Power Mac G5s. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger also had a number of additional features that Microsoft had spent several years struggling to add to Windows with acceptable performance, such as fast file search and improved graphics processing.
The Apple Developer Tools are a suite of software tools from Apple to aid in making software dynamic titles for the macOS and iOS platforms. The developer tools were formerly included on macOS install media, but are now exclusively distributed over the Internet. As of MacOS 14.6.1, Xcode is available as a free download from the Mac App Store.
Michael Bartosh was president and CTO of 4am Media, Inc, an Apple Certified Trainer, certified member of the Apple Consultants Network, published author and former systems engineer for Apple Computer. Previous to joining Apple full-time he had worked as an Apple campus rep and had the opportunity to meet Steve Jobs after his 1999 MacWorld keynote. His main focus and expertise was directory services and integration, and was considered by members of the Macintosh support and development community to be one of the foremost experts on the subject, having literally "written the book."
James Turnbull is an Australian free software and open source author and software developer. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he is CTO at Smartrr and an advisor at Access Now. Before that, he was co-chair of the Velocity conference, led engineering at Sotheby's, startup advocacy at Microsoft, was founder and CTO at Empatico, CTO at Kickstarter, VP of Engineering at Venmo and VP of Services at Docker. He was also VP of Technology Operations for the open-source company Puppet Labs.
Azul Systems, Inc. is a company that develops and distributes runtimes for executing Java-based applications. The company was founded in March 2002. Azul Systems has headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.
OnyX is a popular freeware utility for macOS developed by French developer Joël Barrière that is compatible with both Intel processors and Apple silicon. As a multifunctional tool for maintenance and optimization, it can control many basic Unix programs already built into macOS, including setting hidden preferences otherwise modified by using property list editors and the command line.
Aber Whitcomb is the founder and President of Salt AI. He was the CTO and Co-Founder of Jam City, Inc. As CTO of Jam City Inc, a multi-platform game developer and distributor, Aber Whitcomb oversaw the cross-platform technology strategy and played a key role in developing and operating Jam City titles on a global scale. Whitcomb is a recognized expert in large scale computing, networking and storage and frequently speaks on these topics at industry events. He has been profiled in publications such as VentureBeat, The New York Times, and SoCalTech.
James Nolan Weirich was a software developer, speaker, teacher, and contributor to the Ruby programming language community. He was active in the Ruby community worldwide, speaking at events in Asia, South America, Europe, and the United States.
React Native is an open-source UI software framework developed by Meta Platforms. It is used to develop applications for Android, Android TV, iOS, macOS, tvOS, Web, Windows and UWP by enabling developers to use the React framework along with native platform capabilities. It is used to develop Android and iOS applications at Facebook, Microsoft, and Shopify. It is also being used to develop virtual reality applications at Oculus.
