Publishing on the

World Wide Web:

The Mac OS Advantage
Abstract: We describe why a Workgroup Server from Apple running the Mac™ OS
and MacHTTP is the preferred hardware and software platform on which to build a World
Wide Web site. We do this by contrasting the Mac OS–based Workgroup Servers from
®
Apple with the alternatives (workstations running UNIX and PCs running Microsoft
Windows). Our preference is founded on an analysis of each platform’s price/perfor-
mance value, security, reliability, flexibility, and ability to provide custom solutions. Chuck Shotton
[email protected]
Chuck Shotton has been engineer-
What Is the World Wide Web? ing software systems for the past
The World Wide Web (WWW) is a low-cost, low-overhead technology that enables people to publish 12 years. He’s been involved in
electronically almost any information on the Internet—today’s forerunner to the information super- projects for defense and space pro-
highway. Catalogs, research papers, order forms, databases, discussion forums, multimedia demos, soft- grams, as well as for academic
ware archives, books, and periodicals—all can be published electronically and made available immedi- and medical institutions, and he
is currently the president of BIAP
ately to anyone, anywhere in the world. All it takes is a single computer, connected to the Internet—the
Systems. Chuck is the author of
possibilities are endless. MacHTTP, the WWW server for
Organizations of any size can use the WWW to project a global presence by publishing their contact Mac OS–based systems.
information, background, and product information. Businesses can rapidly publish catalogs and price
lists without the costs and time required for paper publishing. They can even take orders and perform
credit card transactions on line. Large corporations can use the WWW to securely connect the data
resources of their various sites at a fraction of the conventional cost. Schools and universities can post
curriculum information, research findings, campus activities, and resources to their campus community
or to the world at large.
Electronic publishing via the WWW has been called the 1990s equivalent of the desktop publish-
ing revolution, and now is the time to get onboard. Why? Because the Internet has a global audience
consisting of more than 25,000 connected networks, and more than 31 million users (and potential
Louis Slothouber, Ph.D.
customers). The WWW is the fastest-growing segment of the Internet, with a 5 to 10 percent monthly
[email protected]
growth rate. The tools and infrastructure are in place and mature. Costs are low and the potential Louis Slothouber specializes in
return is high, and growing. artificial intelligence and pro-
gramming language compilers
with applications in intelligent
Client and Server Programs agent systems. He received his
Two kinds of software are needed to make the WWW work: client programs and server programs. Ph.D. from William and Mary in
A client program provides you with access to the published content of the WWW, while a server pro- 1989, and has been collaborating
gram allows you to do the publishing. with BIAP Systems since 1994.
A number of client programs (or browsers) are available today, and new ones are always under
development. Many client programs are free to the public (such as Mosaic, MacWeb, and Netscape),
and they will run on multiple hardware platforms. Just about anyone with access to a computer can
tap into the WWW.
On the server side, however, the ability to publish information is limited by the availability of soft-
ware. Relatively few server programs exist, and each is designed specifically for one of three hardware
platforms: UNIX-based workstations, Windows software–based PCs, and Mac OS–based systems.
Server Programs for UNIX-based Workstations Like most applications for Macintosh systems, MacHTTP can be
UNIX-based workstations are typically high-performance, high- installed, configured, and running in about five minutes by any-
cost machines. Because of the complexity of the UNIX operating one; no system administration experience is required. MacHTTP
system, these workstations require a significant amount of time can even be installed and set up remotely, over a network.
to set up, and they need to be configured by a qualified UNIX
system administrator. Usually this administrator is a full-time staff
member whose sole job is to maintain—and modify—the system.
UNIX-based workstations range in price from $10,000 to
$30,000 (U.S.). When the cost of a full-time administrator is
added, these workstations become quite expensive.
The first WWW server programs were developed for UNIX-
based workstations, and many commercial UNIX server programs
are available today. Like the workstations on which they run,
these WWW server programs typically require a great deal of
effort to set up and maintain. In addition, they can only interact
directly with text stream–based applications (such as UNIX shell
scripts). The server program cannot interact with other applica-
tions (such as an SQL database, Lotus 1-2-3, and so on) running
on the same workstation unless a custom C program is written
to perform each requested interaction.
MacHTTP is easy to use and set up, even from a remote Macintosh
Server Programs for PCs Running Windows system. It also provides an easy-to-understand interface for controlling
Server programs for PCs running Windows suffer from all of access to your WWW server, as shown in the screen above.
the afflictions of server programs for UNIX-based workstations, MacHTTP version 2.0, the most recent version, offers many
because that is what they are: UNIX server programs that have
new features, including:
been ported to Windows. However, because they do not have
• Common Gateway Interface (CGI) support for integration with
access to the capabilities provided by UNIX, these server pro-
external applications, such as databases or e-mail applications.
grams are even more limited than the UNIX server programs.
• Security enhancements that support user name and password
Server programs for PCs running Windows severely limit the
security for all files it serves, in addition to MacHTTP access
number of simultaneous client connections, making them unsuit-
controls by domain name and IP address.
able for high-volume WWW sites. They have only a vestigial
• User interface enhancements, such as improved statistics
ability—via Perl scripts—to interact with most applications for
reporting and saved preferences for window settings and
Windows. And they have only minimal security support.
menu selections.
Worst of all, because of known memory allocation
• Increased Apple event support to allow complete remote
problems, none of these server programs can remain in
administration of MacHTTP from another Macintosh or any
continuous use for more than a few days before crashing the
authorized WWW client.
host machine. They are not recommended for production use,
and therefore we do not consider them further in this article. MacHTTP Specifications

MacHTTP, the Server Program for the • Native versions are available for both 680x0-based
Mac OS Platform Macintosh computers and PowerPC processor–based
systems
MacHTTP, the WWW server program for the Mac OS platform,
provides the full functionality of commercial UNIX server pro- • Requires less than 1 megabyte of RAM
grams and more, without any of the disadvantages. MacHTTP • Implements the HTTP/1.0 Standard
was designed to work in the Mac OS–based server environment,
• Multithreaded transfers
and is completely integrated with Macintosh® System 7.5; it is not
a ported product. The software places a relatively small load on • Compatible with other MacTCP® applications
your computer, in terms of memory and processor requirements. • Completely scriptable and recordable
MacHTTP runs in native mode on both 680x0-based Apple®
Macintosh systems and PowerPC™ processor–based systems.
The Mac OS Advantage Over Cost
Workgroup Servers from Apple start at less than half the price of
the UNIX Platform the lowest-cost UNIX-based workstations, and they’re easy to use
Once you have decided to publish information on the WWW, the and maintain. When you compare the price of a UNIX-based work-
next decision you need to make is which hardware and software station plus the additional cost of a full-time UNIX system adminis-
to use. This decision should be based on performance, reliability, trator with the price of a Workgroup Server, the Apple solution
cost, security, customer support, and flexibility. clearly provides more “bang for the buck.”
Performance
At first glance, you might think that UNIX-based workstations
would be the clear winners in the performance arena over any
Mac OS–based system. After all, a single UNIX workstation can
outperform a Workgroup Server from Apple, in terms of simulta-
neous connections supported. However, comparing the perfor-
mance of a Workgroup Server and a UNIX-based workstation is
like comparing apples and oranges. To compare apples to apples,
you must compare price and performance together. For example,
compare an $11,000 (U.S.) investment in Workgroup Servers with
the same investment in UNIX-based workstations. For that amount
today, you can buy either three Workgroup Servers or one low-
end UNIX-based workstation. The multiple Workgroup Servers,
working together, will outperform the single workstation every
With MacHTTP and a Workgroup Server from Apple, configuring your
time. A single Workgroup Server can serve 3,000 to 5,000 (or
WWW server is simply a matter of double-clicking the MacHTTP icon,
more) connections per hour, depending on the data being served as shown here. There’s no need for a full-time system administrator to
and the network bandwidth. This number of connections is far wade through complex installation requirements.
greater than the number that the average WWW site receives in
an entire day.
Security
Reliability A Workgroup Server running MacHTTP is much more secure than
For many potential WWW applications (such as on-line catalogs) any UNIX-based workstation, because of the many documented
downtime is not just an inconvenience—it costs money. While a security holes in the UNIX operating system. To provide even min-
Workgroup Server is, in general, as reliable as the typical UNIX- imal security for a UNIX-based workstation often requires expen-
based workstation, you can buy several Workgroup Servers for less sive or proprietary firewall software, in addition to an experienced
than the cost of a single UNIX-based workstation. If your one and UNIX system administrator.
only UNIX-based workstation bites the dust, you’re off the air until On the other hand, a Workgroup Server connected to the
it gets fixed. But if one of your several Workgroup Servers goes Internet is not subject to unauthorized access (a big UNIX security
down, the rest are unaffected. The others can continue to publish problem). Furthermore, MacHTTP does not allow random access
your information and service your customers. Mac OS–based sys- to the entire document tree. Only those files and documents that
tems running as dedicated WWW servers have demonstrated the you want to publicize are available to the Internet community.
ability to run unattended for months at a time, while UNIX-based
workstations performing the same functions are forced into peri-
odic reboots by operating system bugs, kernel panics, and admin-
istrative downtime. A list of some of the most persistently available
Mac OS–based servers on the Internet is available at the WWW
address http://www.ape.com/. Many of these servers have
been running since September 1994 with no downtime.
Support
Customer support for most UNIX-based WWW server programs
is limited to a few on-line documentation files. With some com-
mercial server programs, you can ask questions by e-mail, and they
might be answered a few days later. In addition, a few Internet
newsgroups are devoted to the topic, so other users can
commiserate.
In contrast, complete on-line support is provided for
MacHTTP by BIAP Systems, including on-line documentation,
answers to frequently asked questions, examples, tutorials, and
personal support to registered users and clients. E-mail questions
are usually answered within an hour, and always within 24 hours.
And there’s a large on-line community of MacHTTP users who
share tips and information in a dedicated e-mail forum.

Flexibility
While UNIX-based server programs can interact only with text
stream–based applications, MacHTTP has no such limitation.
A number of interface utilities already exist to link MacHTTP to
databases and text search engines, and to process credit card sales
through the First Virtual Holdings system. In addition, MacHTTP
can use AppleScript® (the built-in scripting language of the Mac
OS) to interact with any other application designed for Macintosh
systems (such as spreadsheets, word processors, and databases),
including custom applications. No formal C programming experi-
ence is required to take advantage of these capabilities.

Conclusion
Now is the time to become a part of the World Wide Web, and
the best way to do so is with Apple’s Workgroup Servers and
MacHTTP software. The desktop publishing revolution that started
with the Macintosh computer will continue to evolve on the
WWW, and Workgroup Servers from Apple provide the platform
of choice.

© 1995 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, AppleScript, Macintosh, and MacTCP are
registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. MacHTTP is a trade-
mark of BIAP Systems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other coun-
tries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company, Ltd. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft.
L00981A Printed in the U.S.A.