WebObjects

Apple's new web technology has been around almost as long as the web itself. Today it runs more websites than you think.

When Apple bought NeXT Computer in late 1996, it got more than just the core of the Mac's future OS. It also brought in a suite of industrial-strength programming tools collectively known as Openstep Enterprise (now Apple Enterprise Software). For years these tools have attracted a small cadre of enlightened users in corporate MIS departments, for two important reasons. First, Openstep is object-oriented, meaning that programmers don't have to reinvent the wheel every time they create a new application. Does your application need to access a calendar? Use one of the calendar objects. Need a pop-up menu? Use the pop-up menu object. Think virtual standardized parts. The second great thing about Openstep is that it's not particularly choosy about who it works with. If your company runs everything on Windows NT, you can run Openstep on Windows NT. If your programmers do all their coding in Objective-C, except for those who use Visual Basic, Openstep lets them code in either language. Got an Oracle database running on a big old mainframe? Openstep can access the data and use it in your new application, without generating new code. For businesses that routinely measure time spent in debugging new code - not in man-hours but in consultant-months - Openstep can be a wise investment.

As more businesses began to use the worldwide web, NeXT decided to include some web tools in Openstep - thus WebObjects was born. Now fluent in even more languages, including java, WebObjects can run on a web server from Netscape, Microsoft, Apache - even from Apple. The popular WebSTAR server software now has a plug-in that will recognize WebObjects. And users of the web page creation software GoLive CyberStudio will be pleased to know that WebObjects support has been built-in since version 2.

The exciting part about WebObjects is this: it's being used.

And not just by the Apple Store either. WebObjects runs behind the scenes at lots of big name websites today. The Disney Store, Sharper Image and Club Med use it to let visitors access their catalog of products. E-Trade processes their stock sales with it. Aetna US Healthcare used it to write an intranet application that will let employees choose their health care plan from their desktop. While there's been a lot of buzzing about NASA discontinuing its use of the Mac OS, they do use WebObjects on the Goddard Space Center website. HotWired runs their chat rooms and bulletin boards with WebObjects.

Turning Browsers Into Buyers (and Other Corporate Conspiracies)

To test the power of WebObjects, I realized it would be necessary to enter the brave new world of "internet commerce" - that bloodless silent labyrinth of endless forms requiring your email address and credit card number. Questions of security and privacy may keep this stuff from ever catching on. Unlike the everyday experience of walking through a metal detector - when we sacrifice a degree of privacy in return for a degree of security - internet commerce expects us to sacrifice both. For what? Convenience? A lot of people find it more convenient to drive to the mall. On the other hand there were experts who said we'd never buy frozen vegetables.

I pondered the possibilities. What to purchase? A Bali vacation from Club Med? Sadly, I can barely afford the sunscreen. Hm, how about that Darth Vader helmet from Sharper Image? Only $1,200 plus shipping, and you can really wear it. Might even reduce the need for sunscreen ... I finally settled on a pan-fried catfish from a local restaurant featured on www.cybermeals.com

Cybermeals is based on a wonderfully practical idea that sounds horrible at first - internet food delivery. Go there to gawk and shake your head at the sorry state of the world today, but I bet you'll bookmark it. When you type in your zip code, Cybermeals gives you a list of restaurants near you that deliver, sorted by cuisine, complete with addresses and phone numbers. Click on a restaurant, and you'll get their menu and prices. At this stage, you can terminate your transaction, print out the menu and stash it under your keyboard for later reference, or for the bold at heart, continue on to place your order electronically. You'll need to give your name, address and phone number (just like with any delivery). You can use your credit card if you really want to, or you can opt for good old cash on delivery. If you're using your home phone for internet access, don't forget to hang up - nobody's going to send your dinner until they've called to confirm your order.

Incidentally if you've never eaten catfish you are missing out on one of life's great pleasures. Generously but mildly seasoned with pepper in butter sauce, this fillet was a true testimony of the power of WebObjects as a tool for internet commerce.

Consider for a moment the massive amount of work that's going on under the hood - thousands of restaurants with frequently-changing menus and prices. Cybermeals succeeded in getting lots of restaurants to come on board by offering them a free web presence - fees are only charged if restaurants get orders. So they were able to build a big Solaris database of restaurants. WebObjects resides on a Windows NT server between their database and their web servers ("middleware," as the geeks call it). So when you type in your zip code, WebObjects takes the relevant info from the database and uses it to dynamically create a web page. Cybermeals doesn't need a bunch of highly-paid HTML programmers on staff to continually update web pages. All they need is a bunch of moderately-paid data entry clerks who continually update the database.

WebObjects will soon be running on Rhapsody, which incidentally will be the first time you'll ever be able to run any of the Openstep Enterprise software on the Macintosh. Developers in the Apple Developer Connection can play with WebObjects on their new Rhapsody Developer Release 2 CD-ROM.