Tao of Mac

Sep 18th 1989 · 1 min read · #archive #history #nextstep #operating-systems #unix

NeXTSTEP

NeXTSTEP was the UNIX-based, object-oriented operating system developed by NeXT. It combined the Mach microkernel, a BSD userland and an Objective-C application framework (later OpenStep), plus the Display PostScript-based Window Server.

Key Technologies

  • Mach microkernel + BSD services
  • Objective-C / AppKit (precursor to Cocoa)
  • Interface Builder and rapid prototyping paradigm
  • Display PostScript rendering

Legacy

Large portions of NeXTSTEP evolved into the foundations of macOS (formerly Mac OS X) after Apple’s acquisition of NeXT (1996), forming the basis of the modern Cocoa APIs and core OS architecture.

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