WebSTAR was a web server application for the classic Mac OS. It supported the

common gateway interface In computing, Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is an interface specification that enables web servers to execute an external program, typically to process user requests. Such programs are often written in a scripting language and are commonly re ...

(CGI) and its own

AppleEvents Apple events are the message-based interprocess communication mechanism in Mac OS, first making an appearance in System 7 and supported by every version of the classic Mac OS since then and by macOS. Apple events describe "high-level" events suc ...

-based W*API for plug-in support, as well as SSL and similar technologies used in most early web servers. Unlike most servers of the era, WebSTAR was very Mac-like in terms of installation and maintenance, using a number of AppleEvents-based MacOS programs for most tasks. WebSTAR was also part of Apple's Internet Server Solution, a package of internet server software and certain models of

PowerMac The Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, is a family of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer as the core of the Macintosh brand from March 1994 until August 2006. Described by ''MacWorld'' as "the most important te ...

machines. One popular use of WebSTAR was in combination with FileMaker to make simple database-driven online applications. The product traces its roots to the earlier MacHTTP, released as shareware by Chuck Shotton in 1993. StarNine licensed MacHTTP and released the greatly upgraded WebSTAR in 1995. StarNine was purchased by

Quarterdeck Office Systems Quarterdeck Office Systems, later Quarterdeck Corporation (NASDAQ: QDEK), was an American computer software company. It was founded by Therese Myers and Gary Pope in 1981 and incorporated in 1982. Their offices were initially located at 150 Pico B ...

shortly after the release, and along with many upgrades to WebSTAR the company also released Quarterdeck Mail for the Mac, and a little-known Microsoft Windows version of WebSTAR that quickly disappeared. Quarterdeck sold the entire StarNine division to a holding company in 1998, who sold it in turn to ACI in 2000. They released a

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...

version for

Mac OS X macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...

in 2001, which added the ability to directly run

Unix Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, an ...

-based CGIs. After several more releases, ACI (now known as 4D Inc.) sold the line to Kerio Technologies in 2006. The entire line is now dormant.

References

* * * * * * * * * {{cite web , title=Quarterdeck sells StarNine , url=http://www.zdnet.com/article/quarterdeck-sells-starnine/ , first=Andrea , last=Dudrow , date=13 January 1998 , website=ZDnet Web server software Classic Mac OS software