MacTCP was the standard

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the su ...

implementation for the

classic Mac OS Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. ...

through version 7.5.1. It was the first application-independent implementation of a TCP stack for a non-

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, ...

platform and predates

Winsock In computing, the Windows Sockets API (WSA), later shortened to Winsock, is an application programming interface (API) that defines how Windows network application software should access network services, especially TCP/IP. It defines a standar ...

by over 5 years. Released in 1988, it is considered obsolete and has reliability issues and incomplete features that sometimes prevent it from operating properly on the modern

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

. In addition, the API was unique to the Mac OS, and at least one developer released a

Berkeley Sockets Berkeley sockets is an application programming interface (API) for Internet sockets and Unix domain sockets, used for inter-process communication (IPC). It is commonly implemented as a library of linkable modules. It originated with the 4.2BS ...

-derived API to make porting from other platforms easier. It was originally a substantial purchase, carrying a $2,500 price tag for a site license, with an additional $2,500 fee for commercial use. The price was lowered until by the mid-1990s it sold for $60. MacTCP was not included free with Mac OS until

System 7.5 System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple Co ...

, when the rising popularity of the Internet made it a necessity. Apple replaced it in 1995 with

Open Transport Open Transport was the name given by Apple Inc. to its implementation of the Unix-originated System V STREAMS networking stack. Based on code licensed from Mentat's Portable Streams product, Open Transport was built to provide the classic Mac OS ...

, which had an improved interface for user configuration, although MacTCP remained in use on older systems due to its generally lower system requirements.

External links

MacTCP Manual

References

Macintosh operating systems APIs {{Mac-stub