WebSTAR was a

web server A web server is computer software and underlying hardware that accepts requests via HTTP (the network protocol created to distribute web content) or its secure variant HTTPS. A user agent, commonly a web browser or web crawler, initi ...

application 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. Th ...

. 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-based W*API for plug-in support, as well as

SSL SSL may refer to: Entertainment * RoboCup Small Size League, robotics football competition * ''Sesame Street Live'', a touring version of the children's television show * StarCraft II StarLeague, a Korean league in the video game Natural language ...

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 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 Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...

by Chuck Shotton in 1993. StarNine licensed MacHTTP and released the greatly upgraded WebSTAR in 1995. StarNine was purchased by Quarterdeck Office Systems 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 makes ...

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 lapt ...

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, a ...

-based CGIs. After several more releases, ACI (now known as 4D Inc.) sold the line to

Kerio Technologies Kerio Technologies, Inc. is a former technology company specializing in collaboration software and unified threat management for small and medium organizations. Founded in 2001, Kerio is headquartered in San Jose, California. In January 2017, GFI ...

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