''Develop: The Apple Technical Journal'' was a quarterly

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

published by

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

for a total of twenty-nine issues between 1990 and 1997. The

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

journal consisted of highly technical information written primarily by Apple

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

for Apple developers. As a result of Apple's acquisition of

NeXT NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...

Computer and subsequent return of

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

in 1997, Develops' production was terminated within Apple. This action was done to return Apple to a state of profitability. ''Develop: The Apple Technical Journal'' lives on in a digital format as a guest column within ''

MacTech ''MacTech'' is a monthly magazine for consultants, IT Pros, system administrators, software developers, and other technical users of the Apple Macintosh line of computers. The magazine was called "MacTech" for its first two issues, starting in ...

'' to this day.

Content

''Develop'' was written by Apple engineers for Apple developers and could almost be described as a

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

rather than a magazine. Every issue is packed full of detailed information regarding

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

and hardware tools relevant at the time of publishing, along with pages upon pages of example code. Most issues contained over one hundred pages of text, pictures, and diagrams, and each issue contained over ten articles and columns. These entries include a common theme of hardware and software

troubleshooting Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes on a machine or a system. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem in order to solve it, and make the product or process ope ...

, tips and tricks for all aspects of coding,

tutorial In education, a tutorial is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...

s for new software, and countless other computer-related instructions.

History

Apple ''Develop'' had twenty-nine quarterly issues between 1990 and 1997. It was one of many products Apple created in the absence of their co-founder,

, between 1985 and 1997. The products that this Cupertino, California-based technology giant released during that period of time had varying levels of success, leaving Apple in financially rocky territory. These products included the

Apple Newton The Newton is a specified standard and series of personal digital assistants (PDAs) developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Computer, Inc. from 1993 to 1998. An early device in the PDA categorythe term itself originating with the Newtonit w ...

Apple Pippin The Pippin (stylized as PiPP!N) is a defunct open multimedia technology platform, designed by Apple Computer. According to Apple, Pippin was directed at the home market as "an integral part of the consumer audiovisual, stereo, and television e ...

Apple QuickTake The Apple QuickTake (codenamed ''Venus'', ''Mars'', ''Neptune'') is one of the first consumer digital camera lines. It was launched in 1994 by Apple Computer and was marketed for three years before being discontinued in 1997. Three models of th ...

, and, of course, Apple ''Develop''. In 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple after Apple acquired his company,

Computers, for its valuable resources. He took on the role of

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and began making significant changes. These included the closure of many departments and the cancelation of several hardware and software products. ''Develop'' was one of the products affected by the massive restructuring of Apple that took place in 1997. The cancelation of ''Develop'' was likely done to assist in returning Apple to a state of

profitability In economics, profit is the difference between revenue that an economic entity has received from its outputs and total costs of its inputs, also known as surplus value. It is equal to total revenue minus total cost, including both Explicit co ...

and focus its resources on quality over quantity of products. The magazine is now accessible through a few digital sources. They include vintageapple.org and mactech.com, which are both accessible through the external links section.

Chronology

References

External links

"develop"
Vintage Apple Develop Magazine Library

Article Archives at MacTech Quarterly magazines published in the United States Defunct computer magazines published in the United States Engineering magazines Magazines established in 1990 Magazines disestablished in 1997 Magazines published in California Works about Apple Inc. {{Apple-stub