MacOS Server is dead.
But mostly it was an easy to use frontend to services build into the Mac system anyway.
If Xojo wants to become better known and show itself off, then how about writing a replacement for MacOS Server?
They could even make XojoServer for Mac open-source and involve the community with different groups specializing on different aspects.
I’ve thought about doing something like that myself. I don’t think it’s aligned with Xojo’s business to put out a replacement for OS X Server, but I wouldn’t mind it if someone did a replacement with similar functionality for a similar price.
If I were going to make it work I really need to start on it now to have something ready for next year. Unfortunately I don’t think I would be able to start on it anytime soon.
Well, I just participated in Pauls latest webinar which was the same he did in 2017 and 2016 and 2015 and 2014 and 2013. It reminded me of some university lectures where the lecturer did the same lecture as he did 15 years ago when my biology teacher attended his lecture. Whats the point? Thats what Youtube is for. He could simply have pointed beginners to the previous identical webinars and done something interesting instead (I had send Paul at least 10 webinar topics that would be interesting and useful).
But it got me thinking: what is the point of these webinars? To spread the word on Xojo? Show what you can do with it? In either case a prestige project like a replacement for MacOS Server would be MUCH more effective (especially when accompanied by How did we do it webinars on how some things were achieved)… If Xojo wants to be taken serious, then they have to show something serious, not absolute beginner level webinars - those just emphasize their reputation as a toy language.
Is it Xojos core business? No. But Pauls time could surely be used better than rehashing the same things again and again and again
Also, while the server market might be too small for Apple to bother with, it could be big for a small company like Xojo certainly bigger than some of their other targets. Maybe a phone call to Apple and an offer to implement a replacement if Apple could let them know if its worth their while might be informative
I’d rather someone implement a tool like goPanel that doesn’t suck than a whole server software solution. We already have great web serving software like Apache, we don’t need yet another server. What does need to be made is a tool that makes setup of existing technology easier.
goPanel looks great, but the more you use it, the more problems you find. I would definitely be interested in an alternative.
[quote=376394:@Tim Parnell]I’d rather someone implement a tool like goPanel that doesn’t suck than a whole server software solution. We already have great web serving software like Apache, we don’t need yet another server. What does need to be made is a tool that makes setup of existing technology easier.
goPanel looks great, but the more you use it, the more problems you find. I would definitely be interested in an alternative.[/quote]
I think you misunderstood me. MacOS server app wasnt a separate Apple server, it was a GUI to the Macs build-in components, including Apache. And much more beside it. The software is thete. The easy to use interface is going away.
[quote=376397:@Greg O’Lone]Has anyone looked at MAMP or MAMP Pro?
https://www.mamp.info/en/[/quote]
Yes. Where do you see the easy to use interface like in the MacOS server app?
I find it extremely easy to use. It is completely gui driven and certainly much easier to use than configuring each service manually.
It does let you set up Apache, Nginx, MySQL, Dynamic DNS, Memcached, Postfix, PHP, Python, Perl and Ruby… some of which is a single checkbox to “Turn This On”.
It doesn’t seem to have dovecot with amavis, spamassassin, and clamav or a caldav server but it hits a lot of the marks. How easy it is to use I couldn’t judge since I don’t plan on downloading.
I suspected as much - you actually have not used MacOS Server, have you? Because MAMP and MacOS Server are two very different things. From Wikipedia:
MAMP:
MAMP is a solution stack composed of free and open-source and proprietary commercial software used to run dynamic web sites on Mac OS computers.
MAMP is an acronym of macOS, the operating system; Apache, the web server; MySQL, the database management system; and PHP, Perl, or Python, all programming languages used for web development.
MacOS X Server app:
macOS Server, formerly Mac OS X Server and OS X Server, is a separately sold operating system add-on which provides additional server programs along with management and administration tools for macOS.
Prior to version 10.7 (Lion), Mac OS X Server was a separate but similar Unix[3] server operating system from Apple Inc. architecturally identical to its desktop counterpart Mac OS X. With the release of version 10.7 (Lion), Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server were combined into one release. A separate “server” operating system is no longer sold; the server-specific server applications and work group management and administration software tools from Mac OS X Server are now offered as macOS Server, an add-on package for macOS sold through the Mac App Store[4] along with Workgroup Manager 10.8, available from the Apple support web site.[5]
These tools simplify access to key network services, including a mail transfer agent, AFP and SMB servers, an LDAP server, a domain name server, and others. Also included (particularly in later versions) are numerous additional services and the tools to manage them, such as web server, wiki server, chat server, calendar server, and many others.
Actually I have, in fact Ive got it running on a Mac Pro in my office right now… and have had a version on a server since v10.6.
I understand what youre saying Markus, but the reality is that Xojo writes development tools, not server management tools.
Heres an idea… why dont you make this XojoServer product you want so much?
While Markus makes a point about a high profile product built with Xojo (and by Xojo it seems) I have to agree with Greg that this is too far outside the box. I’d even guess that Xojo cloud was more formulated to facilitate publishing web apps than to make a profit.
You know, there’s a reason for MacOS Server Software being discontinued. I’ll summarize: “in a Linux server world, there’s no public for it”.