OpenDoc

OpenDoc
Company type	Software framework
Industry	Software development
Predecessor	Exemplar, Jedi, Amber (code names)
Founded	1992
Founder	Apple Inc.
Fate	Discontinued in March 1997
Headquarters	Cupertino, United States
Area served	Cross-platform (Mac OS, OS/2, Windows)
Products	Software componentry framework for compound documents
Owner	Apple Inc.
Parent	Apple Inc.

OpenDoc represented a cross-platform software componentry framework created by Apple during the 1990s to support compound documents. It was developed as an alternative to Microsoft's proprietary Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) technology. This initiative was among Apple's initial steps toward embracing open standards and fostering collaborative development with other industry players. The project's development responsibilities were eventually transferred to the non-profit entity Component Integration Laboratories, Inc. (CI Labs), which was supported by several leading corporations, effectively forming an industry consortium. In 1992, the AIM alliance, consisting of Apple, IBM, and Motorola, was established with OpenDoc serving as a central technology. The initiative was terminated in March 1997 following the return of Steve Jobs to Apple.

Overview

At its foundation, OpenDoc was designed around small, modular components tasked with specific functions such as text editing or bitmap manipulation. These components operated within a unified framework that allowed them to coexist seamlessly and generate compound documents containing data from each element. The system enabled documents to be accessed across multiple operating systems by selecting appropriate components from various vendors. This document-centric methodology removed reliance on a primary application, instead emphasizing interaction directly through the document interface.

The framework aimed to empower smaller third-party developers to compete in the office suite market by focusing on creating specialized applications rather than comprehensive suites. It anticipated trends such as online app stores and component marketplaces, which would provide distribution platforms for modular software elements and stimulate innovation among smaller software firms.

Background

Microsoft approached Apple seeking feedback on a proposed OLE II initiative. At the time, Apple was already experimenting with software components based on concepts from its Publish and Subscribe linking model and AppleScript (originating from HyperCard). Upon reviewing Microsoft's prototype, Apple identified several design flaws. However, competitive tensions prevented collaboration between the two companies.

Concurrently, third-party developers at WWDC '91 aimed to standardize a document format inspired by Electronic Arts' Interchange File Format (IFF). Apple embraced this idea and assigned engineers to create a component-based document system that required a unified document format. This effort evolved into an intricate object-oriented persistence layer known as Bento. The project underwent multiple code names, including "Exemplar," "Jedi," "Amber," before finally being named "OpenDoc."

Competing visions

In March 1992, the AIM alliance—comprising Apple, IBM, and Motorola—introduced OpenDoc as a foundational technology. Taligent, developed under AIM's umbrella, shared similar goals but employed different technical approaches. Apple's messaging confused developers by promoting OpenDoc as a tool for porting existing applications while simultaneously presenting Taligent as the future Macintosh operating system. In 1993, John Sculley characterized Project Amber (OpenDoc) as a stepping stone toward Taligent. With Taligent receiving priority and MacApp losing focus, developer attention became divided.

Throughout OpenDoc's existence, opinions among analysts and users were mixed regarding its role and the responsibilities shared between Apple and IBM. Only a limited number of OpenDoc components were released compared to Microsoft's ActiveX offerings, leading to varied reception.

Beginning in 1992, Apple sought to replace MacApp with Bedrock, a cross-platform framework developed by Symantec. As Symantec’s Think C gained traction on the Mac platform, Apple aimed to integrate MacApp concepts with Symantec's PowerPC porting tools through Bedrock. However, Bedrock competed directly with OpenDoc as Apple's future development environment.

As OpenDoc gained internal support at Apple, pressure increased on Symantec to incorporate OpenDoc capabilities into Bedrock. Symantec declined this integration and eventually abandoned the project, transferring its codebase back to Apple. After approximately 18 months marked by frequent team changes, Bedrock remained underdeveloped and was quietly shelved.

With both Taligent (canceled in 1996 without release) and Bedrock discontinued, Apple ultimately relied solely on OpenDoc as its modern object-oriented programming framework.

Collaborations and Industry Adoption

Around the middle of 1992, the development team established the Component Integration Laboratories (CI Labs) in partnership with IBM and WordPerfect to advance OpenDoc's promotion. IBM contributed its well-established System Object Model (SOM) along with the Distributed SOM (DSOM) shared library systems derived from AIX and OS/2 environments. These technologies enabled dynamic networked data linking across different platforms—functionality that was not present in Microsoft's OLE and COM frameworks. SOM became a foundational technology for Apple's ongoing OpenDoc initiatives.

By March 1995, CI Labs had expanded to include Apple, IBM, Novell, and SunSoft. IBM announced plans for the forthcoming release of OpenDoc OS/2 Developer Toolkit version 2, which would provide the complete API, followed by OpenDoc 1.0 tailored for OS/2 3.0. The CommonPoint framework from Taligent incorporated compound document capabilities built on OpenDoc principles. Novell intended to decompose its software offerings into OpenDoc components, beginning with WordPerfect and subsequently its NetWare operating system, aiming to evolve NetWare into a managed Compound Document Service that facilitates network object linking and search functionalities. Novell also viewed OpenDoc as a strategic platform for developing UnixWare applications, addressing UnixWare's lack of component-based architecture and the absence of Microsoft's OLE/COM source code availability. More than twenty companies publicly declared their support for OpenDoc, underscoring its technological advantages and cross-platform compatibility.

In 1996, the Object Management Group incorporated OpenDoc into its standards partly due to SOM’s implementation of Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). Although CI Labs licensed source code to developers for evaluation purposes, it never issued a public release.

Product Launch

OpenDoc made its debut on System 7.5 in September 1994 and was subsequently introduced on OS/2 Warp 4.

Available Software

Following three years of development efforts, Apple's OpenDoc-based web browser, CyberDog, was launched in May 1996. On August 1 of the same year, IBM distributed two OpenDoc component packages for OS/2 through Club OpenDoc: Person Pak designed for personal information management at , and Table Pak geared toward database storage at , with ambitions to deliver an additional fifty components by the end of that year.

Prominent OpenDoc applications included Digital Harbor LLC’s WAV word processor; Adrenaline Software’s Numbers & Charts spreadsheet featuring live 3D charting capabilities; Soft-Linc’s Lexi linguistic suite equipped with spell checking and thesaurus functions; and Nisus Writer’s flawed implementation of OpenDoc. Bare Bones Software contributed BBEdit Lite as an OpenDoc editor component. The integrated office suite RagTime was adapted to use OpenDoc shortly before its cancellation. Apple’s intended integration of OpenDoc components within ClarisWorks 5.0 was eventually abandoned.

Educational Applications

MetaMind Software created an OpenDoc container application named Dock'Em, funded by the National Science Foundation and commissioned by The Center for Research in Math and Science Education at San Diego State University, which aimed to embed multimedia elements into educational curriculum documents.

In collaboration with Russian company Physicon, MetaMind developed several physics simulation components targeting middle and high school curricula as OpenDoc parts. After the discontinuation of OpenDoc, these simulations were rewritten as Java applets and released under The Constructing Physics Understanding (CPU) Project led by Dr. Fred Goldberg.

The E-Slate educational microworlds platform initially utilized OpenDoc parts programmed in C++ for MacOS and Windows but later transitioned to Java applets and ultimately JavaBeans following the end of OpenDoc support.

Cancellation

OpenDoc, which had attracted several hundred developers, was discontinued in March 1997 following Steve Jobs' return to Apple. Jobs remarked that Apple’s leadership essentially "put a bullet through [OpenDoc's] head," resulting in major layoffs within the Apple Advanced Technology Group. Additionally, Microsoft hired three developers from ClarisWorks who had worked on integrating OpenDoc.

Starting with Mac OS 8.5, OpenDoc was no longer included by default. While AppleShare IP Manager versions 5.0 through 6.2 relied on OpenDoc, this dependence was eliminated in version 6.3, released in 1999 and compatible with Mac OS 9. The "OpenDoc" trademark was officially abandoned by Apple on June 11, 2005.

External links

Archived OpenDoc page at Apple
Archived overview of OpenDoc
Archived IBM Club OpenDoc site
Final OpenDoc release for OS/2 (educational use)
Video of Steve Jobs explaining Apple's rationale for discontinuing OpenDoc at the 1997 developer conference