used within WebObjects. Swing interface: WebObjects applications can be delivered to the user as a "Java Client application" or as a Java applet. Version history WebObjects was originally released by NeXT Computer in March 1996, but was acquired by Apple Inc. with their acquisition of NeXT in December of that year. 1.0 — March 28, 1996 Debut release. 2.0 — June 25, 1996 Pre-release version of WebObjects Builder application. 3.0 — November 1996 3.1 Supports a subset of the Java APIs (NT only). 3.5 — December 1997 Enhanced Java support (NT only): all objects and components can be worked on as a set of Java APIs based on a complete implementation of the JDK 1.1.3. 4.0 — September 1998 First version of WebObjects to run on the Mac platform — specifically Mac OS X Server 1.0 (a public release of the beta OS formerly code-named 'Rhapsody'). OPENSTEP 4.2 OS no longer supported; Windows NT now uses a new version of the OpenStep base of libraries and binary support called Yellow Box. Direct actions introduced whereby actions can be sent directly to an object that can handle it, allowing for simpler, static URLs. Direct to Web code-free development assistant introduced. WebObjects and Enterprise Objects Framework provide thread-safe APIs. This means that you can write a multithreaded WebObjects application where you couldn't before. This enables applications that can provide user feedback for long-running requests. Better tools for managing, configuring and testing the scalability of applications. Java capabilities are greatly improved over previous version, however compiled Objective-C is still two to three times faster; Possible to build a fully capable Java client either as a stand-alone app or as an applet with the Interface Builder - all sorts of Swing and Java Bean components are sitting on IB palettes for wiring up. Developers can now debug applications on a machine that doesn't have a web server present. EOF 3.0 adds support for a new database, OpenBase Lite, which ships with EOF 3.0 as an unsupported demo. EOF 3.0 introduces new API, mainly in EOUtilities, to facilitate common programming tasks. EOModeler adds support for prototype attributes and the ability to create and store complex queries (or EOFetchSpecifications). 4.5 —; March 2000 Integrated XML support using IBM's alphaWorks parser. New WebObjects Builder interface, specifically in the main window toolbar, the user interface for binding keys, and the table editing user interface. A path view, an