Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!apple!lsr
From: lsr@Apple.COM (Larry Rosenstein)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: Advice about buying apps and IAC
Message-ID: <13477@goofy.Apple.COM>
Date: 14 May 91 01:18:38 GMT
References: <674046650.1@blkcat.FidoNet>
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
Lines: 24

In article <674046650.1@blkcat.FidoNet> Charlie.Mingo@p4218.f421.n109.z1.FidoNet.Org (Charlie Mingo) writes:
>
>
>     Well, it's may not be as simple as that.  My understanding is that IAC
>simply creates a mechanism which *permits* apps to comminicate, but the
>actual comm protocols are not defined.  In other words, you've got to have
>some other protocol *on top of* IAC to accomplish anything.

There is a standardized language with which one app can talk to another.
It's called Apple events, and there are standard suites of events defined
already.  Applications that implement these standards should be able to talk
to each other, regardless of which company wrote the app.

On the other hand, there's nothing to prevent a developer from using the
low-level IAC mechanisms to send other kinds of data.  I would expect that
customer demand would encourage developers to follow the standards.



-- 
Larry Rosenstein, Apple Computer, Inc.

lsr@apple.com
(or AppleLink: Rosenstein1)