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Apple’s Inside Macintosh 1984 to 1996

Published February 18, 2024

Last updated on December 6, 2024

These books provided guidance and examples for developers about the features, routines, and services available in the Macintosh Operating System for interacting with and managing Memory, Files, Sound, Toolbox etc.

NOTE: see my Macintosh Reference Documentation post for other information sources.

The Original Inside Macintosh

The original Inside Macintosh library of books appeared in six volumes from 1985 to 1991. These volumes each focused on a particular version of the system software, sometimes prompted by the release of new hardware configurations. Often the later volumes described only new system software components or changes to existing system software components.

The majority of the links below are to the scanned copies on the Internet Archive, the remaining links are to the page listing PDF versions on the vintageapple.org site

  • Volume 1 / Volume I (1984): describes the original user interface guidelines for Macintosh applications and an introduction to memory management and assembly language. It also describes QuickDraw, the Resource Manager, the Event Manager, the Font Manager, the Window Manager, the Menu Manager, the Dialog Manager, TextEdit, and other routines relating to the user interface that you can use in your applications.
  • Volume 2 / Volume II (1984): describes the Macintosh Operating System, including the routines that perform file I/O, device I/O, memory management, and interrupt handling. It covers the File Manager, the Device Manager, the Printing Manager, the AppleTalk Manager, and various drivers and utilities.
  • Volume 3 / Volume III (1985): describes the Finder interface, provides an overview of the hardware of the Macintosh 128k and Macintosh 512K computers and contains summaries of the Pascal interface for all routines described in Volumes I and II.
  • Volume 4 / Volume IV (1986): describes routines introduced with the Macintosh Plus and Macintosh 512K enhanced computers. It introduces the Hierarchical File System, the SCSI Manager, the Time Manager, the List Manager. The volume also describes changes to various managers and drivers and presents an overview of the Macintosh Plus hardware.
  • Volume 5 / Volume V (1986): describes routines introduced with the Macintosh SE and Macintosh II computers. It describes Color QuickDraw, the Palette Manager, the Script Manager, the Sound Manager, the Slot Manager, the Apple Desktop Bus, and changes made to various managers to support color. The volume also includes additional user interface guidelines and compatibility guidelines. It explains how to add color to menus, windows, and dialog boxes. It also discusses hierarchical, scrolling and pop-up menus.
  • Volume 6 / Volume VI (1991) third printing: describes the system software version 7.0 environment, new managers available with version 7.0, new routines and data structures, new user interface guidelines, and how to take advantage of the version 7.0 environment. This volume is also available in an on-line edition. The on-line edition provides a navigation model that lets you browse through information and it provides a search capability to quickly locate routines, data structures, and other text.

Macintosh Technical Library

From the Macintosh Family Hardware Reference (1988): At the core of the Macintosh Technical Library is the original Inside Macintosh, the definitive reference to the Macintosh Toolbox and Operating System. The following are additions to those documents:

spInside Mac 1989 to 1993

Of course the most essential documentation for the Macintosh is Inside Macintosh, so Developer Essentials (on the Developer CDs) offers you SpInside Macintosh, an on-line version of Volumes I-V. SpInside Macintosh combines these volumes into a single, searchable electronic form (HyperCard) that’s cross-referenced with the Macintosh Technical Notes Stack, the Q & A Stack, and the Human Interface Notes Stack. Based on text from page 86 develop spring 1991 issue 6

Some ambitious folks in Developer Technical Support (DTS) put the original volumes I-V into a Hypercard stack and dubbed it “spInside Mac”.

The Inside Macintosh Story: The August 1992 Issue of Apple Direct

SpInside Macintosh was an attempt at putting the entire contents of “Inside Macintosh” into a useable electronic format. It was inspired by developer feedback on the Technical Notes Stack, “Phil & Dave’s Excellent CD”, and by the need for an electronic version of “Inside Mac.”.

According to the provided About text, the authors did not rewrite the text (i.e., they even left the Lisa references), but they did try to correct small issue where they could, including trying to note machine or system software dependent references where the text may not have been clear, and incorporating an interim chapter on the Script Manager 2.0 and completely replaced the Sound Manager chapter. Additionally information from Volumes IV and V has been inserted where deemed appropriate into the original text; however, some paragraphs may seem out of place.

The New Inside Macintosh 1992

The new Inside Macintosh books, published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, replaced the Original Inside Macintosh books and were intended to provide a more complete and more useful reference to the Macintosh system software. For example, the book Inside Macintosh: Files contains virtually all the available information related to files, including a complete description of File Manager, the standard File Package, the Alias Manager, and the Disk Initialization Manager.

The August 1992 issue of Apple Direct newsletter announces and describes the New Inside Macintosh Books:

At Macworld in Boston, Apple released Processes, Memory, and Files, 3 books of the currently planned 15-volume set. But don’t throw out your current Inside Macintosh, Volumes I-VI, yet! The remaining 12 new books will be released a few at a time over the next ten months. But by Spring 1993, developers will be able to use a completely reorganized and rewritten, thoroughly integrated set of reference and instructional books on the Macintosh Toolbox, Operating System, and more.

The Inside Macintosh Story: The August 1992 Issue of Apple Direct

Advertisement form the Apple Developer Catalog August 1996

In addition to the PDF versions I’ve linked below, the HTML versions are available from www.devworld.apple.com 1997.06

  1. Inside Macintosh: Overview (1992): provides an general introduction to programming for Macintosh computers and to the Inside Macintosh Library of reference books. Unless you are already an experienced developer of software for Macintosh computers, you should read tis book for a general overview of the Macintosh system software and of the programming techniques that you should use when developing your application.
  2. Inside Macintosh: AOCE Application Interfaces (1994): describes the application programming interfaces (APIs) to PowerTalk system software and to services provided by PowerShare collaboration servers. The technology underlying the PowerTalk and PowerShare software is called the Apple Open Collaboration Environment (AOCE).
  3. Inside Macintosh: AOCE Service Access Modules (1994): describes the mechanisms by which you can add catalog and messaging services to those that are available through PowerTalk system software and PowerShare collaboration servers. The technology underlying the PowerTalk and PowerShare software is called the Apple Open Collaboration Environment (AOCE)
  4. Inside Macintosh: Devices (1994): describes the parts of the Macintosh Operating System that allow you to directly control, manage, and communicate with internal and external hardware devices. It contains information you need to know to write applications and device drivers that interface with the Device Manager, Slot Manager, SCSI Manager, SCSI Manager 4.3, ADB Manager, Power Manager, and Serial Driver.
  5. Inside Macintosh: Files (1992): describes the parts of the Macintosh Operating System that allow you to manage files. It shows in detail how your application can handle the commands typically found in a File menu. It also provides a complete technical reference to the File Manager, the Standard File Package, the Alias Manager, and other file-related services provided by the system software.
  6. Inside Macintosh: Imaging with QuickDraw (1994): describes how to create images, display them in black and white or color, and print them using QuickDraw—the imaging engine available on all Macintosh computers.
  7. Inside Macintosh: Interapplication Communication (1993): describes the interapplication communication architecture, which provides a standard and extensible mechanism for communication among Macintosh applications. This book also describes the system software routines that you can use to implement various forms of interapplication communication in your application.
  8. Inside Macintosh: Memory (1992): describes the parts of the Macintosh system software that allow you to allocate memory directly, release it, or otherwise manipulate it. The book includes introductory material about managing memory on Macintosh computes as well as a complete technical reference to the Memory Manager, the Virtual Memory Manager, and other memory-related services provide by the system software.
  9. Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox (1993): together with Inside Macintosh Toolbox Essentials (1992) describe features you can build into your Macintosh application and documents the system software routines for implementing those features. This book describes how you can enhance your application by supporting copy and paste and providing messages for help balloons, and other features such as scrolling lists in dialog boxes and icons in windows.
  10. Inside Macintosh: Networking (1994): describes the AppleTalk protocols and the application programming interfaces to them. AppleTalk is a network system including hardware and software that supports communication over a variety of data-link types. Using AppleTalk, applications and processes can transfer and exchange data and share resources. The central part of the AppleTalk software consists of a number of protocols arranged in layers, with each protocol offering different services.
  11. Inside Macintosh Operation System Utilities (1994): describes the parts of the Macintosh Operating System that allow you to manage various low-level aspects of the system software: Gestalt Manger; System Error Handler; Mathematical and Logical Utilities; Date, Time and Measurement Utilities; Control Panel Extensions; Queue Utilities; Parameter RAM; Trap Manager; Start Manager; Package Manager.
  12. Inside Macintosh: PPC Numerics (1994): is the reference for the PowerPC Numerics environment. PowerPC Numerics is an environment in which floating-point operations are performed quickly and as accurately as possible. The PowerPC Numerics environment applies to Macintosh computers that use the PowerPC processor. The core features of PowerPC Numerics are not exclusive to Apple Computer; rather they are taken from IEEE Standard 754 for binary floating-point arithmetic and the standard proposed by the Floating-Point C Extensions (FPCE) branch of the Numerical C Extensions Group (ANSI X3J11.1).
  13. Inside Macintosh: PPC System Software (1994): This book, Inside Macintosh: PowerPC System Software, describes the new process execution environment and system software services provided with the first version of the system software for Macintosh on PowerPC computers. It contains information you need to know to write applications and other software that can run on PowerPC processor-based Macintosh computers.
  14. Inside Macintosh: Processes (1992): describes the parts of the Macintosh system software that allow you to manage processes and tasks. It includes introductory material about managing processes on Macintosh computers as well as a complete technical reference to the process Manager, the Time manager, the Vertical Retrace Manager, and other process-related services provided by the system software.
  15. Inside Macintosh: QD GX Environment & Utils (1994): QuickDraw GX is an integrated, object-based approach to graphics programming on Macintosh computers. This book, Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Environment and Utilities, describes a wide variety of QuickDraw GX application-development topics.
  16. Inside Macintosh: QD GX Graphics (1994): QuickDraw GX is an integrated, object-based approach to graphics programming on Macintosh computers. This book, Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Graphics, describes the data types and functions you use to create graphic images.
  17. Inside Macintosh: QD GX Objects (1994): QuickDraw GX is an integrated, object-based approach to graphics programming on Macintosh computers. This book, Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Objects, gets you started by describing the object system and showing you how to create and manipulate the fundamental QuickDraw GX objects.
  18. Inside Macintosh: QD GX Printing (1994): QuickDraw GX is an integrated, object-based approach to graphics programming on Macintosh computers. This book, Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Printing, describes how to design your application to use the printing features of QuickDraw Gx. It begins with an introduction to printing with QuickDraw GX and discusses architectural aspects of QuickDraw GX printing features—printing-related objects and the user interfaces. Then the book separates QuickDraw GX printing features into core features, page formatting and dialog box customization, and advanced features. You only need to read as many chapters as apply to your application’s printing needs.
  19. Inside Macintosh: QD GX Printing Ext & Drivers (1994): QuickDraw GX is an integrated, object-based approach to graphics programming on Macintosh computers. This book, Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Printing Extensions and Drivers, describes how to design and develop printing extensions and printer drivers for use with QuickDraw GX
  20. Inside Macintosh: QD GX Typography (1994): QuickDraw GX is an integrated, object-based approach to graphics programming on Macintosh computers. This book, Inside Macintosh: QuickDraw GX Typography, describes the QuickDraw GX typographic shapes that display text and shows you how to create and manipulate those shapes.
  21. Inside Macintosh: QuickTime (1993): describes QuickTime, an extension of Macintosh system software that enables you to integrate time-based data into mainstream Macintosh applications. This book also provides a complete technical reference to the Movie Toolbox, the Image Compression Manager, and the movie resources.
  22. Inside Macintosh: QuickTime Components (1993): describes the components supplied by Apple Computer, Inc., with QuickTime. A component is a code resource that is registered by the Component Manager. To understand components fully, you should be familiar with the material in the chapter “Component Manager” in Inside Macintosh: More Macintosh Toolbox, which describes how to build a component
  23. Inside Macintosh: Sound (1994): describes the parts of the Macintosh system software that allow you to manage sounds. It describes the services provided by the three principal sound-related system software managers (the Sound Manager, the Sound Input Manager, and the Speech Manager) and shows in detail how an application can record and play back sounds, compress and expand audio data, convert text to speech and perform other similar operations.
  24. Inside Macintosh: Text (1993): this book documents the parts of the Macintosh that allow you to generate and manipulate text, including text in multiple languages. It includes introductory material on the Macintosh approach to text handling, as well as a complete technical reference to each of the text-handling managers in the system software.
  25. Inside Macintosh: Toolbox Essentials (1992): describes the essential elements of a Macintosh application and the system software routines that you can use to implement them. The book provides information about events, windows, menus, controls, alert boxes, dialog boxes and how you application interacts with Finder.
  26. Inside Macintosh: X-Ref (1995): provides a combined index for the following Inside Macintosh volumes: AOCE Application Interfaces, AOCE Service Access Modules, Devices, Files, Imaging with QuickDraw, Interapplication Communication, Macintosh Toolbox Essentials, Memory, More Macintosh Toolbox, Networking, Operating System Utilities, Overview, Power PC Numerics, PowerPC System Software, Processes, QuickDraw GX Environment and Utilities, QuickDraw GX Graphics, QuickDraw GX Objects, QuickDraw GX Printing, QuickDraw GX Printing Extensions and Drivers, QuickDraw GX Typography, QuickTime, QuickTime Components, Sound, Text.
  27. Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines (1992) : although not technically part of the Inside Macintosh series, but often referenced by those book, the guidelines describes the way to create products that optimize the interaction between people and Macintosh computers. It explains the whys and hows of the Macintosh interface in general terms and specific details.

1994 Electronic Guide to Macintosh Human Interface Design

The Electronic Guide to Macintosh Human Interface Design combines the full electronic text of the classic book, Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines, with the multimedia presentations of Making It Macintosh on one convenient and easy-to-use CD-ROM disc. Anyone involved in programming the Macintosh or designing any type of computer interface will find Electronic Guide to Macintosh Human Interface Design to be an essential resource.

  • The illustrations, animations, and examples found on the award-winning Making It Macintosh are an invaluable reference to Macintosh interface design. This interactive guide contains over 100 animated examples that demonstrate the correct use of Macintosh interface elements, including visual examples illustrating the appearance and behavior of menus, windows, dialog boxes, icons, language, and QuickTime.
  • The electronic version of Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines contains hypertext links for easy navigation between the book and the examples in Making It Macintosh.

System Requirements:

  • A Macintosh with at least 8 MB of memory, a 13-inch color monitor and a CD-ROM drive
  • Macintosh System 7.0 or later
  • QuickTime (The QuickTime system extension is included on this disc for you to install if it’s not already resident in your Macintosh.)

Text from www.devworld.apple.com 1997.06.15

1995 Inside Macintosh CD-ROM

The 1995 Inside Macintosh CD-ROM contains copies of all the New Inside Macintosh books listed above and the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines as Apple DocViewer Documents. The readme states that at least 2000KB of memory must be available to open and view the documents.

The Apple Developer Series CD-ROMs also contained copies of the New Inside Macintosh books starting in 1993 and continuing to at least 1998 with PDF versions on the 1998-09 Reference Disk 2 under Technical Documentation, PDF

Advertisement form the Apple Developer Catalog August 1996

1995 Additional Inside Macintosh books

The following books were added after 1995, all were provided as electronica copies online or on CD, and some also had a physical copy (*):.

  • 3D Graphics Programming with QuickDraw 3D* (1995): describes QuickDraw 3D, a graphics library that you can use to define three-dimensional (3D) models, apply colors and other attributes to parts of the models, and create images of those models. You can use these capabilities to develop a wide range of applications, including interactive three-dimensional modeling, simulation and animation, data visualization, computer-aided drafting and design, games, and many other use.
  • 3D Metafile Reference: The 3D Metafile is a file format for 3D graphics applications that make use of the QuickDraw 3D graphics library or other object-based 3D graphics libraries. This document describes the 3D Metafile file format. This standard is put forward to promote compatibility among 3D graphics applications and is meant to facilitate the transfer and exchange of data between distinct applications. The file format also permits a project to be saved to a file in such a way that it may be resumed or altered at a later time.
  • Apple Game Sprockets Guide (1996): Apple Game Sprockets is a set of libraries that enhance your ability to create games for the Macintosh or any computer running the Mac OS. This book introduces you to the features of Apple Game Sprockets and helps you get started programming games in a new and easier way. This book contains four chapters, each corresponding to one of the four libraries that define the Apple Game Sprockets.
  • Apple Guide Complete: Designing and Developing Onscreen Assistance* (1995): If you’ve been waiting to give your users more than just onscreen reference information, now you can with Apple Guide, Apple Computer’s innovative help delivery system. With Apple Guide, you can produce guide files that actually lead users, step by step, through complex tasks and concepts. If you want to provide task-oriented, context-specific instructions, Apple Guide gives you the ease and flexibility to do so. You’ll learn about the complete cycle of designing, scripting, and coding guide files in this book.
  • AppleScript Finder Guide* (1994): describes the commands and object classes defined by the Finder for use with the English dialect of the AppleScript language. The Finder scripting software allows you to write, record, or run scripts that control actions in the Finder such as opening and closing folders and manipulating files.
  • AppleScript Language Guide* (1994): is a complete guide to the English dialect of the AppleScript language. AppleScript allows you to create sets of written instructions–known as scripts–to automate and customize your applications.
  • AppleScript Scripting Additions Guide* (1993): describes the scripting additions that accompany the AppleScript English dialect of the AppleScript language. Scripting additions are files that extend the capabilities of the AppleScript language by providing additional commands you can use in scripts.
  • Advanced Color Imaging on the Mac OS* (1995): describes how to use the Palette Manager, the Color Picker Manager (version 2.0), the ColorSync Manager (version 2.0), and the Color Manager. The accompanying CD-ROM disk contains Acrobat and QuickView formats of Advanced Color Imaging Reference, which in turn document the constants, data types, and functions defined by the Palette Manager, the Color Picker Manager (version 2.0), the ColorSync Manager (version 2.0), and the Color Manager.
  • Cyberdog Programmer’s Kit*: For users who wish to access network information, Cyberdog is a set of tools with which to search and browse the Internet, access Internet mail and newsgroups, and access content located on the Internet. For developers who wish to provide such tools, Cyberdog is a collection of OpenDoc classes and extensions for creating OpenDoc parts that access and display remotely located content. This book and its accompanying CD-ROM disk make up the Cyberdog Programmer’s Kit. It provides the tools you need and shows you how to develop Cyberdog components.
  • MacApp Class and Method Reference: provides complete descriptions of the classes, methods, fields, global variables, and functions that you can use in both the classic 68K and PowerPC environments
  • MacApp Programmers Guide*: xplains the theory and architecture behind MacApp, describes the programming features MacApp supports, and provides sample code and step-by-step instructions for implementing a variety of program features.
  • Mac OS Runtime Architectures* (1996): describes the runtime architecture based on the Code Fragment Manager (used in the PowerPC and CFM-68K implementations) as well as the original classic 68K runtime architecture. If you are programming for the Mac OS, this book provides essential information about how the various architectures load and manipulate programs as well as how they address and store data
  • OpenDoc Class Reference: OpenDoc is a set of shared libraries that you can use to build editors and viewers for compound documents and other component software. This book provides reference documentation for OpenDoc on the Mac OS platform. It describes the platform-independent and Mac OS-specific classes, methods, types, constants, and error codes (exceptions) defined by OpenDoc. If you are developing a part editor for the Mac OS platform, you need the information in this book.
  • OpenDoc Cookbook*: presents tutorial information that explains how to create an OpenDoc part editor.
  • OpenDoc Programmer’s Guide*: describes how to use those libraries to develop OpenDoc part editors for the Mac OS platform on Macintosh and Mac-compatible computers.
  • OpenTransport: describes the 1.1 release of the Open Transport networking system, which is a communications architecture that can be used to implement any number of networking and other communications systems. This book discusses only the implementation of Open Transport 1.1 on Apple Macintosh computers. Open Transport provides a set of programming interfaces for applications and processes running on Macintosh computers. An update for 1.2 is also available.
  • Programming With JManager: describes the JManager function library, which is used to instantiate a Java runtime environment on the Mac OS platform and to interact with the Java code within it. You can use JManager functions to embed Java applets in Mac OS applications or to create Mac compatible Java applications.
  • QuickDraw 3D RAVE (1996): describes the QuickDraw 3D Renderer Acceleration Virtual Engine (RAVE), the part of the Macintosh system software that controls 3D drawing engines (also known as 3D drivers). As explained more fully below, a drawing engine is software that supports the low-level rasterization operations required for interactive 3D rendering. To achieve interactive performance, a drawing engine is often associated with some hardware device designed specifically to accelerate the 3D rasterization process.
  • ResEdit Reference* (pdf): introduces the concept of resources as they are handled on the Macintosh computer, and introduces ResEdit, an interactive, graphics-oriented application for manipulating resources in Macintosh files. Some Macintosh files don’t contain any resources, but all applications and most of the System Folder files do
  • Speech Recognition Manager: describes the Speech Recognition Manager, the part of the Macintosh system software that your application can use to respond to speech. You use the Speech Recognition Manager to define the words and phrases you want to listen for and to control other aspects of recognizing speech and reacting to successful recognitions.
  • Telephony: describes the Telephone Manager, the part of the Macintosh system software that you can use to develop applications and other software that provide telephony capabilities (that is, capabilities that allow you to manage telephones, and in particular to establish or control connections between telephones on a telephone network). You can use the Telephone Manager to develop a wide range of applications, including screen-based telephone dialers, computer-based answering-machines, call forwarders, and so forth.
  • Using JBindery: JBindery is an application that you use to package or execute Java(TM) applications on the Mac OS platform.
  • Virtual Reality Programming With QuickTime VR 2.0: describes QuickTime VR, an extension of the QuickTime technology developed by Apple Computer, Inc. that allows users to interactively explore and examine photorealistic, three-dimensional virtual worlds. In particular, this book describes the QuickTime VR Manager, which is the part of the system software for Macintosh and other computers that you can use to control QuickTime VR movies programmatically. You can use the QuickTime VR Manager to give your application greater control over QuickTime VR movies. 

1999 After Inside Macintosh

Apple still has PDF copies of many of the New Inside Macintosh books online in the folder https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/mac/pdf/, unfortunately I haven’t found the page on Apple’s site that still links to them.

After Apple stopped publishing Inside Macintosh it appears they focused on using their website to share Mac OS 8 and 9 Developer Documentation.

Inside Macintosh on Apple’s Website

1998-02-14: http://dev.info.apple.com/techinfo/techdocs/mac/mac.html

Published in Apple Documents, Macintosh 68k and Old Computers and Games

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