HyperCard

Platform/Software
Year initiated: 
1987
License: 
All Rights reserved
Record Status: 
Description: 

HyperCard is an application program and programming tool for Apple Macintosh and Apple IIGS computers, that is among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. It combines database capabilities with a graphical, flexible, user-modifiable interface. HyperCard also features HyperTalk, a programming language for manipulating data and the user interface. This combination of features – simple form layout, database capabilities and ease of programming – led to widespread use in many different roles. Some HyperCard users employed it as a programming system for rapid application development of applications and databases, others for building interactive applications with no database requirements, command and control systems, and many examples in the demoscene. HyperCard was originally released in 1987 for $49.95 and was included for free with all new Macs sold at the time. After seeing no updates for years, it was withdrawn from sale in March 2004. HyperCard has not been ported to Mac OS X but ran in the Classic environment.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperCard)

Version history (text): 

- HyperCard was initially released in August 1987.
- HyperCard 2.0, released in 1990. The new version included an on-the-fly compiler that greatly increased performance of computationally intensive code, a new debugger and a number of improvements to the underlying HyperTalk language.
- HyperCard 3.0 was first presented in 1996 when an alpha-quality version was shown to developers at Apple's annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Under the leadership of Dan Crow development continued through the late 1990s, with public demos showing many popular features such as color support, internet connectivity, and the ability to play HyperCard stacks in a web browser. Development of HyperCard 3.0 stalled when the QuickTime team was focused away from development of QuickTime interactive to the streaming features of QuickTime 4.0. Finally in 2000 the HyperCard engineering team was reassigned to other tasks after Steve Jobs decided to abandon the product. In the years that followed, the program saw no additional support from Apple. Apple finally ceased selling HyperCard in March 2004

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperCard#History)

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Record posted by: 
Daniela Ørvik