Appendix A
Netscape's Product Line
CONTENTS
Netscape Communications Corporation is an extremely aggressive
and fast-moving company. A fast product development cycle combined
with new product acquisitions and Internet distribution has made
a sizable software product line for a very new company. For a
newcomer to Netscape development, the task of learning the Netscape
products, which now number more than 30, can take a significant
amount of precious time. This appendix takes a snapshot of Netscape's
product line as it exists in May of 1996.
Netscape's current product line can be divided into the following
four sections:
Navigator
Collabra Share
Commercial applications
Servers
For additional details on these products, check out the following
address:
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/netscape_products.html
Plug-in developers are mostly concerned with Netscape's Navigator
line, whose products (as of 2.0 and excluding UNIX) all support
plug-in code modules. Navigator and its add-ons are considered
client applications in the client/server software model. At the
time of this writing, Navigator products include the following:
Navigator 2.x
Navigator Gold 2.x
Navigator 3.0 Beta
Navigator Personal Edition
Navigator Dial-Up-Kit
Netscape Power Pack for Windows
Netscape SmartMarks
Netscape Chat
If you are developing a Navigator plug-in, make sure to take note
throughout this book of the API differences between Navigator
2.x and Navigator 3.x.
With the introduction of Navigator 2.0, Netscape set a new standard
for Web browsers. This product combines Web browsing with e-mail,
newsgroups, chat, and FTP.
Here are the new end-user features:
- Improved multimedia performance with features such as client-side
image mapping, progressive JPEG support, GIF animation, and multiple
data streaming
- Integrated e-mail so that mail can be read and sent from within
the browser
- Integrated newsgroups so that you can read your news from
within the browser
- FTP file upload so that you can use FTP upload and download
from within the browser
- Bookmarks that are improved with aliases and hierarchical
menus
Here are the new developer features:
- Frames enables you to divide a Web page into separate regions.
- Plug-ins are code modules that can be used to extend the browser's
capabilities.
- Navigator 2.0 was the first Web browser to support Java applets
based on Sun Microsystem's Java language.
- JavaScript is an easy to use scripting language, based on
Java.
Navigator Gold builds on the Navigator's code base by adding a
what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) Web page editor. This editor
avoids the complexities of HTML. Gold's current features are as
follows:
- Web Page Editor: An easy word processor-like Web page editor.
- Drag-and-drop: Things such as graphics and links can be dragged
from other Web pages to yours.
- Publish: Upload your whole Web page project, including all
needed files, with one button.
- JavaScript: A JavaScript program editor.
- Netscape Page Starter Site: Tools, templates, and instructions
to help you with your first Web page.
- Netscape Gold Rush Tool Chest: A collection of home page templates.
- Netscape Page Wizard: Helps you create a Web page with fill
in the blank questions.
Navigator 3.0 Beta will be a released product by the time you
read this book. Navigator 3.0 extends 2.x by adding a series
of applets and plug-ins, in addition to enhancing features such
as JavaScript, security, and cache capabilities. Here are the
new features:
- LiveAudio is a plug-in that supports a variety of audio file
formats.
- LiveVideo is a plug-in that supports .AVI format video files.
- Live3D is a plug-in that supports VRML viewing.
- QuickTime is a plug-in for Macintosh QuickTime movie viewing.
- CoolTalk is an Internet telephone with chat and shared whiteboard
capabilities.
- Java and JavaScript enhancements provide dynamic images and
loaded plug-in detection.
- LiveConnect is a means of communication and interaction between
Java, JavaScript, and Navigator plug-ins.
- Netscape Administration Kit enables you to set and lock user
configurations.
- Enhanced security supports the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) 3.0
and includes a personal identity certificate.
- New HTML tags provide table background colors and plug-in
embedding.
- Also updated and improved are frame navigation, mail, news,
caching, Macintosh support, and UNIX support.
Netscape's Navigator Personal Edition is Navigator 2.0 packaged
for retail sales. It includes all the software needed to get on
the Internet, in addition to several promotional offers.
The Navigator Dial-Up-Kit is for Internet Service Providers or
companies that want to make it easy for their customers/employees
to connect to the Internet. This product includes Navigator 2.0.
The kit includes the following items:
Windows 3.1
Netscape Navigator 2.x (16 bit)
Shiva PPP, NTS TCP/IP, and dialer
Account Setup Wizard
Windows 95
Netscape Navigator 2.x (32 bit)
Account Setup Wizard (configures Windows 95 dial-up networking)
Online hypermedia manual for Netscape Navigator
Both Platforms
128-bit encryption for United States and Canada
40-bit encryption for International
Printed configuration guide
Electronic Getting Started manual
Netscape Navigator Log Kit
You can modify this product for your customers by preconfiguring
things such as dial-up parameters, dialer name, wizards, Navigator
Preferences, read me files, and documentation.
Netscape's Power Pack 2.0 is a set of utilities that add to Navigator's
functionality. This product will have a retail version in CD-ROM
format in addition to an electronic version. Current utilities
include the following:
- Netscape SmartMarks 2.0: A software agent that downloads Web
pages for later viewing, saving connection costs.
- INSO CyberSpell for Netscape Mail: Spell-checker for Navigator
e-mail.
- Norton Antivirus Internet Scanner: Checks all downloaded Internet
files for viruses.
- Netscape Chat 2.0: A chat utility for Navigator.
Plug-Ins
The Power Pack CD-ROM version also includes a collection of plug-ins
for Navigator 2.x and above. The following plug-ins are
currently included:
- ASAP WebShow by Software Publishing Corporation: View business
presentations within Web pages.
- Astound Web Player by Gold Disk: Play back multimedia presentations
created with Astound and Studio M.
- CarbonCopy/Net by Microcom: Access and control other PCs over
the Internet.
- EarthTime/Lite by Starfish Software: Tell time around the
world at a glance.
- Envoy by Tumbleweed Software: View formatted Envoy documents.
- FIGleaf Inline Lite by Carberry Technology: View and zoom
a wide variety of raster and vector graphics formats.
- FormulaOne/NET by Visual Components: Embed and manipulate
live spreadsheets and charts.
- Lightning Strike by InfinitOp: View compressed Web image files.
- Netscape Live3D by Netscape Communications: View 3-D VRML
documents.
- RealAudio by Progressive Networks: Listen to live and rebroadcast
audio on the Internet.
- Shockwave for Director by Macromedia: Play Macromedia Director
animations and presentations.
- VDOLive by VDOnet: View real-time video over the Internet.
- VRScout VR Browser by Chaco Communications: Display 3-D VRML
documents from the Web.
- WIRL 3D Browser by VREAM: Browse VRML sites.
- Word Viewer by Inso Corporation: View Microsoft Word documents.
Netscape SmartMarks is an advanced bookmarking and Web monitoring
utility for Navigator users. This product enables you to track
Web pages and notifies you when they are updated. Here are the
key features of this product:
- Web Monitoring gives automatic notification of Web page updates.
- Web Site Bulletins allow Web site authors to send bulletins
to SmartMark users.
- Internet Directory Search provides a point-and-click interface
for the most popular Internet directory services.
- Bookmark Management helps you manage bookmarks with folders,
and it supports sort, rename, show, and hide.
Netscape Chat supports real-time communications for Navigator
users. It enables you to interact with existing IRC chat servers
or a Netscape Community System Chat Server. Here are the key features:
Share URLs with other users.
Multiple chat modes for one to one, one to many, and many to many.
Share and exchange multimedia files.
Multiple chat rooms.
Integrated with Netscape's Navigator.
Collabra Share is a company-wide solution for electronic organization.
It includes discussion forums for such things as product development,
management, IS help desks, and customer service. The product also
includes a variety of software agents for mail, news, Lotus Notes,
and replication. Collabra Share currently consists of the following
elements:
Collabra Share for Windows and Macintosh
Collabra Share Mail Agent
Collabra Share Internet News Group Agent
Collabra Share Agent for Lotus Notes
Collabra Share Replication Agent
Check out Netscape's product information at http://www.netscape.com
for more information on Collabra share.
Netscape's Commercial Applications, as the name implies, are for
making money. Electronic malls, storefronts, publishing services,
chat services, bulletin board services, and mail are made easy
to implement for the purpose of generating revenue for your company.
These are the current Commercial Applications:
Merchant System
Publishing System
Community System
IStore
Netscape's Merchant System uses Netscape Commerce Server in conjunction
with Netscape Navigator to provide an Internet retailer with a
merchandising system that is easy to implement, manage, and scale.
Here are the key features:
- Product Loading and Updates: Products can be loaded using
a Name:Value pair structured
file format.
- Staging Server: Merchants can review product displays before
approving them for consumer viewing.
- Shopping Baskets: A virtual shopping basket allows customers
to keep a basket containing product stock-keeping units (SKUs),
quantity, and attributes of each product selected for purchase.
- Search Capabilities: Customers can search for a given product.
- Credit Card and Order Processing: This feature uses secure
encryption over the Internet or X.25 PAD and leased lines for
secure credit card authorization with First Data Corporation's
(FDC) Envoy Corporation authorization center.
- Electronic Mail-Order Services: This feature provides Integrated
Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) for secure deliveries of order fulfillment
data to merchants.
- Monitoring Shopping and Sales Activity: This feature lets
merchants see which products are being viewed and how many customers
are visiting the store.
Netscape's Publishing System helps you publish information on
the Internet and bill for that information. Here are the key features:
- Registration: A set of login and registration templates that
can be used for access control, promotions, and advertising.
- Access Control: Lets the content providers control access
to their information, whether it be a free or a charge area.
- Document Management: Tools are provided to tag, convert, and
load documents into Netscape's Publishing System.
- Product Definition: Tracks billable areas.
- Billing Services: Supports billing options for fee-based services
such as basic subscriptions, premium services, or pay-per-access.
- Search Capability: Provides text search.
- Credit Card Processing: Includes a Credit Card Gateway for
secure credit card processing.
Netscape's Community System enables you to provide commercial
services such as bulletin boards, Usenet news, online chat, and
electronic mail. Here are the key product features:
- Chat Services include an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server
and Netscape Chat client.
- Bulletin Board Services include secure public and private
discussion groups.
- Electronic Mail Services include an integrated Netscape Mail
Server.
- Registration and Membership provides login and registration
templates.
- Access Control provides access permissions for news groups
and chat rooms.
IStore is an entry-level solution for an Internet store front.
Here are the key features:
- Product Display: Store departments, product inventory, product
images, and prices are easily implemented.
- Store Manager: This feature lets merchants set up a store
quickly by providing easy entry for tax rates, shipping charges,
merchant ID, and terminal ID.
- Online Credit Card Processing: This feature includes Netscape's
secure online credit card processing system.
- Order Processing: Order information can be viewed quickly
by the customer and merchant.
Netscape offers a good variety of servers across a number of platforms.
Servers such as Web, mail, news, and proxy are complemented with
administrative tools and languages. The current servers are as
follows:
SuiteSpot
FastTrack
Enterprise Server
Proxy Server
News Server
Mail Server
Catalog Server
Commerce Server
Communications Server
Netscape's SuiteSpot is a collection of servers geared toward
an internal corporate Intranet. SuiteSpot includes the following
servers:
- Enterprise Server is a World Wide Web server.
- Netscape LiveWire Pro is used for building live online applications.
- Mail Server is an electronic mail server.
- News Server is an external or internal news groups.
- Proxy Server filters access to Web documents.
- Catalog Server is used for creating and managing catalogs
of Internet resources.
The FastTrack server is a quick means of setting up your Web site.
It includes the following features:
- Installation and Setup Wizards: These include an automated
installation and configuration agent.
- Intuitive Server Management: This feature provides remote
management, online help, and detailed reports.
- Easy Authoring and Publishing: This feature comes with Navigator
Gold for creating Web pages.
- Security: This includes flexible access control and Secure
Sockets Layer 3.0.
- Development: This feature includes support for Java and JavaScript;
high-performance server extensions with Netscape Server APIs
(NSAPI); and CGI and WinCGI support.
Enterprise server is another more robust server collection from
Netscape. It includes the following features:
Navigator Gold
Integrated full-text search
Version control with MKS
Transparent multiple domains
Server-parsed HTML
HTML footers
Remote administration
Simple Network Management Protocol (SMTP) support
Summary reports
Advanced logging
Configuration rollback
Common Server Manager
Java and JavaScript support
CGI support
Third generation HTTP engine
High-performance caching
Enhanced HTTP standards, including byte range extensions (key
for plug-in developers) and HTTP keep alives
Netscape's Proxy Server controls access to restricted network
resources and caches frequently used documents. Here are its features:
- Replication-On-Demand: Replicates Web documents in cache.
Allows batch retrieval and automatic cache refresh.
- Content Filtering: Grants access to external resources based
on username/password.
- Enterprise Management: Provides secure, cross-platform administration
with SNMP support and configuration rollback.
- Performance: Supports new standards such as byte range extensions
and HTTP keep alives. Uses cache sizes up to 128GB and can handle
over 70 million URLs.
- Security: Uses SSL 3.0, reverse proxying, transaction logging,
and automatic response for unavailable networks.
- Fail-over: Routes HTTP requests to a secondary proxy if the
primary is unavailable.
Netscape's News Server enables users to create secure public and
private discussion groups and gives you the following benefits:
Network News Transport (NNTP) over TCP/IP
News feeds from Usenet newsgroups
Secure communications with SSL
MIME type and image formats
Extra product components, including programs to feed articles
to the news server, receive articles, transmit articles, and purge
articles.
Netscape's mail server is a messaging system that supports remote
clients, enhanced performance, enhanced security, open standards,
and intuitive server management. Current Netscape Mail Server
Technical Specifications are as follows:
- Supports open Internet-protocols including HTTP, HTML, POP3,
IMAP4, and SMTP.
- Handles multimedia and other electronic attachments via MIME.
- Supports a wide variety of POP3 and IMAP4 mail clients.
- Conforms to RFCs 821, 822, 974, 1123, 1521, 1651, 1725, 1730,
and 1760.
- Supports Secure Sockets Layer 3.0.
- Allows remote messaging through IMAP4.
- Administration via HTML or e-mail forms.
- Program delivery features allow incoming mail to activate
a preconfigured script or program to process the content of the
message.
- Expands to accommodate proprietary mail protocols such as
Microsoft Mail.
- Allows creation of multiple reply options for vacation notices
and absence reminders through an auto-reply feature.
- Does not require a separate host to deliver mail.
- Supports both domain-based and host-based mail addressing.
Catalog Server allows your organization to put together a catalog
of Internet resource such as documents, e-mail addresses, and
file archives. Here are the current features:
- Automatically collects and indexes Internet resources
- Provides customized views
- Standard "Harvest" index format
- Relational and full text searching
- Turnkey "What's New" and "What's Popular"
- Open standards support any Web server
Netscape's Commerce Server provides for secure electronic commerce
and communications on the Internet and other TCP/IP networks.
| Note |
Because Commerce Server is an older server, you will probably buy one of the next generation servers listed previously. These newer servers have a superset of the following listed features.
|
Current technical specifications are as follows:
- Supports industry-standard HTTP/1.0 protocol
- Serves HTML documents and supports MIME typing through filename
extensions
- CGI/1.1-compliant
- Integrated security using SSL, which incorporates public key
cryptographic technology from RSA Data Security
- Enhanced user authorization, including HTTP/1.0 access authorization,
IP and DNS-based access control, local access control, user-controlled
passwords, and named groups
- Netscape Server Application Programming Interface (NSAPI)
for programmable access to a suite of server application functions
and a dynamic loading interface
- Documentation and tutorials make it easy to use the NSAPI
and integrate with other applications
- Dynamic process management yields faster response times and
increased throughput, efficiency, and reliability
- Intuitive graphical user interface using Netscape Navigator
for installation, configuration, and management
- Extensive online documentation provides context-sensitive
help
- Support for multiple IP addresses allows a server to support
multiple domain names
- Windows NT version runs as an NT service
- Log analysis tools allow summaries of log information so that
it can be used to better manage server functions
- Configuration by file, directory, shell wildcard pattern,
or template
- Configurable logging options, including the use of syslog
facilities, and client accesses are logged in the common logfile
format
- Custom error messages
- Multiple-user public information directories with variable
paths
- Customizable server-parsed HTML
Communications Server is an HTTP server for HTML documents on
the Internet and internal TCP/IP networks.
| Note |
| Because Communications Server is an older server, you will probably buy one of the next generation servers listed previously. These newer servers have a superset of the following listed features.
|
Current technical specifications are as follows:
- Supports industry-standard HTTP/1.0 protocol and serves all
HTTP-compatible clients
- Serves HTML documents and supports MIME typing through filename
extensions
- CGI/1.1 compliant
- Enhanced user authorization, including HTTP/1.0 access authorization,
IP and DNS-based access control, local access control, user-controlled
passwords, and named groups
- Netscape Server Application Programming Interface (NSAPI)
for programmatic access to a suite of server application functions
and a dynamic loading interface, and the documentation and tutorials
make easy the use of the NSAPI and integration with other applications
- Dynamic process management yields faster response times and
increased throughput, efficiency, and reliability
- Intuitive graphical user interface using Netscape Navigator
for installation, configuration, and management, and the extensive
online documentation provides context-sensitive help
- Support for multiple IP addresses, allowing a server to support
multiple domain names
- Windows NT version runs as an NT service
- Log analysis tools allow summaries of log information and
application to server management functions
- Configuration by file, directory, shell wildcard pattern,
or template, and the templates allow a set of configuration parameters
to be created and applied to multiple directories (such as all
user directories)
- Configurable logging options, including the use of syslog
facilities, and client accesses are logged in common logfile format
- Custom error messages
- Multiple-user public information directories with variable
paths
- Customized error messages
- Customizable server-parsed HTML
By the time you read this, many of Netscape's products and their
features might have changed. Be sure to check the following address
for current information:
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/netscape_products.html
Appendix B takes a look at some of the more popular Navigator
plug-ins as of May 1996.
