AFP
AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) is a proprietary network protocol developed by Apple for file sharing over a network, primarily used with Apple's macOS and classic Mac OS operating systems. It enables users to access files and services on remote servers as if they were local, supporting features like file locking, Unicode filenames, and resource forks. While historically central to AppleTalk networks, it has been largely superseded by SMB (Server Message Block) in modern Apple environments.
Developers should learn AFP when working with legacy Apple systems, such as maintaining or migrating data from older Mac servers or networks that still rely on AppleTalk. It is useful for understanding historical network architectures in Apple ecosystems or when dealing with specialized applications that require AFP for compatibility, though its use is now rare in new projects due to the dominance of SMB and other modern protocols.