In light of https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-Drops-AppleTalk , I'm a big fan of replacing the functionality in userspace:) (I've similarly thought that it would be helpful to port as many of Linux's filesystems to FUSE so when they get dropped users can just switch to that)
If this comparison helps: before deprecation, the last practical use for AppleTalk was file sharing, e.g. legacy Time Machine. Apple dropped it, and encourages SMB and WebDAV.
AppleTalk is a protocol that was used on classic/vintage Macs (think: early/late 1980s, 1990s) to create local networks. The wikipedia page [0] has a good historical overview, including the parallel rise of ethernet / tcp/ip (which won).
Using TailTalk on my modern Mac, I can expose a file share accessible to my Macintosh Plus, which has a simulated SCSI Ethernet adapter bridged to a Pi Pico 2W's wireless connection via a BlueSCSI.
Wut? Can you explain for dumb people?
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AppleTalk