Re: "First Run" installation of Application support stuff?

FROM : Jeff Disher
DATE : Mon Dec 16 22:11:30 2002

If you apply those principle, your software will not function correctly
on a multi-user system.  Preferences are kept per-user which is
logical.  Also, depending on a user's umask, them running your
application may cause them to overwrite files which other users will no
longer be able to read, thus rendering your program unpredictable (or
at the very least pref-less).

Having recently converted my family's home system to OS X, I can tell
that many developers are making this mistake.  It is all-to-frequent a
problem that one user installs something and it is not run correctly by
other users because they don't have write permission to the app bundle
installed by the other user.

Application Support is needed since it is a world-writable directory. 
So long as what is written there is done so with world-writable
permissions, you cannot have this problem.  Plus, it does not make
sense to keep the user prefs anywhere but in the user space.

The only time I would consider manipulating data in the app bundle is
for plug-ins.  Just make your app copy the plugin to where it wants to
after acquiring admin privileges.

Also, I don't actually see why a prefs folder full of extra stuff
matters.  Few preference files are larger than a few KB and the user
never needs to go look at them.  I think that the way things are done
right now is much better for the end-user in that they only worry about
the app bundle.  Everything else just works.

This makes for simpler install and un-install (there is no downside to
leaving prefs there like their is with Windows - the prefs are ignored
until an app wants to look at them).
It is slightly less obvious to find support files but anyone who would
be doing that themselves would know how to find them (and it doesn't
confuse otherwise newbie users with extra files floating around).

Just my ideas on the subject, though,
Jeff.


On Monday, December 16, 2002, at 03:40 PM, Udo Ludtke wrote:

> On 2002/12/16 0:13, "<email_removed>"
> <<email_removed>> wrote:
>
>> I would just like to make a plea for NOT putting stuff in
>> /Library/Application Support/Whatever without thinking really hard
>> about it...  For example, don't just copy a bunch of stuff in there
>> that could just as easily be in the app wrapper...  If you want to
>> support machine-wide optional stuff in that location, fine.  But
>> applications that simply copy a bunch of stuff there for no good
>> reason
>> (you know who you are) are annoying.
>>
>> Same goes for ~/Library/Application Support/Whatever, but in this
>> case,
>> copying or creating stuff there is more forgivable, if it is something
>> that makes sense.
>
> I did have a similar complaint in the pre-OS X days about the
> preference
> folder. Without manual clean-outs it turned into a real garbage
> collection.
> Any shareware I tried out and then dumped left a trail of bits and
> pieces.
>
> OS X allows a much cleaner installation mode.
>
> I believe the cleanest installations put ALL bits and pieces in ONLY
> two
> locations:
> 1) In a folder enclosing the application, in the Application folder.
> 2) In the app wrapper.
>
> I know this goes against Apple's guidelines, but I strongly believe
> even
> prefs are best put in the the app folder.
>
> This will:
> 1)  Make a clean, simple installation.
> 2)  Make it easy for users to find support files if she needs to
> trouble
>    shoot (in particular if the supporting files and folders are named
>    logically)
> 3) Make it easy to un-install.
>
> Udo
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