Re: Windows and DLLs

[Jochem Huhmann <joh unidui uni-duisburg de>]

On Wed, 30 Sep 1998 17:24:08 PDT David Jeske wrote:

> We really need to move to an app-encap/wrapper standard where an
> application can come in an encapsulated form with a collection of
> private datafiles, where it's given the 'current locaiton' of itself
> when it's launched, and where it can ask for it's private datafiles
> with _relative_ paths. 

That's a great thing for a single user system. 

> Some apps do a better job.. for example "wmprefs.app". It is wrappered
> in the same style that Nextstep apps were wrappered in ".app
> directories". As long as you launch it with a full path to the
> executable, it can find it's datafiles, and window maker knows how to
> throw it into the Doc, etc , etc...

The problem comes up when users start to install their apps in their
home directories (say, in /home/jeske/apps/foo.app). That's what this
kind of scheme is intended for, I guess. But what if another user on the
same machine or network also needs this application? Either he has to
dig around in other user's home directories to find an specific app (I
wouldn't like that) or - he just installs another copy of this app in
his own home directory... And what about system-wide pre-configuration
of applications? How to make sure that all users are using the same
version of an app? How to update libs or datafiles if they are spread
all over the site? This wrapping thing makes sure that the app knows
everything it needs, but the *system* knows nothing. The unix way of
installing applications is The Right Thing, IMHO. And rpm does the best
job in this regard I have ever seen - no need to fix things that are
definitely not broken. It may seem complicated, but it is as simple as 
possible (but not simpler).

It's really funny: MS is trying to make NT (5.0) a lot more multi user
aware and on the other side all unix desktop folks are trying to make
unix a lot more like windows, copying shortcomings of it.

I *really* hate that gtkrc-thing of gtk and gnome, BTW. No way to define
a hierarchy of settings (per-app, per-user, systemwide). Just like
oldfashioned  MS-Windows INI-files. It's a shame.


	Jochem