Re: While we're on the subject of DMG's for software distribution...
Re: While we're on the subject of DMG's for software distribution...
- Subject: Re: While we're on the subject of DMG's for software distribution...
- From: Bill Cheeseman <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:26:14 -0400
- Thread-topic: While we're on the subject of DMG's for software distribution...
on 2008-09-09 4:16 PM, David Melgar at email@hidden wrote (quoting an
earlier poster, I think):
>> Here's what Apple says in the Software Delivery Guide (which I'd
>> assume to be more authoritative about which option you should use
>> than the PackageMaker manual),...
The poster didn't say why he assumes the Software Delivery Guide to be more
authoritative. The only evidence I'm aware of is that the Software Delivery
Guide was last updated over two years ago, in July 2006, before Leopard was
released. The PackageMaker User Guide is a year newer, and it states that it
applies to Leopard. On that evidence, I'm more inclined to think the
PackageMaker User Guide is authoritative with respect to Leopard.
Speaking only for myself, I am less enamoured of drag-install than I was
originally, given all the stories about newcomers to the platform failing to
understand how it works. The relatively recent fad of putting an Application
folder symlink next to the application icon in the DMG window is a popular
attempt to grapple with this problem, but in my personal view it only
increases the confusion.
Apple has given vague hints that installers will bring greater benefits in
the future. I don't know what those benefits might be, but I'm guessing that
improved security might be one of them.
I discovered a year ago that an application implementing a certain
security-related feature of the system cannot use an embedded framework, for
security reasons. (Specifically, an application that uses the
AXMakeProcessTrusted function from the accessibility API, which requires
user authentication, can't use embedded frameworks. I confirmed this with
Apple engineers at the time.) Thus, such an application cannot be
drag-installed, because it is necessary to install the framework in an
external location, such as /Library/Frameworks. It is therefore necessary to
use an installer to install it correctly. Scenarios like this may be the
wave of the future.
--
Bill Cheeseman - email@hidden
Quechee Software, Quechee, Vermont, USA
www.quecheesoftware.com
PreFab Software - www.prefabsoftware.com
_______________________________________________
Cocoa-dev mailing list (email@hidden)
Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list.
Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com
Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
This email sent to email@hidden