Idiomatic application data for Mac vs. Windows vs. Linux

Question

I'm a Mac user, so I know that for Mac OS X, I'd like my games packaged up in a nice .app bundle (like Aquaria did, for example). But what is the standard on Windows? And what is the standard on Linux?

I'm relatively unfamiliar with both, but from what I understand, there's no equivalent of a Mac application bundle on either. Do users then prefer a folder containing the executable and a "Data" folder? Or should the data just be directly in the folder with the executable, which will almost always be accessed (for example) by a shortcut or through (something like) the Start menu?

Which way will make users feel like it's a normal application built specifically for their OS?

Edit for clarification: I'm not asking about an installer, I'm asking about the actual application itself.

Answer 1

Linux applications are usually distributed as "packages", the exact format of which will depend on the distribution. Debian and Ubuntu use .deb, Red Hat and Fedora use .rpm, etc. There are tools for making "application bundles" for Linux, but they're not used often.

Applications should store global data files in </usr/share>, and per-user files in <$HOME/.local/share>.

Answer 2

Linux use .DEB for Debian and its variants, .RPM for Red Hat and its variants, and .BIN which is actually a Shell Script containing the data and the installation procedures, meant to install in any Linux independing on the presence of DEB or RPM installers.

Windows most commonly uses EXE, a regular executable, which is the installer program. As the .BIN does, it brings all files needed to the installation inside its body (the named "self-extractor"). Windows recently (WinXP SP2 and higher) brought another format, the .MSI (Microsoft Installer) to work like the Linux's DEB and RPM.

Answer 3

On Windows XP, application data is usually stored under C:\Program Files\YourProgramName. For Vista, Microsoft has created another main level folder and you should store your app data under C:\ProgramData\YourProgramName. No telling what they're going to do for Win 7. Any user specific data, like settings files, should be stored in the user's home directory, C:\Documents and Settings\John Sample