windows + Mac + app

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windows + Mac + app

Hi Guys

I have written an app for windows and Mac environments i.e I have 2 files -- 1) abc.exe and 2)abc.app which work on windows and Mac respt. Now i want to put these two files into one unit like a jar or tar ball and ship that unit. The unit will also contain a script which should recognize the environment in which the unit is double clicked and launch the .exe or .app.

Can this be done and if it can be done what do u suggest the unit should be like a jar or tar ball or something else and why?

Thanks

+7 A:

So, you want to force users to have a JVM that can recognize the OS and execute other external applications?

Don't futz around with the normal application installation process on either platform. Ship a self-extracting EXE install file for Windows, and a DMG for Mac. Allow users to choose the appropriate package on your web site, defaulted to one or the other based on their user agent.

richardtallent 2009-10-20 19:19:38

I totally agree. Anything else is not worth the effort and asking for trouble. And I believe users would rather be confused not finding a platform specific download.

0xA3 2009-10-20 19:22:47

If users don't find a platform specific download, they will generally assume it's Windows-only, because that's the way the world usually works.

David Thornley 2009-10-20 20:25:19

Thanks guys for the responses. Can any of u guys tell me a way to pack the entire .app folder into a single file and users dont damper with it. my app automatically gets copied to cd/dvds so if i make a .dmg and distribute, it has to extract the contents of dmg and write the .app folder contents back on cd/dvd. I want to directly open the application without copying it on the cd/dvd again.

King 2009-10-20 20:37:35

King, I completely don't understand your use case. On a Mac, installing an app generally involves *either* copying the app folder from a CD/DVD *or* a mounted DMG to the Applications folder. Some programs use a package-install method rather than drag-drop so they can write into other folders. Either way, a user *could* in many cases run the app directly from the DMG or CD/DVD media, assuming the app knows not to try to write to the file system in its app folder.

richardtallent 2009-10-20 20:47:06

Hi RichardMy use case s pretty simple. My app resides on the cd/dvd and when double clicked it enumerates the contents of the cd/dvd and details of each file and stuff. the same app cannot be run from the hard drive. it can only be run from cd/dvd. to identify an app as my app i have added some authentication mechanism on my .exe on windows. I want to implement the same authentication on my mac .app but the problem is that it is a folder and i have to now validate many files insted of one file. So i am planning to package it into one and validate it.

King 2009-10-20 20:58:12

ansaurus

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