An application directory is a grouping of softwarecode, help files and resources that together comprise a complete software package but are presented to the user as a single object.
They are currently used in RISC OS and the ROX Desktop, and also form the basis of the Zero Install application distribution system. Similar technology includes VMware ThinApp, and the NEXTSTEP/GNUstep/Mac OS X concept of application bundles. Their heritage lies in the system for automatically launching software stored on floppy disk on Acorn's earlier 8-bit micros such as the BBC Micro (the !BOOT file).
Bundling various files in this manner allows tools for manipulating applications to be replaced by tools for manipulating the file system. Applications can often be "installed" simply by dragging them from a distribution medium to a hard disk, and "uninstalled" by deleting the application directory.
Fixed contents
RISC OS: Contents of the !Draw application directoryRISC OS: Contents of !Draw's !Sprites22 file
In order to support user interaction with application directories, several files have special status.
Application binaries
Launching an application directory causes the included file AppRun (ROX Desktop) or !Run (RISC OS) to be launched. On RISC OS this is generally an Obey file (a RISC OS command script) which allocates memory and loads OS extension modules and shared libraries before executing the application binary, usually called !RunImage. Under the ROX Desktop, it is not uncommon for it to be a shell script that will launch the correct system binary if available or compile a suitable binary from source otherwise.[citation needed]
Help files and icons
Both RISC OS and the ROX Desktop allow the user to view help files associated with an application directory without launching the application. RISC OS relies on a file in the directory named !Help which is launched as if the user double-clicked on it when help is requested (and can be any format the system understands, but plain text and !Draw formats are common), while the ROX Desktop opens the application's Help subdirectory.
Similarly, custom icons for the Application Directory may be contained within it—either .DirIcon (in any supported image format) or AppIcon.xpm under the ROX Desktop, or !Sprites and optionally !Sprites22 under RISC OS. The RISC OS Filer automatically loads these sprite files in the absence of a !Boot file, otherwise it is left to the !Boot file to load the appropriate icons.
!Boot
RISC OS: !Draw's !Boot, !Run and !Help files
RISC OS application directories may contain a file named !Boot which is executed by the Filer either explicitly via the FilerBoot command, or when the bundle is first displayed (unless the user held Control when opening that Filer window, which defeats application booting[1]).
This allows an application to do tasks such as register supported filetypes (by defining their name, setting command aliases for running or printing them and loading appropriate icons), or choose to load different icons such as ASprites (icons with an alpha channel for RISC OS Select), 5Sprites (icons with a RISC OS 5 appearance) or theme-specific icons.
!Boot files are the most popular propagation vector for such RISC OS viruses as exist (such as the well-known Extend virus), though they can be defeated simply by holding Control.
The !Boot feature is not duplicated by the ROX Desktop.
The RISC OS !Boot system directory
Acorn's early machines allowed a medium to be "booted" (automatically run) by executing a file called !BOOT if present (this action, "booting a disc", was toggled with the Shift, and hence became known as shift-booting). This was exploited in the RISC OS disc structure by having an application directory in the root of the default disc called !Boot.
This application directory is executed (run) when the machine boots (if so configured), therefore causing its !Run file to be executed (i.e. $.!Boot.!Run in Acorn pathname syntax). This file then causes various files to be executed, OS modules loaded, standard icons to be loaded and filetypes defined, and defines a number of standard variables through which its various subdirectories are accessed. Thus RISC OS's entire boot sequence can be avoided merely by holding Shift.
The history of the graphical user interface, understood as the use of graphic icons and a pointing device to control a computer, covers a five-decade span of incremental refinements, built on some constant core principles. Several vendors have created their own windowing systems based on independent code, but with basic elements in common that define the WIMP "window, icon, menu and pointing device" paradigm.
Acorn Archimedes is a family of personal computers designed by Acorn Computers of Cambridge, England. The systems are based on Acorn's own ARM architecture processors and the proprietary operating systems Arthur and RISC OS. The first models were introduced in 1987, and systems in the Archimedes family were sold until the mid-1990s.
In computing, cross-platform software is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software requires a separate build for each platform, but some can be directly run on any platform without special preparation, being written in an interpreted language or compiled to portable bytecode for which the interpreters or run-time packages are common or standard components of all supported platforms.
The resource fork is a fork or section of a file on Apple's classic Mac OS operating system, which was also carried over to the modern macOS for compatibility, used to store structured data along with the unstructured data stored within the data fork.
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally designed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England. First released in 1987, it was designed to run on the ARM chipset, which Acorn had designed concurrently for use in its new line of Archimedes personal computers. RISC OS takes its name from the reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture it supports.
The ROX Desktop is a graphical desktop environment for the X Window System. It is based on the ROX-Filer which is a drag and drop spatial file manager. It is free software released under the GNU General Public License. The environment was inspired by the user interface of RISC OS. The name "ROX" comes from "RISC OS on X". Programs can be installed or removed easily using Zero Install.
Installation of a computer program, is the act of making the program ready for execution. Installation refers to the particular configuration of software or hardware with a view to making it usable with the computer. A soft or digital copy of the piece of software (program) is needed to install it. There are different processes of installing a piece of software (program). Because the process varies for each program and each computer, programs often come with an installer, a specialised program responsible for doing whatever is needed for the installation. Installation may be part of a larger software deployment process.
RISC iX is a discontinued Unix operating system designed to run on a series of workstations based on the Acorn Archimedes microcomputer. Heavily based on 4.3BSD, it was initially completed in 1988, a year after Arthur but before RISC OS. It was introduced in the ARM2-based R140 workstation in 1989, followed up by the ARM3-based R200-series workstations in 1990.
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The Disc Filing System (DFS) is a computer file system developed by Acorn Computers, initially as an add-on to the Eurocard-based Acorn System 2.
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AmigaOS is a family of proprietary native operating systems of the Amiga and AmigaOne personal computers. It was developed first by Commodore International and introduced with the launch of the first Amiga, the Amiga 1000, in 1985. Early versions of AmigaOS required the Motorola 68000 series of 16-bit and 32-bit microprocessors. Later versions were developed by Haage & Partner and then Hyperion Entertainment. A PowerPC microprocessor is required for the most recent release, AmigaOS 4.
In computing, the icon bar is the name of the dock in Acorn's RISC OS operating system, and is fundamental to the OS. Its introduction in 1987 was a new concept in GUIs. It displays icons through which access is provided to all parts of the computer that a typical user will require, from physical devices and system utilities to running applications, and will usually be their starting point for interacting with the system once it has finished booting.
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