Question about System folder in OSX

[AmbitiousLemon]

So, i was wondering about this recently. Why didn't Apple make the "System" folder a package rather than just a folder. Seems like it would prevent some confusion with newbies wanting to edit the contents. Advanced users could stil right click and choose show contents just like we do with applications (or use the terminal). But this seems so obvious that there must be a reason Apple didn't do it. is there some sort of weir d*nix thing that prevents it? comments? answers?

 

[evildead]

hidden

there are lots of things that are hiddin from users in OSX unless you use the terminal. Things like /etc /bin /var /tmp

There is a lot of damage you can do in those directories. There are also permissions set so non-admin users cant get into many of the subdirectories in the system folder. Even admin cant edit many of them.

I bet Apple just kept the system folder to be like OS 9. Users dont want the OS to be un-recognisable.

-evildead

 

[FelixDerKater]

OS X System Folder...

So, in a way, OS X is a step away from the easy-to-use and easy-to-modify System folder from Mac OS 1-9.x and a step toward the scattered out OS files just like Windows 9X and XP.

 

[evildead]

not really

you can think of the stuff thats not in the system folder as sub sysytem stuff. It has to do with the way UNIX is set up. All the stuff that is not in the system folder is BSD UNIX and the stuff in the system folder is unique to OS X

-evildead

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

i wasnt suggestig it be hidden. i was suggesting that it became a folderpackage rather than a folder.

 

[rootuser]

You can't modify the contents of the OS X system. That is so you don't accidentaly delete your OS. This is to prevent the long and difficult problem of reinstalling and/or reformatting your Mac OS X disk. Also, it is a folder, not an application or installer package and is organized in folder directories rather than in a typical package format. It also needs to be able to be a directory folder so it can access other parts of the System that are hidden from the user in Mac OS X so they don't try to delete these other folders.

 

[Beej]

Re: Question about System folder in OSX

Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon
Advanced users could stil right click and choose show contents just like we do with applications

I had no idea you could do that... I always just used the Terminal... cool!

 

[alex_ant]

Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon
i wasnt suggestig it be hidden. i was suggesting that it became a folderpackage rather than a folder.

Packages as they are now (.app, not .pkg) are designed for apps only. The idea behind the .app system is to cleanly package software in its own standard directory hierarchy so that the user need not search for the right nested executable to run or find config files or anything like that.

So, I guess since the System folder doesn't have the same hierarchy as that of an .app, and since it's not an application anyway, that's why it's not in an .app package.

Alex

 

[mc68k]

Originally posted by AmbitiousLemon
i wasnt suggestig it be hidden. i was suggesting that it became a folderpackage rather than a folder.

I don't see the point. Packages are just as easily edited by the power-user as a normal directory. The purpose of a package is to encapusulate data, sort of the same idea as OOP programming. But to have one monolith, the all powerful system folderpackage, would have more shortcomings than positives.

Most of the System and it's subdirectories are owned by root anyways, so the package wouldn't have much more effect on newbies anyways.