Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!think!husc6!unix!stores
From: stores@unix.SRI.COM (Matt Mora)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Config File Resource Blues
Message-ID: <1034@unix.SRI.COM>
Date: 11 Jul 89 16:21:26 GMT
References: <2013@dogie.macc.wisc.edu> <1165@intercon.UUCP> <7930@hoptoad.uucp>
Reply-To: stores@unix.UUCP (Matt Mora)
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
Lines: 52

In article <7930@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes:
>In article <1165@intercon.UUCP> amanda@intercon.uu.net (Amanda Walker) writes:
>
>>As another trick, you can put a default settings resource in
>>your application, so that you don't have to worry about the settings file
>>not being there the first time.
>
>Except that if you do this using your pseudocode, the default settings
>resource in the application file will be removed.  Do I have to explain
>why it's a no-no to write to your application file?
>-- 
>Tim Maroney, Mac Software Consultant, sun!hoptoad!tim, tim@toad.com
>Postal: 424 Tehama, SF CA 94103; Phone: (415) 495-2934

Tim, I don't think Amanda ment to write to the application resource,
(I hope not) I think she ment to have the defaults available in the
application so that if the pref file was removed you wont get a stupid
dialog saying "Can't find pref file exiting to the finder" (ala superpaint).

Also Tom Lippincott in another article said:

 "On a slightly related issue, does it bother anyone else that most
programs will put a preferences file in the system folder even when
the user hasn't given any preferences?  I think that if there's been
no change from the default, there's no reason to make the file."

I think that is an excellent point.


About the "remebering the state of things" I would like to see some sort of
standard about text file resources. It would be wonderful for my appliction
to be able to read a text file and get the font, font size, window 
size/position and cursor location no matter what application created it.

I would also like to be able to tell the finder a default text editor so that
if the appliction that created it is not around, the finder will open the 
document with the default editor.

I would also like to see all word processing documents save the text undecoded.
(maybe they all do that now) so if i want I could have a text editor open the
plain text.

I know, I want way too much




-- 
___________________________________________________________
Matthew Mora
SRI International                       stores@unix.sri.com
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