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This is built into OS X: hdiutil attach https://adiumx.cachefly.net/Adium_1.5.10.1.dmg https://adiumx.cachefly.net/Adium_1.5.10.1.dmg -shadow Adium.shadowfile

This is built into OS X: hdiutil attach https://adiumx.cachefly.net/Adium_1.5.10.1.dmg https://adiumx.cachefly.net/Adium_1.5.10.1.dmg -shadow Adium.shadowfile The -shadow option allows the image to be mounted read-write, with writes being redirected into the shadow file.

peeters 11y ago
I'm not an Apple guy so let me ask a naive question: is this even close to a functional equivalent? Quick research makes this look like just mounting a remote filesystem. That's very different than being a package format, with dependency resolution, caching equivalent files, etc.
- rgovostes 11y ago
  Yes it is mounting a remote filesystem, it does not have all the same features. I was replying to the title "a FUSE filesystem via HTTP for running software without installing it," which the above command permits; the linked page (at least without exploring deeper into the site) doesn't describe dependency resolution. Caching will performed by the kernel, but I don't know how it operates in a multi-user environment.
  - rkeene2 11y ago
    Dependency resolution is implicit to the design -- the entire global namespace is available on every system so any dependencies are resolved as they are requested. That is, if you have an executable such as "ls" that relies upon the dynamic linker provided by "glibc", then the glibc requested will be fetched automatically because you attempted to open the dynamic linker. Additionally, the design is superior to the single-user nature of a remote disk image in that each user's writes are redirected to their own home directory (by default, you can change this in a config file). Even further, it allows for setuid files to be handled safely which is sometimes needed (e.g., "sudo" or "chrome-sandbox"). Caching is handled by the kernel for the VFS cache but also by a more persistent disk cache so that you can use applications offline as long as you have cached them (by running them, usually) ahead of time.
herbst 11y ago
We also have SSHFS. Like on any system? (Probably not windows, no idea, but that sucks anyway for any producivity)
- rkeene2 11y ago
  AppFS is built on FUSE just like SSHFS, it just uses a different transport protocol, doesn't support pushing writes back the origin server, does heavy caching, safely supports multiple users (including writes), can safely connect to untrusted servers (uses end-to-end PKI, so verification works even if the original URLs are not the same for example if mirroring is used), and handles setuid-root files in a safe way.

peeters 11y ago

I'm not an Apple guy so let me ask a naive question: is this even close to a functional equivalent? Quick research makes this look like just mounting a remote filesystem. That's very different than being a package format, with dependency resolution, caching equivalent files, etc.

rgovostes 11y ago
Yes it is mounting a remote filesystem, it does not have all the same features. I was replying to the title "a FUSE filesystem via HTTP for running software without installing it," which the above command permits; the linked page (at least without exploring deeper into the site) doesn't describe dependency resolution. Caching will performed by the kernel, but I don't know how it operates in a multi-user environment.
- rkeene2 11y ago
  Dependency resolution is implicit to the design -- the entire global namespace is available on every system so any dependencies are resolved as they are requested. That is, if you have an executable such as "ls" that relies upon the dynamic linker provided by "glibc", then the glibc requested will be fetched automatically because you attempted to open the dynamic linker. Additionally, the design is superior to the single-user nature of a remote disk image in that each user's writes are redirected to their own home directory (by default, you can change this in a config file). Even further, it allows for setuid files to be handled safely which is sometimes needed (e.g., "sudo" or "chrome-sandbox"). Caching is handled by the kernel for the VFS cache but also by a more persistent disk cache so that you can use applications offline as long as you have cached them (by running them, usually) ahead of time.

herbst 11y ago

We also have SSHFS. Like on any system? (Probably not windows, no idea, but that sucks anyway for any producivity)

rkeene2 11y ago
AppFS is built on FUSE just like SSHFS, it just uses a different transport protocol, doesn't support pushing writes back the origin server, does heavy caching, safely supports multiple users (including writes), can safely connect to untrusted servers (uses end-to-end PKI, so verification works even if the original URLs are not the same for example if mirroring is used), and handles setuid-root files in a safe way.