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While this cleans up the file hierarchy, it absolutely destroys any interoperability between programs. If a program cannot output files that other programs can
by MereInterest 8y ago
While this cleans up the file hierarchy, it absolutely destroys any interoperability between programs. If a program cannot output files that other programs can see, then it cannot output files that other programs can use as input. Between having a messier file hierarchy on the one hand, and not being able to open a Microsoft Word document outside of Microsoft Word, the former is by far the lesser evil.
- mr_toad 8y agoiOS gets around this (sort-of) with permissions. If you want gmail to be able to email your photos you have to give it explicit permission.
- int_19h 8y agoFor GUI apps, this is trivially solved by requiring the standard Open File/Folder dialog to be used. The system can then control the presentation, and once the user has picked a file, provide the app with a security token that encodes that permission (or even just an open file descriptor). So apps can see each other's data, but only when user explicitly directs them towards it. This is more or less how it works in Win10 UWP apps.
- macintux 8y agoUsing the filesystem for primitive “interoperability between programs” is increasingly recognized as a serious security problem. As someone else in this thread pointed out, a video game can access their tax returns.