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The point is, all of those files are generally still left behind on Windows as well. Uninstalling a program in Windows is roughly equivalent to dragging it into

The point is, all of those files are generally still left behind on Windows as well. Uninstalling a program in Windows is roughly equivalent to dragging it into the trash in macOS.

ComputerGuru 7y ago
> all of those files are generally still left behind on Windows as well. Citation needed. That was the case in the 90s, these days most apps (device drivers aside) uninstall fairly cleanly with only settings/configurations stored in the registry still resident afterwards. Startup programs remaining after an uninstall is straight-up a bug.
- buzzerbetrayed 7y ago
  > these days most apps (device drivers aside) uninstall fairly cleanly Citation needed.
  - useerup 7y ago
    Windows installers are declarative and data-driven. An installer script does not simply use the file copy operations a usual app would use during runtime. Instead an installer is driven by a number of "database" tables that specify the installer actions in a declarative way. There are several benefits to this approach. The declarative actions are reversible and the uninstall actions can thus be inferred automatically. This removes the burden on install authors to create a script to reverse the install operations. This includes registering services/daemons (will unregister on uninstall), registering protocol handlers, filetype/program associations, desktop shortcuts etc. The declarative approach also allows the installer to roll back in case of an error during installation. This even includes "undeleting" files that were deleted. (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/rollback-installation https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/rollback-...) The author of the install script can (non-Store installers) escape and execute a specific program during the install process. This is rarely needed, though. So the default is that the uninstaller will uninstall by completely reversing the install actions. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/windows-installer-portal https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/windows-i...
pishpash 7y ago
No, dragging an app from "Applications/" into Trash is equivalent to dragging a program folder from "Program Files\" into Recycle Bin. Actually that's exactly what it is.

The point is, all of those files are generally still left behind on Windows as well. Uninstalling a program in Windows is roughly equivalent to dragging it into the trash in macOS.

ComputerGuru 7y ago

> all of those files are generally still left behind on Windows as well. Citation needed. That was the case in the 90s, these days most apps (device drivers aside) uninstall fairly cleanly with only settings/configurations stored in the registry still resident afterwards. Startup programs remaining after an uninstall is straight-up a bug.

buzzerbetrayed 7y ago
> these days most apps (device drivers aside) uninstall fairly cleanly Citation needed.
- useerup 7y ago
  Windows installers are declarative and data-driven. An installer script does not simply use the file copy operations a usual app would use during runtime. Instead an installer is driven by a number of "database" tables that specify the installer actions in a declarative way. There are several benefits to this approach. The declarative actions are reversible and the uninstall actions can thus be inferred automatically. This removes the burden on install authors to create a script to reverse the install operations. This includes registering services/daemons (will unregister on uninstall), registering protocol handlers, filetype/program associations, desktop shortcuts etc. The declarative approach also allows the installer to roll back in case of an error during installation. This even includes "undeleting" files that were deleted. (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/rollback-installation https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/rollback-...) The author of the install script can (non-Store installers) escape and execute a specific program during the install process. This is rarely needed, though. So the default is that the uninstaller will uninstall by completely reversing the install actions. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/windows-installer-portal https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/msi/windows-i...

pishpash 7y ago

No, dragging an app from "Applications/" into Trash is equivalent to dragging a program folder from "Program Files\" into Recycle Bin. Actually that's exactly what it is.