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Uninstalling on macOS is actually pretty tough, since ancillary files are not cleaned up. I end up installing a set of third party utilities whenever I set up a

Uninstalling on macOS is actually pretty tough, since ancillary files are not cleaned up. I end up installing a set of third party utilities whenever I set up a new Mac that help me with a bunch of the weird stuff that isn't handled by default. (including AppCleaner and ShiftIt for uninstallation and window management, respectively). Windows makes it pretty easy with the one "add or remove programs" section of the control panel.

AshamedCaptain 5y ago
Which doesn't clear ancillary files, either. The only platforms that I know of in widespread use which actually clear all ancillary files on uninstall are iOS and Android (except for SD card).
jolux 5y ago
>Windows makes it pretty easy with the one "add or remove programs" section of the control panel. Except there's no guarantee that uninstallers will remove all ancillary files on Windows either, especially because Windows developers seem to have a habit of just spraying configuration files and serialized state all across the filesystem haphazardly with little concern for organization.
- symlinkk 5y ago
  There’s no guarantee, but on average uninstallers clear away a lot more than dragging and dropping an application to the trash.
- AshamedCaptain 5y ago
  It's not really a Windows-only thing. Even OSes with proper packaging systems (and even MSI on Windows) will still forget a lot of files e.g. in user's home directories. How do you even decide when do you remove those?
  - jolux 5y ago
    >How do you even decide when do you remove those? I think as a developer you have to take pains to keep them all in one place, and delete them when uninstalling.
    - pantulis 5y ago
      Would you expect that uninstalling any Unix tool, would remove your .rc files in your $HOME?
      - jolux 5y ago
        That's irrelevant because I create my own rc files, and uninstallers should definitely not delete user-created files. Additionally most software that people install is not Unix tools, and most users have no idea what an rc file is.

AshamedCaptain 5y ago

Which doesn't clear ancillary files, either. The only platforms that I know of in widespread use which actually clear all ancillary files on uninstall are iOS and Android (except for SD card).

jolux 5y ago

>Windows makes it pretty easy with the one "add or remove programs" section of the control panel. Except there's no guarantee that uninstallers will remove all ancillary files on Windows either, especially because Windows developers seem to have a habit of just spraying configuration files and serialized state all across the filesystem haphazardly with little concern for organization.

symlinkk 5y ago
There’s no guarantee, but on average uninstallers clear away a lot more than dragging and dropping an application to the trash.
AshamedCaptain 5y ago
It's not really a Windows-only thing. Even OSes with proper packaging systems (and even MSI on Windows) will still forget a lot of files e.g. in user's home directories. How do you even decide when do you remove those?
- jolux 5y ago
  >How do you even decide when do you remove those? I think as a developer you have to take pains to keep them all in one place, and delete them when uninstalling.
  - pantulis 5y ago
    Would you expect that uninstalling any Unix tool, would remove your .rc files in your $HOME?
    - jolux 5y ago
      That's irrelevant because I create my own rc files, and uninstallers should definitely not delete user-created files. Additionally most software that people install is not Unix tools, and most users have no idea what an rc file is.