4 ms·

We've been calling them "portable" much before usb sticks were around: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Executable http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Ex

• asveikau 13y ago
  > I've been waiting to see a .dmg equivalent for Linux. In a very literal technical sense I have no idea what this means. Linux can mount a file as if it is a disk with -o loop. I suspect you're really talking about something else. App bundles perhaps?
  • lmm 13y ago
    A single file on the filesystem, that acts as a complete application (i.e. can be copied to another system, and run on that new system by double-clicking on it, etc.)
    • asveikau 13y ago
      It sounds like you're really talking about app bundles plus some kind of container (to make the app bundle a single file instead of a directory). The thing about that is various *nix machines do not have a standardized user interface. Every Mac has Finder for example, so if Finder wants to call into various components (eg. to mount a .dmg on a double click) or create a metaphor layered on top of the directory concept (app bundle), there are a number of places to put that. A Linux system has no similar "one place" to make that consistent where it will be seen by everyone. Personally I consider that a feature rather than a bug. One person's idea of a better way of working could break another person's perfectly good workflow. If you want a Mac, get a Mac, and leave the rest of us alone. :-)