Re: [toolbox] aliases vs. paths (was: Extended Attributes)

[Maxwell, A. R <ada...@pn...>]

On Jul 6, 2005, at 10:45, J=E9r=F4me Laurens wrote:

>
> Le 6 juil. 05, =E0 17:54, Maxwell, Adam R a =E9crit :
>
>
>>
>> On Jul 6, 2005, at 08:16, Jon Guyer wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>> On Jul 6, 2005, at 10:18 AM, J=E9r=F4me Laurens wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> What will happen if I duplicate a file, for example by copying =20
>>>> it on a USB memory key, then copy it on my home computer, then =20
>>>> copy it back. What is the location pointed to by the alias? It =20
>>>> might be consistent but not correct.
>>>> This is an example where the path can be correct but the alias =20
>>>> can be broken.
>>>> On the other hand, changing a file name will break the stored =20
>>>> path but not the alias.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> Aliases can be relative <http://developer.apple.com/samplecode/=20
>>> resolveRelativeAlias/resolveRelativeAlias.html>
>>>
>>
>> Or if you don't grok Pascal (or whatever that sample is :)...
>>
>> <http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/=20
>> BPFileSystem/Concepts/Aliases.html> has some info on relative =20
>> paths vs. aliases.
>>
>> If you're using Cocoa, BDAlias is useful for working with aliases =20
>> and paths, especially for serializing aliases: <http://=20
>> bdistributed.com/Projects/BDAlias/>.
>>
>> My own view is that hard-coded paths in plists and code are evil, =20
>> whether they are paths to a recent file, Application Support, =20
>> Preferences, or a temp directory.
>>
>> -- Adam
>>
>>
>>
>
> could not get this to work:
>
> create a new cocoa application project, add BDAlias, and use the =20
> following main
>

[...]

>
>
> In the nib, subclass the NSApplication to add a =20
> createRelativeAlias: message, and a textField outlet.
> Make the owner an instance of this class.

Or create a Cocoa application and add a controller object as NSApp =20
delegate, which is what I just did.

>
> Run the app. The alias created does not take into account the =20
> NSHomeDirectory()/Documents as absolute reference.
>
> Things are complicated.

I think this is expected behavior.  If you check the docs for =20
FSResolveAlias, the relativePath part is just a starting place for =20
finding the path to the FSRef.  Did it not return the correct full path?

If you want a relative path in Unix terms, things get pretty =20
complicated, although stringByAbbreviatingWithTildeInPath usually =20
(but not always) works to give you a home directory-relative path.

Adam=