[ABC software to run off a CD via a network at a public library terminal] > I'd be happy to let Skink be used for that purpose - it will directly > open a URL (use the Fetch menu selection from the File menu). It is, > however, a reasonably fully-featured text editor, so would it be > necessary or desirable to disable some of that functionality?
I don't think so. It's up to the sysadmins at the library to protect their files from undesired modifications. The question is whether the application itself needs write access to local files - whether the library's security policies will stop the software from working. For a Java-based program I assume there shouldn't be a problem. While this particular use for ABC software is only going to account for a minute number of seats, it seems to me that might be a productive exercise to support it; finding out exactly what OS and filesystem privileges your program really needs should lead to better-understood and more stable software. I suspect BarFly will throw a fit if it finds it can't modify a prefs file, but I've no way to test that (the obvious route is to run the application and OS together off a bootable CD). Shouldn't be hard to keep the prefs information entirely in-core, though? - you certainly don't want users at a public terminal modifying it permanently. Windows software generally uses the central registry, doesn't it? But there are so many CDs out there using obscure proprietary presentation engines undeclared on the box that they can't *all* be treated as trusted code, surely? =================== <http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> =================== To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
