#Hybrid disc Mac probs
13 messages in this thread
If you stick a Mac application on an ISO9660 CD, Macs won't recognize them as
applications.
The ISO9660 format does not have any provisions for properly storing the
resource fork, file creator, and file type. The resource fork & file type are
the biggest problems… without them you can't have an application, only a
document.
<<If you stick a Mac application on an ISO9660 CD, Macs won't recognize them as
applications.>>
From your response to Kenny one might think an application wouldn't run on a
Mac with an ISO9660 disc. I'm sure that's not what you meant to say as it's
very untrue however the wording sorta makes it sound that way. You might want
to send Kenny a follow up note making it more clear.
Jerry Warner
CD Solutions, Inc.
<yawn> It's always amazing how I can phrase simple ideas in such a completely
obtuse manner in the early morning… <g>
Um, I looked back at the statement I made and don't entirely understand the
trouble… _is_ it possible to stick a Mac application (executable in PC-ese)
on an ISO9660 CD and still have it readable, to the Mac, as an application?
My understanding of the ISO9660 format doesn't make that possible, as the items
I had mentioned get stored in PC-style format, which means the application will
be stored as a document (data fork only).
I'm basically a techno-geek, so my information could be outdated, as I've never
actually tried this. I just stick with ISO9660 on the PC, HFS on the Mac, and
hybrid CD's that blend the two.
<<_is_ it possible to stick a Mac application (executable in PC-ese) on an
ISO9660 CD and still have it readable, to the Mac, as an application?>>
Of course. The resource fork is gone so double clicking on a file won't auto
launch the proper application but clicking on the application will certainly
launch the application without problems.
BTW, what's your name? "VNM Support" doesn't seem to fit the forum guidelines
very well and I certainly don't know what to call you.
Jerry Warner
CD Solutions, Inc.
This is a support account for Viacom New Media, and is staffed by several
people… so tagging a name onto the account wouldn't help very much. I check
this area in my usual rounds and thought I'd lend my two cents… which
unfortunately weren't entirely accurate.
I hadn't realized that Apple's ISO9660 Foreign File Access had made provisions
for a way to store the resource fork in a separate file. So, I stand
corrected…
It's not Foreign File Access that does it; I'm having a hard time finding a
name for what it is without causing exactly that confusion. It's the Apple
Extensions, sometimes called Apple Level 2 Extensions, to the ISO 9660 standard
which allows the resource fork to be kept in an associated file. The Foreign
File Access extensions to the Mac system are what allow you to read back discs
in the Mac OS. Actually, from System 7.5 on (maybe earlier?) it's all part of
the system so you can quietly forget all about Foreign File Access.
Ciao,
D'
Mike,
I agree with Deirdre'. It's not the Foreign File Access that gives you the
longer file names but rather an extension. The whole issue is avoided when
making a true hybrid and in addition, you have the ability to control
window/file placement with a true hybrid which you don't have with an ISO9660
disc. That usually means a lot.
Jerry Warner
CD Solutions, Inc.
When an ISO disc is cut from a Mac, it is possible to use the Apple Extensions
which put the resource fork into an associated file (allowed under ISO, not
DOS), and to allow the long filenames. Incat's Easy-CD Pro for Macintosh
implements the Apple Extensions automatically, and I think most if not all of
the other Mac CD recording packages do it one way or another.
What you come out with is a very "Mac-like" ISO disc, but you don't get the Mac
desktop (there's no provision for that in ISO) so some Mac attributes (such as
window positioning) are lost.
Best regards,
Deirdre' Straughan
Incat Systems
Apple has some extension to ISO-9660 which allow one to store Apple
specific information. Resource forks, icons, etc. I saw an article
in Develop magazine (in one the 1990 issues … summer I believe).
Really? If you could let me know more-or-less which issue, I'd really be
interested in reading it…
Develop: The Apple Technical Journal
Issue 3, July 1990
The article in particular is:
The in and outs of ISO-9660 and High Sierra format by Brian
Bechtel: The two standard file formats for CD-ROM discs, how they
relate to the Macintosh's native file format, and how to implement
them. (pages 272-287)
Pages 278 … How Macintosh files are stored in these formats
a) file forks
b) file identifiers
c) file type and creator
d) finder flags
e) desktop information
… later on there is some example C source code to demonstrate
this on a floppy disk.
Thanks!