Hi!
First I'd like to say Thanks for the Excellent work you all have done!
(I don't know if this is the right place to ask or if it has already been asked. I searched quite a bit.)
I'd like to "suggest" that instead of reading all the directories for apps at launch time, could a "list" of apps be loaded from a manifest type of file?
This file would contain all the same information that the launcher scans for upon startup.
When things get stale you could update it by selecting Update App List from the Manage Apps menu. Just like Update Icons.
It would speed up the launcher process for those of us who have a lot of apps.
Just a suggestion.
Thanks Again for an Excellent Utility!
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Oh yeah, it's been asked -- by me, for one, at least. And it's been shot down. I don't recall the reasoning, but I would guess that a manifest of apps would make the whole system less modular. The PortableApps.com platform can't make assumptions about what apps you have, it can't have a registry.
However, with the PortableApps.com Updater in the latest beta, and portable fonts and portable file associations on the way, PortableApps.com is moving from an "everything absolutely modular, screw the Registry" attitude to a sort of ecosystem where everything sort of works together. Also in evidence of this is the portable Java that Java-requiring apps can use. Ultimately, or at least in my view, PortableApps.com should end up being a system where you plug in your device anywhere and all your stuff is there, and works together. Others do not agree.
What you want the PortableApps.com platform to do should be easy enough. You sound like you know what it does when it starts up... it scans the folders, and it sort of builds this manifest you speak of, but doesn't save it. And that's what it should do: look for the manifest, not find it, build it, and save it. Next time it runs it just loads the manifest. The manifest will contain all the appinfo.ini stuff and the folder it's in will also contain copies of all the icons (when the manifest is made, these will be collected). Clicking on an app that has been removed will cause the platform to delete the manifest, scan again, and re-create it automatically. Updating the apps would necessitate a manifest update, so thus would trigger one.
Too bad, it probably won't happen, though I wouldn't rule it an impossibility.
that John has said this will be coming as an option later in the 2.x series