When I switched from ordinary portable Miranda instalation to PortableApps Miranda, I have noticed, there are two Miranda processes instead of one. I am curious what is causing this? Why standard portable Miranda needs just one process, and PortabeApps Miranda needs two processes?
Here is screenshot of these processes:
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/6672/portableappsmiranda.jpg
Best regards.
John
PS.
I prefer PortableApps Miranda any way, but I wanted to hear some comments about this.
MirandaPortable.exe is just the launcher for the miranda exe, and it's the one that keeps all your data stored properly in the data folder
your friendly neighbourhood moderator Zach Thibeau
But why PortableApps Miranda needs a launcher, and standard portable Miranda doesn't? What is the difference? They are both running after using a shortcut, but for standard Miranda the shortcut is on the Desktop or on some drive, and PortableApps has its own menu for icons. So, where is the difference?
And why this launcher needs to be running all the time, not just while starting application?
When you run the launcher, it does several things (ensures it isn't already running, copies the default settings in if they don't exist) and then copies the settings from Data to App. It then runs Miranda.
The launcher then waits for Miranda to exit. Once Miranda closes, it moves the settings files back from App to Data (so they can be properly backed up and so they are preserved on upgrades) and then cleans up the registry keys that Miranda leaves behind.
Short answer: The launcher sticks around to clean up the bits that make Miranda not really portable on its own and move files around so they stick to being compatible with the PA.c Format.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Thanks! That explains everything.
Keep up the good work