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Bundles

In the Mac OS X file system, some directories store executable code and the software resources related to that code in one discrete package. These packages, known as bundles, come in two varieties: application bundles and frameworks.

There are two basic types of bundles that you should be familiar with during the basic porting process: application bundles and frameworks. In particular, you should be aware of how to use frameworks, since you may need to link against the contents of a framework when porting your application.

In this section:

Application Bundles
Frameworks
For More Information

Application Bundles

Application bundles are special directories that appear in the Finder as a single entity. Having only one item allows a user to double-click it to get the application with all of its supporting resources. If you are building Mac OS X applications, you should make application bundles. Xcode builds them by default if you select one of the application project types. More information on application bundles is available in “Bundles vs. Installers” and in Mac OS X Technology Overview.

Frameworks

A framework is a type of bundle that packages a shared library with the resources that the library requires. Depending on the library, this bundle could include header files, images, and reference documentation. If you are trying to maintain cross-platform compatibility, you may not want to create your own frameworks, but you should be aware of them because you might need to link against them. For example, you might want to link against the Core Foundation framework. Since a framework is just one form of a bundle, you can do this by linking against /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework with the -framework flag. A more thorough discussion of frameworks is in Mac OS X Technology Overview.

For More Information

You can find additional information about bundles in Mac OS X Technology Overview and in Creating Bundles, available from Apple’s Technical Publications website.

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