On Wednesday 25 February 2009 9:22:29 am Vincent Povirk wrote:
This discussion has been assuming that .exe files are somehow special because they are programs
Actually, I'm saying just the opposite. They are *not* special because they are programs, and should honor the executable bit just like any other program should.
What we really should do is make sure the file manager knows about these types so it can apply a consistent policy.
You mean that dolphin, nautilus, konqueror, firefox, kmail, and anything that can "open" a file should all be made aware of what the different types of files can do? Is it really their responsibility?
IMO, it would be better to just hand off a file to its associated program, whether that program is wine, kwrite, firefox, or what-have-you.. the handler should know the type of file better than a file manager, and the handler can be made to honor the proper permissions much easier and quicker than trying to keep all file managers up-to-date.
As an example, suppose Dolphin is made to be aware that exe files are programs, and thus restricts opening it with Wine if +x isn't set. A new app comes along that does not know anything special about exe files and/or passes it off to Wine as the associated program anyway. It becomes popular, and the less-technically-inclined people start using it. That puts us right back at square one.