[table of contents]

Appendix B:

Comparing the Mac OS X and OpenStep Directory Layouts

Directory Mappings

The layout of the Mac OS X file system and that of the OpenStep file system are quite different, but the standard directories within each system serve the similar purposes. In fact, for each standard directory in the OpenStep file system, there's a matching directory in the Mac OS X system, although the directory names and locations are different.

Standard Directories in Mac OS X and OpenStep

The listing below compare the standard directories in the Mac OS X file system with those in the OpenStep file system.

Mac OS X File System             OpenStep File System

Local
    Administration
    Applications
    Developer                       /LocalDeveloper
    Documentation
    Library
    Users
         me                         /me
         Administrator              /root  <?? Not in OpenStep 4.2>
 
Network                            
    Administration                  /LocalAdmin
    Applications                    /LocalApps
    Developer
    Documentation                   /LocalLibrary/Documentation
    Library                         /LocalLibrary
    Users
 
System
    Administration                  /NextAdmin
    Applications                    /NextApps
    Demos                           /NextDeveloper/Demos
    Developer                       /NextDeveloper
         Applications               /NextDeveloper/Apps       
    Documentation                   /NextLibrary/Documentation
         Administrator              /NextLibrary/Documentation/NextAdmin
             ReleaseNotes           /NextLibrary/Documentation/NextAdmin/ReleaseNotes
             ...                    (other admin doc files/directories)
         Developer                  /NextLibrary/Documentation/NextDev
             BlueBox                (after DR2)
                 HomePage.html
                 ReleaseNotes
                 ...                (other BlueBox doc for developers)
             DeveloperHomePage.html (after DR2--links to each product home page)
             HomePage               (after DR2)
                 Administration
                     ProductEntryFiles 
                     ihp            (script for generating DeveloperHomePage.html
             YellowBox
                 HomePage.html      (after DR2)
                 ReleaseNotes       /NextLibrary/Documentation/NextDev/ReleaseNotes
                 ...                (other Mac OS X doc for developers)
             WebObjects
                 HomePage.html      (after DR2)
                 ReleaseNotes
                 ...                (other WebObjects doc for developers)
             AnotherProduct
                 HomePage.html      (after DR2)
                 ReleaseNotes
         ManPages                   /NextLibrary/Documentation/ManPages
         ThirdParty                 /NextLibrary/Documentation/ThirdParty
         User
             BlueBox
                 ReleaseNotes       (BlueBox release notes for users)
                 ...                (other BlueBox doc for users, if any)
             MailViewer             (--an example of how to treat other User doc)
                 ReleaseNotes
                 ...
    Installation                    /NextCD
    Library                         /NextLibrary
        CoreServices                (hidden by default) /usr/lib/NextStep
        Frameworks                  /NextLibrary/Frameworks
        Printers                    (hidden by default) /usr/lib/NextPrinter
        <others>

Yellow Box for Windows and OpenStep for Windows

The directory layout for Yellow Box and OpenStep for Windows are very similar, as shown in the listing below. In both cases, $(NEXT_ROOT) <<won't this variable be renamed?>> is the root directory specified by the user at installation time (/Apple, by default):

Yellow Box Directories      OpenStep For Windowstm Directories

$(NEXT_ROOT)\Library               $(NEXT_ROOT)\NextLibrary
$(NEXT_ROOT)\Demos                 $(NEXT_ROOT)\NextDemos
$(NEXT_ROOT)\Developer             $(NEXT_ROOT)\NextDeveloper
$(NEXT_ROOT)\Local\Developer       $(NEXT_ROOT)\LocalDeveloper