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[Livin]

I don't understand the necessity here... I've never seen a best practice that says you should be installing a user application EXE into any system folder.

Is there best practice white paper or MSDN article from MS I missed?

I'm concerned that things are being put in the windows folder and as I searched it looks like other DLLs, and maybe other things, are also.

I'm very interested in have someone explain the exact reason this is being done, and the reason why these 'cannot' be put in the C:\Program Files\<application> folder as does all other end-user applications I've ever seen?

 ?

[glynor]

MC13.exe is NOT the primary application EXE for MC (which is called "Media Center 13.exe" and is in the expected C:\Program Files\ path), it is a launcher used to call automation commands.  It is in the System32 directory because System32 is in the default search path, which allows you to call it from the command line without a fully-qualified command path for things like this:

Code: [Select]

mc13.exe /Play [item]|[item]...
If the mc13.exe application were not in the System32 directory, you'd have to always issue calls to it like this:

Code: [Select]

"C:\Program Files\J River\mc13.exe" /Play [item|[item]...
Which gets ugly pretty quick, with DOS not liking spaces and the whole thing.  I suppose they could just add their own application directory to the system path variable, but that might be viewed as more intrusive than just dropping a simple launcher application into the System32 directory (by some people).  If you don't like it, you can always delete (or move) it.  It isn't used for anything but launching Automation commands.

Details on the MC command line interface are available here (written for MC12 but it still applies): http://wiki.jrmediacenter.com/index.php/The_Command_Line

[Livin]

Is everyone here stuck in 1994; before DOS could handle spaces by simply using quotes?
Are people too lazy to put the whole path in... once! They could even get "super crafty" and use a BAT/CMD file... too high tech?

Yes, this bothers me. I work all day with large corporations trying to get them to do things correctly only to see an app I want to use blatantly and without reason do one of the biggest no-no's there are. This EXE, and the other DLLs in the SYSTEM32 folder, breaking every best practice I know of for not only windows but all other desktop OSs.

Not one other app I know of does this... and I've used so many over the past 15 years I cannot even imagine how many that is. At least in the old days they'd put a BAT/CMD in the root of C, which is always in the Path.

AND... It looks like if I want to do it properly, using the EXE in Program Files with command line switches does not work?

I'm interested to hear from the development team to see if they have any real way to defend this anti-best practice?

[JimH]

We've been using the system folders for at least 5 years.  Yours is the first complaint I can remember.

We're not going to explain why we do everything.  If you don't trust us, well, I'm sorry.

Speaking for JRiver

[StFeder]

I don't like your argumentation.

Anyway: if I get you right, you want the development of MC to put MC13.exe into their program folder and tell all the users they shouldn't be to lazy to type the whole path or use a BAT/CMD file?! I bet, my mother, my girlfriend and my father doesn't have heard of a BAT/CMD-file. And they even don't know the path of any of their programs. BUT they ARE able to use the MC13 comands, because MC13.exe is in the system32 dir.

If you're working with large corporations as you said, I guess you have a hard job. A good suggestion in this case here would have been: put MC13.exe in the program folder and make a registry entry so that all "MC13" comands will continue working without giving the complete path. Then I and all the other enduser could stay lazy.

Another point:

Not one other app I know of does this... and I've used so many over the past 15 years

I think I have many programs putting their files in the system dir! Sadly, I'm not at home and only have my laptop with a very, very essential list of installed software, so I only can give a few examples right now. I can give a bigger list later, if you want me to.

Let's start: First, I don't know what kind of OS you're using. Cannot be MS 95/98/ME/2000/XP/Vista. Because if you take a look in the System32 dir you'll find MS-Prgrams in their. Of course, there are system programs in there, but also:
mspaint.exe
magnify.exe
notepad.exe
soundrecorder.exe
But perhaps you'll tell me, MS can put in there what they want, because it's "their" folder let's take a look at other applications putting there files in there, perhaps you'll find some exotic, completly new programs:
QuickTime.qts from apple
TUProgSt.exe from TuneUp Software.