Launch Services like database?

[probonopd]

Considering FreeBSD where the package database is actually a SQLite database rather than a bunch of text files, I wonder whether we should have the file manager build up a (per-mountpoint?) Launch Services like database that could be used to, amongst other things,

• Know where apps are that can open certain MIME types
• Know where the most recent version of an app is

Let's do to XDG application handling what FreeBSD did to the Debian package management plain text files... out-engineer them ;-)

Further reading:
AppImageCommunity/appimaged#30

[antony-jr]

When you have a database you are simply gonna recreate what MS Windows did with their so called "Windows Registry". And now Windows is slowly moving away from this. Now MS Windows is trying to do what Linux is doing. Using simple files for config instead of a central registry.

[probonopd]

Trust me, the Windows Registry is about the least thing I'd like to recreate ;-)

Maybe "database" is not the best word to describe it, more like a "cache" in the form of a database that would allow it to be queried way faster than searching for stuff on the filesystem each time. Things like "give me the most recent GIMP on the system" (many copies of which may be in different places) or "give me all apps that can handle JPG files".

I wouldn't call the LaunchServices database on the Mac "like the Windows Registry". For example, you normally do not edit it. It just gets built automatically from the metadata stored inside the application bundles. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coreservices/launch_services

[probonopd]

https://github.com/helloSystem/hello/wiki/Architecture#launch-command describes the idea a bit more fully, and https://github.com/helloSystem/launch is an initial version of the launch command (albeit without the database at the moment).