FreeLists / openbeos / [openbeos] Re: Resource Compiler

["Matthijs Hollemans" <matthijs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > perhaps i am out of context , but the Pe cvs holds a
> > folder called rez, which seems to do the same thing?

You are right: rez is also a resource compiler. In many ways it is
even much more capable than beres. However, it does not read .rdef
files, which is more-or-less the "official" format. If I am not
mistaken, there are more people using .rdef than rez's format, so it
makes sense to provide an open source replacement for beres. Plus, I
wanted to play with flex and bison, which are two compiler-generator
programs ;-)


> when i digged everywhere i could searching for beos
> programming docs and samples, i couldnt find *anything*
> that would explain the whole concept of Resources [...]

You may want to look at the BResources chapter in the Storage Kit
section of the BeBook. In short, a resource is data that is bundled
with an application. Typical examples are the application's icons,
its signature, its launch flags (single launch, multiple launch,
etc), and version information. However, you can associate any kind
of data with your files, such as pictures, sounds, cursors, and
text. Resources are different from attributes because they are
stored inside the files themselves, and are typically used only for
applications. There probably is a very good reason why attributes
aren't used for this, but I can't think of one.

Matthijs