Frequently Asked Questions

• General
  • What exactly is AppLaunch?
  • Will there be releases for other platforms?
  • I think I found a bug
• Using AppLaunch
  • Is there a stable release?
  • Under which license is it distributed?
  • Why did you choose the GPL?

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General

What exactly is AppLaunch?

AppLaunch is a MacOS X tool written in Objective-C/Cocoa to launch common Unix and MacOS commands using a “graphical command line”. You can say that it is the MacOS X version of Windows', KDEs, ... “Run”/“Launch” dialog. For more information read also the page About AppLaunch.

Will there be releases for other platforms?

Well, that depends on what other platforms means. As explained above, you cannot expect a AppLaunch for Windows, because its user interface provides AppLaunchs functionality using the Run dialogue. Also some/many (?) window managers for Linux and Unix offer a dialog similar to the program. I do not know the current situation in using GNUStep, but that may be a porting goal.

I think I found a bug

This may happen, because hardly any software is released without bugs. Refer to the Support Page for more information.

Using AppLaunch

Is there a stable release?

To say it in a short form: Sure, the latest release should always be stable, as far as there are no bug reports about the release.
The long answers is: All releases offered via the download page are tested to be stable, but computer software always may contain “hidden” bugs, so I cannot deny any error in the program. This should not prevent you from using AppLaunch, since you can be sure that every public release has been well-tested. The first AppLaunch release showed an increasing number of downloads while the projects status still was beta. Because no-one reported any bug and the application became more popular, I decided changing the status to stable and again, no-one complained. To sume it up: If there is a new release, it still may contain some bugs, although it it well-tested and should be stable. If there are no bug reports within the first few days while the application is download very much, say it is stable.

Under which license is it distributed?

AppLaunch is Free Software and it is distributed under the terms of the General Public License. Every package contains a copy of the GPL, it can be viewed via the Help menu. The program conforms to the term Opensource Software as intended by the OSI.

Why did you choose the GPL?

AppLaunch is no large application, it is a simple - but usefull - tool for the every-day work with your computer. So I think it is not worth distributing it as a commercial program; that is why it is Free Software. It is written in a way that it uses no difficult algorithms and should not be called “Prior Art” (for the lawers). But there are many people wanting to know how their tools work and learn from it; that is why it is Free Software. The best way to protect you and myself was releasing it under the terms of the GPL, this ought to be no-ones harm.

Still any questions? Ask me!