Modding Mac OS X

Chapter 2. Inside Application Bundles

Bill of Materials

Mac OS X Tools and Apple Software

• Terminal (/Applications/Utilities)

• Safari (/Applications)

• Help Viewer (/System/Library/CoreServices)

• Internet Explorer (/Applications)

• iMovie (/Applications)

• iDVD (/Applications)

• Calculator (/Applications)

Third-Party Software

• ResEdit (http://developer.apple.com/tools/legacy.html)

• Power Plant Constructor (http://www.metrowerks.com)

• Resourcer (http://www.mathemaesthetics.com)

• ResFool (http://www.ljug.com)

• ResKnife (http://resknife.sourceforge.net)

Appearances can be deceiving. Just take a look at your Applications folder; it’s full of program icons. Double-click one and you’ll launch a program. Drag one to the trash and you’ll delete it. Each icon looks and acts like a single executable file. It’s hard to believe that these icons are more than just programs, but they are. Hidden within each “application file” is a collection of files and subfolders that include both the application executable and all its supporting resources, including the sounds, pictures, strings, and so forth that are used within the program.

Get ready to find out how you can expose these hidden application contents. You’re about to go diving into applications to see what’s inside. This chapter shows you how applications are put together and how you can explore them. You’ll learn exactly what’s inside that application, and why. ...