On Sep 19, 2006, at 11:09 PM, Trevor Harmon wrote:
I suppose I'm also asking the broader question of why apps like TextMate/BBEdit/etc. have to associate themselves with anything to begin with. For example, when I install two C++ editors, they fight for the .cc association, and I guess whichever one is installed last wins. Seems like a rather weak way of managing file associations.
I'm afraid this will be far from a satisfactory answer, but this is partly the system's fault, it is how Launch Services works. The various programs don't claim an association, they just state their ability to open a particular kind of file. With few notable exceptions, programs won't aggressively try to set themselves as handlers of particular data types, they just tell the system that they can open those data types. The system has been programmed to function in this "last come, last served" kind of way.
I am however relatively ignorant in these matters, so I will shut up for now and let someone with more experience provide a better explanation. For what it's worth, I agree that this system is not ideal.
Trevor
Haris