• dan@upvote.au
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    there is no difference between a program and an app

    Yeah the naming is confusing. The reason is what you said - machine vs app.

    Back on Windows 9x, some apps would store files directly in the C:\Program Files directory. This was ‘fine’ at the time since every app ran with full permissions. Users were at C:\Windows\Users, but users were optional so not every install used it.

    Windows XP had a better NT-based permission model (not nearly as improved as Vista, but better than 9x) and allowing regular users to write to the Program Files and Windows folders wasn’t really a good idea. It added two directories for settings:

    • C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data for user-specific data
    • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data for non-user-specific data

    Vista kept the former but moved the latter to C:\ProgramData. I can’t remember why.

    Windows 7 moved the user stuff to C:\Users.