Fix The Sandbox

When I first saw what Apple was doing with the sandbox and the restrictions it causes, my guess was that they’re setting these restrictions up for something else — and it seems to me the most likely thing is there’s some new product line coming (next gen apple TV box, perhaps?) and if your app is compliant with the sandbox restrictions, it’ll work on this new device, day one.

So what they’re really doing is getting app developers writing for this new product line, without telling them that’s what’s going on. IF you fit within this box, you’ll fit on this new thing, whatever it is.

Just thinking out loud. But that seems very much like Apple.

Red Sweater Blog – Fix The Sandbox:

At its best sandboxing is a means for app developers to faithfully state their intentions in a manner that can be evaluated by users, and also be reliably enforced by the operating system. So if your new “Fun on Facebook” app declares its intention is to connect to the web, you might judiciously allow it. If it says it needs to write files to the root of the filesystem, you’d be wise to search for another app.

 

Sandboxing on the Mac works by providing developers with a standardized list of “entitlements” which are clear descriptions of things it would like to do on your Mac. Examples include: access the internet, read files from your Pictures folder, print things on your printer.

The number one broken thing about sandboxing as it stands today, is the list of entitlements is simply too limited. Many apps on the App Store, including my own, will need to have their functionality considerably diminished, or in some cases made outright useless, in order to accommodate the available list of entitlements that sandboxing offers.

 

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