Application bundle

A pattern where we bundle the executable along with supporting files in a directory that looks like the application itself, at least in the Finder, as it has an .app suffix and as it comes with special behaviour and appearance:

• The double-click runs the program instead of opening the directory
• Finder shows the application's icon instead of a directory icon.

The content is semi-standardized. It includes

• the icons
• the internationalization strings
• metadata about the app
• frameworks and libraries, separated from the executable.

ls -1p "/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/"

Frameworks/
Library/
Resources/
_CodeSignature/
MacOS/

Info.plist
PkgInfo

Such content should be treated as read-only, as tampering it triggers a signature change and security measures that prevent the executable from running.

The application's dynamic data and preferences are stored outside the bundle.