LR>
  > Since some programmers apparently feel there is value in
  > having their exe modify the exe copy on HD I wonder if IBM
  > has specifically addressed this issue and may have come up
  > with some answers or alternatives.
LR>

  Yup.  The solution is to use so-called "profile" files.  There's a
  group of Prf....() functions provided in the OS/2 API to manipulate
  profile files.  These files act as databases of variable length byte
  strings (i.e. you can store binary data in them), indexed on two
  levels by two keys, which are both variable length text strings.

  An application can create its own profile file, and save and load
  configuration information there to its heart's content.

  This has three advantages over the "rewrite the EXE" approach to
  reconfiguration.

  Firstly, it doesn't require that the code to save and load the
  information be changed every time that the EXE is recompiled.  Nor
  does it require the code to be able to figure out the different
  executable formats (MZ, NE, and LX).

  Secondly, the profile file can be accessed from a batch file using
  REXX.  So a simple INSTALL.CMD file can write out the initial
  configuration file for an application, and a further batch file can be
  used to dump the contents of the profile file.

  Thirdly, it won't cause backup software to repeatedly back up
  executables in incremental backups, and it won't cause false triggers
  in anti-virus software.

  > JdeBP <
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