Applications should be good citizens on the platforms they run on:
This means that applications should follow the operating systems' rules regarding the location of configuration, cache files and other application data.
This in turn allows vastly simplified management of our data:
- Easily moving between different machines, carrying your configuration with you.
- Backing up all crucial files, without the needless copying of caches.
- Evicting caches with the assurance that no critical data is lost.
But as each operating system invented its own set of rules, this is easier said than done.
This website provides resources intended to encourage and help applications to adhere to the standards of the operating system they are running on.