<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">The only thing I can think of is checking the "execute" permission on the file. Of course, that can be set for any file, but I'm not sure that there is a reliable way of distinguishing between, say, an executable MetaTalk script and the actual Metacard engine. Anything that is a script should start with "#![someapp]", however. Also, folders have a directory bit that can be fetched with "ls -l" on the current directory (along with the rest of the permissions for each file). To further complicate matters, files have an executable flag for the owner, owner's group, and for everyone else.<BR>
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Not really an answer, but hopefully something to chew on.<BR>
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HTH<BR>
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Brian<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE CITE STYLE="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px" TYPE="CITE"></FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">New question: How are apps distinguished on Unix? It doesn't seem dependent<BR>
on the file extension....<BR>
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Brian Yennie<BR>
Chief Technology Officer<BR>
QLD Learning, LLC<BR>
www.QLDLearning.com<BR>
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PH: (904)-997-0212<BR>
EMAIL: Yennie@aol.com<BR>
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