Why doesn't BYOND have its own standalone, executable archive file format? Java has the JAR (Java Archive) file type, so I think we should have something like a DAR (Dream Archive), DMAR (DM Archive), or BAR (BYOND Archive) file type. Dream Seeker could simply extract the files to a temporary location and run the first DMB that it finds within. This behavior could be modified or extended later on with something similar to a manifest file. For example, this new format could also be used to package a resource file with a BYOND game URL, so that most of the game will already be downloaded when connecting to it in this way. In the case of more than one DMB being present, a manifest file of some kind could be used to point to the one that should be executed. The possibilities are endless.

In addition to being extensible, this new format would allow us to know right away that the BYOND software is supposed to handle files of this type. This would also eliminate the extraction step, so you could simply download and run. The generic ZIP file extension could be phased out of most of the BYOND ecosystem. A DAR, DMAR, or BAR file would still be in ZIP format, so simply renaming the file could get you one or the other. With a JAR-like format, anyone who finds BYOND after having used Java, would feel more comfortable using the BYOND software.

Overall, this would just make BYOND feel so much more polished and intuitive.

What should the new file extension be? If BYOND had something like a manifest file, what might that look like? What format should it use? What options should be available? Should it optionally provide some form of file integrity?


Note that this is NOT intended to replace conversion to EXE. This is simply intended to be a more convenient alternative to ZIP files, that allows for direct execution by file association. BYOND would still need to be installed.