Placement Of Components

There are basically three types of components, and for each there is a recommended location.

1. 2.1.1 Application Specific Components 

   Application specific components are those components

   created specifically for a single software application. They are not shared by other applications. Application specific components should be loaded in a subdirectory within the vendor application's specific subdirectory.

   Example:

   Vendor name: "VendorX" 

   Application name:  "EngineDiagnostics"

   DLL name: "MyDll.dll" 

   Example Placement:

   "\ProgramFilesWendorX\EngineDiagnostics\MyDll.dll"

   TMC recommends that application specific Readme, Help, and other documentation files be loaded in a documentation subdirectory within the vendor application's specific subdirectory.

   Example:

   Vendor name: "VendorX" 

   Application name: "EngineDiagnostics" 

   Readme filename: "Readme.txt" 

   Example Placement:

   "\ProgramFiles\VendorX\EngineDiagnostics\Docs\

   Readme.txt"

2. 2.1.2 Shared Components 

   Shared components are those components shared by several applications provided by a single software vendor. Shared components should be located in a "shared" subdirectory that exists under the primary vendor application directory.

   Example:

   Vendor name: "VendorX" 

   DLL name: "SharedDll.dll" 

   Example Placement:

   ""Program Files\VendorX \shared\SharedDll.dll"

3. 2.1.3 System-Wide Components 

   System-wide components are those components that are shared by multiple applications from several manufacturers on a single platform. Examples of such libraries are MFC40.DLL and VBRUN300.DLL System-wide components such as these should be placed specifically in the Windows "\System"directory. One of the primary reasons for this specific placement is to ensure that the same DLL is used whenever more than one loaded and running application requires a particular library. It is recommended that no modification be made to system-wide components.

   Example:

   DLL name: "AUniversalDLL.dll" 

   Example Placement:

   "\Windows\System\AUniversalDLL.dll"

   NOTE: Although \Windows is used in this document for the operation system sub-directory name, the environment variable or Registry key (%windir%) should be read in order to obtain the location of the operating system for the specific PC.