Idea: support resources in .zip format

[orent]

The resource file uses a custom .neu format. Using .zip would make it more flexible. Standard tools can be used to create and update it. This can make the neu utility unnecessary. And most importantly: zip supports appending to an executable. This can make it possible to pack a neutralino app as a single executable.

https://libzip.org

[soshimee]

I agree, it would be a step forward to single-file executable.

[pegvin]

Actually there is nothing like .neu format, it's just what shalitha did. actually the file format of the resource.neu is "ASAR" file format. this is a type of archive just like zip. frameworks like Electron use the ASAR file format to pack and unpack files.

Even you can unpack the resource.neu file:

[hschneider]

I think a single file application is a rather seldom use-case. Most apps have more external dependencies, especially when extensions are used. So ASAR is IMHO a good solution.

[orent]

There’s not not much point in using less common formats. A .jar is actually a zip. Even a .docx file is actually a zip. It’s pretty much the industry default cross platform archive format.

[darthgelum]

Asar is used by Electron apps, like Visual Studio Code, for example. And you can open it with 7zip with a plugin, so it can be viewed and edited like any other archive