Sandboxing doesn't necessarily mean that you can't share files/data between programs. I think it's easy to mix these up because ios hides the file system for you. I would very much like both visual studio and notepad++ to be able to edit the same .cs file but i don't want notepad++ to have internet or GPS access because it has absolutely no reason to.
Sandbox all you want but give me root level access then. Notepad++ may not need the GPS or Internet access[0], but I need it to be able to edit Visual Studio's config files when I ask it to, without having to ask VS for permission. Don't let programs have magic databases that are inaccessible by users.
[0] - most desktop software doesn't need Internet access; even most mobile software doesn't need it in principle, it's only because of lazy business models that they have to have it.
Sandbox all you want but give me root level access then. Notepad++ may not need the GPS or Internet access[0], but I need it to be able to edit Visual Studio's config files when I ask it to, without having to ask VS for permission. Don't let programs have magic databases that are inaccessible by users.
OS X solves this quite elegantly. If an application is sandboxed, it cannot access files outside the sandbox directly. However, when an Open (or Save) dialog is requested, it is handled by a privileged daemon outside the process (it used to be pboxd). This daemon then makes the file or directory available in the sandbox after selection.
You still get app isolation, but it does not impede the user experience. (Of course, it does not apply for every scenario, but sandboxing is not a requirement outside the App store.)
> Don't let programs have magic databases that are inaccessible by users
Maybe you misunderstood my post but that's exactly what I meant should not be misunderstood as sandboxing. Sandboxing api calls is not the same as hiding the file system.
