The Receipts Database

by Jose R. C.Cruz
Oct, 2010 Issue

Article Synopsis

Since the release of OS X 10.5, software delivery gained two new and notable features. First is the flat-package format. This format combines the payloads, scripts and metadata into a single file. Then there is the receipts database, which uses a central file to track each installed payload. So, in today's article, we take a close look at this database and learn how it aids in software delivery. We will study its underlying record structures, as well as how each structure relates to one another. And we will explore three software tools that we can use to access the database.

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