Standalone Product Sub-Categories

File-Based Products. A file-based application is a product that is used primarily to create, edit, and save files. A typical user scenario for a file-based standalone application is:

  1. Start the application
  2. Create a new file (or open an existing one)
  3. Edit the file
  4. Save the file
  5. Exit the application

Non-File-Based Products. A non-file-based application is a product which is not used primarily to create, edit, and save files, even though file-related tasks may be commonly performed. User scenarios differ from one non-file-based product to another, but the following examples illustrate the distinction between file-based and non- file-based products.

A typical user scenario for a non-file-based mainframe connectivity product is:

  1. Start the application
  2. Establish a mainframe connection, or re-establish a connection that previously existed
  3. Exchange data with the mainframe, possibly uploading or downloading files
  4. Save information about the connection, so it can be re-created in the future the application
A font management product is another example of a non-file-based application, and a typical user scenario for such a product might be:

  1. Start the application
  2. Open an existing font family (or create a new one)
  3. Issue a command that sets the font family as the default
  4. Save the font family (if it has been edited)
  5. Exit the application

As a final example of a non-filed-based application, consider this typical scenario for the user of an investment analysis product:

  1. Start the application
  2. Perform a query to determine the price at which a common stock is trading
  3. Analyze the stock's historical price performance by creating various tables and graphs
  4. Save the record of the stock's price performance
  5. Exit the application

Notice that although files were created, edited, and saved in the preceding scenarios, that is not the primary purpose of a non-file-based application. So determining whether a product is file-based or non-file-based is not as simple as determining whether it supports file operations. On the contrary, non-file-based products are distinguished by the fact that they can be profitably used without creating any files (except possibly for configuration or profile files that help the user control them). In this way they differ fundamentally from a file-based application such as Microsoft Word.