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