Sketchup plugin, can it be a Mac "App"?

[ericschimel]

Ok, so I have a Sketchup plugin that I am trying to distribute, and I am having trouble figuring out what is the best way to "package" it. This is a thread I have going on Stack Overflow: (I'll paste the link, and paste the text here)

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11979834/mac-plugin-for-sketchup-should-it-be-an-app-or-a-package

Ok, so I have a bit of a quandry... First, allow me to describe what I am doing:

I have a plugin for Sketchup that I have created. This plugin consists of some Ruby scrips that need to be installed into the Sketchup directory, there is no actual "app" just these Ruby files. On the PC, I have created an executable installer that automatically takes these files and installs them in the correct directory, and has an update service that notifies the user of updates, and can push them if the user chooses to accept.

On the Mac, I have to take the same few Ruby files and have them copied into the Libray/Application Support/Google/Sketchup 8/plugins folder.

Previous to Mountain Lion, I had created a Package Installer to accomplish this. It worked nicely, although because my package didn't contain an "App" I was not able to use any of the third party update services for Mac to push updates...

So now, fast forward to Mountain Lion. Package Maker is no longer included in XCode, while you can still get it from Apple, it's clear to me that in the near future they don't want people using it. They want "Apps" and they want them in their app store.

I agree with them, and I WANT to be in the Mac App store. It'll get me good exposure, and I can push updates.

Here is the problem I am seeing, my plugin is a plugin for Sketchup, it's not an app, not even an official "Mac Plugin" it's literally a couple of Ruby files that need to go into the Sketchup directly (we do the rest in the cloud)

Another hurdle I rand into is that my package isn't "signed" so it's hard for Mountain Lion users to install it unless they know there way around the Security pane.

So here's the big question:

With the move towards sandboxing apps on Mac, and the Mac App Store, is my Sketchup plugin going to be rendered useless unless it's an "App"? With app sandboxing, will dumping files into the Application Support directory even be allowed?

These may be elementary questions, but I am a Sketchup guy, not a Mac developer, so any help would be greatly appreciated!