The Virtual Application Library is a collection of pre-configured virtual applications delivered as Layer Definition File (LDF) packages. An LDF package is a self-extracting archive that, when executed, invokes a script to create a virtual application using the Layer Definition tool and Symantec Software Virtualization. The LDF does not contain the files required to create a virtual application, rather, it has links to publicly available software download sites from which the required files are downloaded and extracted for use when constructing the virtual application layer.

The advantage of using LDF packages is that the virtual application definition ensures that an exact replica of a layer is created regardless of the environment in which it is created. This avoids some of the pitfalls that can occur when capturing an application and also provides an mechanism to create virtual application layers for applications that are difficult or impossible to capture (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer). The following virtual application library contains links to the LDF package download pages for a collection of open source or free software available on the internet.

Virtual Application Library

Please feel free to leave comments about other LDF packages you'd like to see included in this virtual application library.