Simple C++ write-to-file not working within Mac OS X App - why? (and why me?)

Question

The code is simple enough:

#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <string>

int main(int argc, char* argv[] )
{
    std::ofstream theStream;
    theStream.open("trash.txt");
    theStream << "some words" << std::endl;
    theStream.close();
}

If I run it from the command line then I get the expected file in the same directory. If a package the contents of the executable within a MacOS .app, then no file is written anywhere. (Or perhaps it is just promptly erased?)

Here's the simple script I'm using to place the executable into the .app. Perhaps that is where I'm going wrong.

#!/bin/bash

appName=MyApp
if [ $1 ] 
then 
    appName=$1
else 
    echo "usage: convertToApp executableFile"
    exit
fi

if [ -e "$appName" ] 
then
    mkdir $appName.app
    mkdir $appName.app/Contents
    mkdir $appName.app/Contents/MacOS
    mkdir $appName.app/Contents/Resources
    cp $appName $appName.app/Contents/MacOS/$appName
    echo -n 'APPL????' > $appName.app/Contents/PkgInfo
else
    echo "specified file does not exist"
fi

Any idea why I can't see the file I want to see?

Answer 1

Instead of "trash.txt", try to use the full path or change the current working directory.