Re: [unplgd] Trimming " clipping" from clipping file names
Re: [unplgd] Trimming " clipping" from clipping file names
- Subject: Re: [unplgd] Trimming " clipping" from clipping file names
- From: Glenn Lieding <email@hidden>
- Date: Sat, 25 Nov 2000 19:39:42 -0500
On Fri, 24 Nov 2000 20:29:01 -0800 Paul Berkowitz <email@hidden> said
On 11/24/00 8:16 PM, "Glenn Lieding" <email@hidden> wrote:
> If for some reason you didn't want the main part of some script to
> run when the folder is closed, it would be easy enough to add a
> condition for that in the script itself. That would be a lot easier
> than whatever Eric had to go through to write his Folder-Actions-Plus
> extension, and there would be no need for an extension; it could be
> vanilla scripting code.
>
> I would guess Apple make that implementation choice for some reason
> of convenience for the programmers, perhaps working under some
> deadline, rather than because it's a good idea for the users.
Since Eric HAS gone to the trouble, for which we are all grateful, why
exactly does this still bother you?
I much prefer to have features implemented in a standard System that
I can count on everyone sharing than adding a bunch of non-standard
extensions to modify the behavior of the System.
I tend to be reluctant to add more extensions to my System. There
are so many already, and it's such a hassle when one of them is
causing trouble, and my old iMac takes long enough to start up as it
is. And it seems that the Extension Manager itself is one of the
more crash-prone parts of the System.
I know there's Conflict Catcher, but I haven't sprung the money for
it yet, and even if I did, there would be yet another nonstandard
addition to my System, no?
Anyway, for the "add - trim clipping name" Folder Action Script, I
still like the Pop-Up Window idea, since a pop-up tab tends to be
more accessible when dragging from an application window than folder
icons.
The reason for the open-folders
condition might well be something different than what you guess.
If Eric figured out a way to do it with an Extension, than why
couldn't Apple programmers do it in the System?
I just don't see any good reason for the open-folder restriction.
There might well be one, but I haven't been able to imagine what it
might be, other than convenience for the developers, not the users.
Even if
you're right, would you have preferred that these putative programmers had
met your supposed deadline by simply not including Folder Actions at all?
Of course not!
They might have included it as is because they were instructed to
develop Folder Actions, and that was as good as they could get it in
the allocated time, and it's a lot better than no Folder Actions at
all, right?
I've managed software development teams. I know they sometimes work
that way. There is a deadline release coming up, and you don't have
enough time to finish it exactly to specs. But it would take even
more time to rip the whole thing out of the code, and even if you
did, it would have even less utility.
So you ship it with a less-than-completely finished implementation,
as long as it doesn't crash. Unless you're Microsoft, or a Microsoft
application shop, and then you ship it anyway, even if it leaks
memory, with the idea that you can always fix it later, which you
never get around to.
Since I'm rather certain that a few AppleScript programmers could not hold
up a release of the MacOS at a big MacWorld conference or wherever because
"we need a little more time to make Folder Actions work with closed
folders." (Of course, they didn't do it for several of the next OS releases
either, so maybe there was another reason.)
Or maybe they just never got around to it. Leave well enough alone,
move on to other, more important things. After all, everything's new
in Mac OS X, anyway.
Actually, I want to apologize for earlier posting my speculations
about Apple's motivations to this list. I was originally just
intending to ask JR why he thought they did it that way, but I
accidentally sent a reply to All, including this list, instead of
just to him.
I am certainly grateful for Folder Actions. I don't mean to be
overly griping about having to have the folder open. It just seems
to me that Folder Actions would be even better if they didn't have
that restriction.
--
___________________________________
Glenn Lieding
Savoir Systems
<
mailto:email@hidden>
___________________________________
A Microsoft-Free Zone
___________________________________