RE: processing time & stack overflow!!!
RE: processing time & stack overflow!!!
- Subject: RE: processing time & stack overflow!!!
- From: "Stockly, Ed" <email@hidden>
- Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 10:57:03 -0700
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>>> now i really should investigate labview too, and agree that applescript's
compiler should be probably be reworked
There is nothing wrong with the AppleScript compiler.
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>>well i'm sure that many people, like myself, sink time and effort into applescript beleiveing that in the end it will provide them with a solution (maybe i should remember that ease of use and learnability doesn't equivocate to power or usefulenss?)
My experience with AppleScript, and the experience of most Scripters I've worked with, has been the opposite... we put time and effort into learning AppleScript and are rewarded many times over often finding power and usefulness in areas we never expected.
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>>>i think it matters what we do now, and that if without crippling
AppleScript, it should be improved to handle tasks that are typically
addressed in simple programming, or other scripting languages, whatever the
requests of the scripter/programmer are (like scrambling words, or
cataloging a pottery collection, or whatever!)
As others have said, AppleScript has several ways it can "handle tasks". It can do so internally with native commands, it can use commands provided in OSAX and it can use applications to provide new commands and functionality.
Given this combination I would submit that AppleScript can handle nearly any task that any other programming language can handle.
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>>>it is easier and more natural to work in one language as much as possible rather than switching back and forth between a few or many, no?
Again, truly an advantage of AppleScript. Rather than learn a new language for every application you need to script you learn only one language and control hundreds of applications.
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But if the demand is really so strong, then someone ought to write a fast,
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highly scriptable FBA.
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>>what is an fba?
That's a "Faceless Background Application". A scriptable FBA can be used to extend the language and provide tools, like text manipulation tools, for Scripters. Many Scripters prefer FBAs to OSAX. They have similar purposes but different approaches. An OSAX ads its command and its coercions to AppleScript globally while an FBA must be addressed in a tell to use its commands.
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>>i'm tending to think AppleScript is slightly under-resourced, and don't have
enough experience to rate it, but happy to have learned from many
intelligent beings on this list
Well, while I might agree that it's under-resourced, if that is supposed to mean that it ought be supported with more money spent on development, documentation and marketing.
But from what you've said so far, I'd say it's particularly well suited to handling the tasks you need it for. You may need to do some digging to find all the resources you need, but their out there.
HTH,
Es