Re: Locating AppleScript Beginnings
Re: Locating AppleScript Beginnings
- Subject: Re: Locating AppleScript Beginnings
- From: email@hidden
- Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 11:28:47 -0700
>
>>UserLand Software (Dave Winer, Doug Baron, et al) described an
interapplication communication implementation for System 6.?. This was
presented to Apple, which elected to proceed with AppleScript
instead...
AppleScript technology is derived from HyperCard and the language itself is
a direct descendant of HyperTalk.
For example, in HyperCard if you send a message to a button, if that button
doesn't understand the message it gets passed up to the card. If the card
doesn't understand it gets passed up the hierarchy to the background, then
the stack then the home stack and finally the application.
AppleScript works the same way with Apple Events in place of HyperTalk
messages. An Apple Event from inside a tell block gets sent to the
Application or object addressed in the tell first. If it doesn't
understand it it's sent to the OSAX (which are analogous to external
commands in HyperCard). Then to the script then to AppleScript.
Also there are a lot of similarities in the mechanics of working with
scripts in HyperTalk and AppleScript. Although HyperTalk doesn't truly
compile scripts it does automatically indent nested blocks in an identical
manner.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, both HyperCard and AppleTalk
employ a very similar "english-like" syntax. AppleScript's is more
advanced than HyperTalk, allowing for distinct verbs and objects.
ES