Re: APPLE PREVIEWS NEW APPLESCRIPT TECHNOLOGY
Re: APPLE PREVIEWS NEW APPLESCRIPT TECHNOLOGY
- Subject: Re: APPLE PREVIEWS NEW APPLESCRIPT TECHNOLOGY
- From: Christian Boyce <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 00:57:38 -0800
Subject: Re: APPLE PREVIEWS NEW APPLESCRIPT TECHNOLOGY
From: Bill Cheeseman <email@hidden>
To: AppleScript-Users Mail <email@hidden>
on 02-12-22 2:08 AM, Christian Boyce at email@hidden
wrote:
the hammer is pretty far away from "Check
Syntax" in my mind.
The hammer has been used as a button for compiling code in Project
Builder
for a long time. You get used to it pretty quickly. A hammer is a tool
you
use for building things, so the metaphor is very direct.
Having never used Project Builder (actually, having never HEARD of
Project Builder), the hammer icon as a symbol for compiling code is
brand new to me. I may be the minority but my Mac programming
experience is limited to AppleScript and OneClick. So, no
"hammer=compile code" background here.
There are so many tools that can be used to build things that I think
that the choice of a hammer (remembering my lack of familiarity with
Project Builder) is somewhat arbitrary.
What's wrong in Script Editor is to call what it does "check syntax."
That's
the term that has been used in Script Editor forever, but the command
does
more than just check the syntax -- it also compiles the script into an
executable form. I think the original idea behind the term "check
syntax"
was to avoid implying that you're "programming," but I always thought
it was
misleading. If you think of the command as "build" instead of "check
syntax," the hammer makes perfect sense.
I guess you would have to call this a "desktop mixed metaphor."
I think you're right! Maybe we need two buttons-- one that is "check
syntax" (sort of like a spelling check in a word processor) and another
that does the compiling. At least that would separate the two functions
in the user's mind.
I do think it would be important to choose icons that make sense to all
manner of AppleScript users-- the pros, the beginners, and the
in-betweeners.
Regardless of the icons I'm happy to see this 2.0 version of Script
Editor. Now, if we could only record the Finder...
--
Christian Boyce
http://www.christianboyce.com
310-452-3720
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