In defense of 'English-like' AS (was Re: Search a file question - Mac OS 9)
In defense of 'English-like' AS (was Re: Search a file question - Mac OS 9)
- Subject: In defense of 'English-like' AS (was Re: Search a file question - Mac OS 9)
- From: Mr Tea <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 02:16:54 +0100
This from Reinhold Penner - dated 17-9-02 10.33 pm:
>
I really think that the "do shell script" command has essentially killed most
>
of AppleScript's own commands.
That's where we differ profoundly, Reinhold.
I'm an AS layman. I bought a computer to do word processing and graphic
design on. Being a curious cove, I was interested in the 'automated tasks' I
found in the System 7.5 Apple Menu, and being an anally retentive cove who
likes everything (on his computer) neat and squared away, I made some
scripts for setting the sizes and positions of windows on my Performa 5200
desktop. It was easy. I just opened the script editor, hit the record
button, and put the windows where I wanted them. Best of all, I could
understand what was going on in the recorded script, and thus began my love
affair with the mother of all Mac utilities.
And now we've got OS X and its pesky shell scripts, which for me have
muddied the AS waters almost intolerably. Over the years I've taken on board
the scripting languages of a number of multimedia authoring tools, but I
can't or won't take the extra step of learning entirely new languages that
look like a bunch of punctuation marks and comic-book cussing thrown onto
the page at random. Yes, I've browsed the 'Perl' section in the computer
store book-rack, even got within ten yards of the checkout with a hefty
volume clutched in my hand. But I know in my heart it'll only end up
gathering dust next to my copy of 'Learning the Unix Operating System'.
For the Applescript pro, I can see how shell scripts offer a cornucopia of
opportunities for quick and efficient manipulation of OS X. Many
contributors to this list are already familiar with the raw materials of
shell scripts, while others have long been producing 'traditional'
applescripts that are so compact and stripped-down they look like perl
already.
But for the 'rest of us' who don't script professionally, and just want to
tap into applescript's power to make our personal computing experience more
streamlined, shell scripts are 'magic code', impenetrable constructs that
give no clue to their function. They just work. I don't like that. How can I
refine something that I don't understand? I have enough trouble figuring out
how the hell some of my own scripts work when it's been a few months since I
wrote 'em.
In the original thread, Steven Angier suggested spinning off a "Do Shell
Script Users" list. It's possible that you weren't entirely serious, Steven,
but I do think that shell scripts have widened the gap between pros and, er,
hobbyists. Not that I'd want to see us split into separate camps. It's the
contributions to this list by professional scripters that have helped me to
flourish as a hobbyist. This is where I learned that you don't always have
to select something before doing stuff to it, that an 'alias' in a script is
not the same as an alias in the Finder, and much, much more.
I guess I'll have to get used to shell scripts, but I don't have to like
them, and I certainly don't have to embrace them as the new orthodoxy.
Regards
Nick
--
Brew of the day: Twinings English Breakfast Tea
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