Re: Input for Upcoming Book
Re: Input for Upcoming Book
- Subject: Re: Input for Upcoming Book
- From: Steven Angier <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 12:02:53 +1100
On 21/1/03 4:16 AM, "Charles Arthur" <email@hidden> wrote:
>
At 2:53 pm +1100 on 18/1/2003, Steven Angier <email@hidden> wrote:
>
>
> Personally, I don't see any value in having this type of preference file.
>
> For a long time, our preference files have been either text-based
>
> label-value pairs (the Unix way), or stored AppleScript objects -- the ideal
>
> data medium for AppleScript applications. Both of these formats still work
>
> and are "real" enough -- both easily editable. They just aren't Apple's
>
> flavour of the month.
>
>
I'm looking forward to Steve Angier's next book: "Why XML is a flash in the
>
pan."
Can I consider that a pre-order? And can I change the title to "Why XML
Won't Make Your Preference Files Work Better"?
>
re Applescript Studio
>
> The second major problem (as I see it) is the inability to simply reference
>
> a window item by name, index or id -- in order to target a window item, your
>
> code must traverse the entire window object hierarchy until you reach the
>
> target object.
>
>
Dealt with by someone else, but I'll echo - if you name the objects in the
>
interface then you can reference them almost directly.
Not true. If you have a text field on a tab panel in a window, you still
have to refer to it as "text field [name or index] of view of tab view [name
or index] of window [name or index]" -- it makes no difference whether you
use names or indices, it is still the same amount of work.
>
Oh, and a bonus point about Applescript Studio: apps built with it are
>
themselves Applescriptable, right through to the interface object level.
>
You can open their dictionaries and everything.
All AppleScript applications are scriptable, and FaceSpan allowed the choice
of whether or not to include the FaceSpan AETE in the build.
>
Meanwhile, relevant to Charles's request about what people would want in a
>
book, I'd say that understanding Apple's new GUI scripting would surely be
>
a priority. Especially because recordability of so many applications (which
>
is how lots of people, myself included) got their start in Ascript, is
>
missing. Having some scripts that would work out of the box once GUI
>
scripting is core to the OS would be a great way to learn. Or at least,
>
wouldn't suck.
I think Charles should defer his book until the tools are more worth writing
about -- or at least until after I publish my XML book!
Steven Angier
Macscript.com
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