RE: To shell or not to shell (was Re: URL Access Redux)
RE: To shell or not to shell (was Re: URL Access Redux)
- Subject: RE: To shell or not to shell (was Re: URL Access Redux)
- From: "J. Stewart" <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 19:10:16 -0400
On 5/23/06 at -0700 Stockly, Ed said this
>My point is that this particular forum is a list for AppleScript, not every.other.programming.language. It's the
>AppleScript list and better or worse, a pervsion or emulation, this list is the place for AppleScript disussion.
Sorry Ed, this isn't really a response to your post even though it's your post that's quoted. It's a rant about the silliness of this whole thread.
<rant>
Are you really thinking about what you are saying here? If this list was restricted to "pure" Applescript then there would be no discussion allowed of any command outside of the ASLG (assuming it ever gets updated) i.e. no application or osax extended commands. They are extensions or additions to Applescript but not actually part of "pure vanilla Applescript". I suspect that this list wouldn't get much activity if this were the case.
This discussion points out that any number of list users have forgotten just what Applescript is. It's a language for interapplication communication. You ask app "a" for data, send it to app "b" to be munged then send it further on down the pipe for storage or extended munging. It's a traffic cop, that's what it was designed for! That Applescript can do much more is just icing on the cake. If you use it to manipulate text or crunch numbers you are using the wrong tool!
Refusal to use the tools and extensions provided is self-defeating and in some cases just plain dumb. I've seen posts (here) that bragged that they were "vanilla Applescript" which were long, involved, brain twisting, loads of dreak which were almost impossible to work out even for a long time scripter. Many times the same job could have been accomplished with a one-liner "do shell script".
Lets face it, shell commands are here to stay, they come installed with the OS in most cases and it's not too difficult to install others that aren't included. Refusing to use or discuss them when they are sometimes the best method to use isn't going to help any newbie scripters, just the opposite.
Considering that shell tools are just as much applications as Photoshop or Quark or any other GUI program, why not communicate with them via Applescript when it serves the purpose? I'm a tool using aircraft avionics technician by trade. I use the discrete tool or software tool that best suits the job at hand. This carries over into Applescript and if that means a shell tool via "do shell script", so be it. I appreciate seeing all the various solutions and methods discussed here that are available via Applescript because that exposes me to possibly better tools.
I'll admit that full perl, python, ruby, etc. script solutions belong on the MACSCRPT list as they aren't Applescript. They aren't really on topic for this list but calling them from Applescript is.
</rant>
JBS
--
Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
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