Re: What makes AppleScript easy
Re: What makes AppleScript easy
- Subject: Re: What makes AppleScript easy
- From: Ed Stockly <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2007 23:48:37 -0800
>>cat flie_that_exists > file_that_doesn\'t_exist
>>>It works fine and simply creates the file. It has a name that you
just gave it and doesn't complain that you didn't create it first.
It's an example of why AppleScript is so hard for experienced
programmers to understand.
Because it doesn't just create new files willy-nilly whenever you try
to reference a file?
In appleScript to make a new file at some location you actually have
to use a command like:
make new file at someLocation
Maybe that's difficult for programmers to grasp, but it sure makes
sense to appleScripters.
One thing that may be causing confusion is that alias is not the
native applescript file reference. Alias is an added convenience of
the language that gives AppleScript more flexibility and function.
The fact that alias errors when an item doesn't exist gives a quick
and easy test to determine if a file does exist. Plus the alias class
uses the systems alias manager which means if one of those pesky
users moves or renames a file it may not crash a script.
An 'alias', which implies (by its name) a reference to something
else, must,
therefore, exist before you can call it an 'alias'.
>>>>The alias does not exist until the alias command crates it. That
was around in the geek world before Apple or Macintosh existed. It
is hard for experienced programmers to accept the redefinition when
there is the long standing link concept. What's more, Apple has
never released the real definition of an alias resource or a Finder
alias file. It's magic that sometimes doesn't work, especially when
cutting CD-ROM's. OS 7 introduced the File-ID which was assigned to
a new file and never changed until a disk was reformatted. That was
the basis for an alias but there is a lot more and Apple doesn't tell.
Gee, so I guess using the alias class isn't nearly as easy or
convenient as I thought it was all these years.
>>>>Does that mean that a string like "Mac
HD:Documents:sometinbgnew.txt" is NOT something that might exist in a
few microseconds?
That exists only as a string.
You may add the term 'file' to the beginning and it becomes a file
reference that can be used to read, write, create, delete, move or
copy a file or a folder. And you can try to coerce it to an alias. If
it doesn't reference an existing file, the coercion will fail. That
is the nature of the appleScript alias. Virtually unchanged since
system 7.
ES
_______________________________________________
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
AppleScript-Users mailing list (email@hidden)
Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
Archives: http://lists.apple.com/archives/applescript-users
This email sent to email@hidden