Re: dev tools
Re: dev tools
- Subject: Re: dev tools
- From: "John C. Welch" <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:59:10 -0600
- Thread-topic: dev tools
On 12/11/2007 13:25 PM, "has" <email@hidden> wrote:
>> Enough already!! Please take this high school debate to the
>> sidelines. :-))
>
>
> Way ahead of you, chief. John C Welch is officially and indefinitely
> off my Christmas card list thanks to his last post which was genuinely
> insulting, and we're now down to trading potty-level slurs off-list,
> which except for being totally infantile does save both of us a whole
> load of time and everybody else from having to read it.
like I was ever on it? I highly doubt I could genuflect enough at the dot
language altar for that. Then again, I'm too busy writing AppleScripts and
running my network with them to realize that I'm not actually getting any
work done. Funny that.
Honestly, I fail to see what has's, or really, anyone's quarterly whining
that AppleScript is not
python/ruby/ObjC/java/javascript/C/C++/C#/VB/VB.NET/ad infinitum does for
anything or any one.
AppleScript is AppleScript. Comparing a language that was never designed as
a standalone language to things like C or Python or whatever is silly. It's
not a standalone language. It's not supposed to be an entity unto itself,
it's a glue language. It's verbose as hell, but that's fine, for
AppleScript. There are things about it that piss me off, but unlike a lot of
people, I don't see any point to killing the language. The language is not
the problem, it's Apple's schizophrenic attitude towards it that has caused
so much pain. But no, the fact that AppleScript is not python or whatever is
not a problem, anymore than the fact that AppleScript is not a pony is a
problem.
Don't like AppleScript, sweet! Don't use it. But don't tell the rest of us
who use it, and to great effect that we're somehow stupid or ignorant for
not running away from it to a "real" language. (Actually, I've found over
the last 20+ years, as soon as someone says "I use <foo>, it's a "real"
language", that they're about to to trip the bozometer. Hard.)
I have a huge amount of problems with AppleScript Studio and Xcode. I try to
get them to fix stuff, but honestly, I don't care. I send money to Mark A.
every so often, and thanks to his hard work, I have a set of tools that make
Xcode's AppleScript features look lame. It's not *cheap*, but it is a far
higher *value* than Xcode...*for me*.
However, while I *personally* think Apple should just knife ASS, I realize
that would be stupid, because there are a ton of people doing really good
work with it. Either they're all stupid, or there are multiple ways to be
right. I go with the latter, it's the simpler explanation.
Sure, I try to get things improved in AppleScript, because I want my life to
be easier, and I want to be able to do certain things better. When needed, I
use quite a bit of shell too. I'm probably going to have to learn Ant in the
near future. Such is life. There is no "one" right way to do anything, nor
is there "one" right POV with regard to AppleScript. I disagree with has's
as much as I possibly can, but since it seems to work for him, obviously,
his POV has some value. Same thing with Ed, Paul, Michelle, and everyone
else on this list who I've agreed with and/or disagreed with over the years.
I like AppleScript, a lot. It is a useful tool, and I am really quite
pleased with the raft of improvements in Mac OS X 10.5. In fact, they're a
driving, and unexpected reason for me to upgrade my users. Because of that,
I want to see it better, not replaced with something that in the end, will
be "different" far more than it is "better", and stands almost no chance of
being "better enough" to make up for the years of pain such a thing will
cause, (and anyone telling you that jacking a primary scripting language
around won't cause massive pain is either delusional or lying to you). When
I run into situations that won't work well with AppleScript, I use a better
tool. That appears to be a really radical concept at times, but whatever.
Some folks hate AppleScript, some folks love it. All of them are right, and
none of them are stupid for their views...until they start insisting that
anyone not sharing that view is wrong.
--
"Our loyalties are to the species and to the planet. We speak for earth. Our
obligation to survive and flourish is owed not just to ourselves but also to
that cosmos ancient and vast from which we spring!"
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