Re: What's so great about AppleScript, anyway?
Re: What's so great about AppleScript, anyway?
- Subject: Re: What's so great about AppleScript, anyway?
- From: Doug McNutt <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 10:15:30 -0700
This dialog has a lot to say about AppleScript
Again, despite its weaknesses, I don't believe the possibly higher
precision of other languages beats being able to write:
tell application "Finder" to move (every file whose name ends with
".txt") to folder "Text Files"
Well:
mv *.txt 'Text Files'
:-) but I do know what you mean.
Okay, but please forgive me for using this to illustrate a point:
This is exactly my other point about clarity versus saving on
typing. Shell commands were designed to save on typing, because
they're usually entered interactively by the user every time they
wish to run a command. That mv shell command looks like gibberish
unless you know your way around a Unix shell. And it can take some
time to memorize "mv" and how "*" works, and the order of the
arguments. But the AppleScript version is probably at least vaguely
comprehensible to someone who's never seen AppleScript before in
their life. In fact, it's practically exactly how you'd explain in
English what the shell command does.
It's probably all my fault for starting in 1960 when FORTRAN didn't
have a year after it but:
Phil's shell command is at least easy to remember or to look up with
a "man csh" command. Chris' tell line is easy to understand when you
read it but it's nearly impossible to remember how to write it
without an example in front of you. I personally find myself running
to dictionaries or searching for sample code when I must do something
in AppleScript. One thing for sure is that guessing NEVER works.
tell application Finder to move files that end in .txt to Text\ Files
tell application "Finder" to move all files whose names end in .txt
to Text\ Files
please tell Finder.app to move every file that ends in ".txt" to
directory "Text Files"
just move files of HFS type TEXT to /Users/myself/Documents/Text\
Files/, dammit.
Perhaps some artificial intelligence in the editor that would analyze
guesses like those and suggest alternates? It would be easy to
suggest sticking that curious word "file" (which translates to alias)
in front of a path when some APPL requires it.
And, by the way, in the original tell above just what does "every
file" mean. Surely it applies only to the current working directory.
. . . . doesn't it? Just how does one tell Finder to:
cd $HOME/Documents ?
And also, by the way, shouldn't it be Chris 2 and Chris 3? Don't
forget Chris Nandor who was responsible for AppleScript from MacPerl.
--
Applescript syntax is like English spelling:
Roughly, though not thoroughly, thought through.
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