What I wrote:
-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: | A
Plea to Maintain AppleScript and Automation Technologies |
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| Date: | Wed, 16
Nov 2016 19:24:39 -0800 |
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| From: | Rick Gordon |
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| To: | Tim Cook
<email@hidden> |
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Dear Tim,
SUMMARY:
The dismissal of Sal Soghoian from his position at Apple has the
AppleScripting world fearing that Apple is in the process of abandoning —
and not further developing — existing automation technologies. We NEED
those tools, and they are perhaps the last reason many of us continue to
use Macs.
BACKGROUND:
I have been a Mac user since 1989 — never owned a dedicated Windows
computer. (I've also had many iOS devices since the iPhone 3G.)
Most of that time has been within a focus of print graphics and, more
recently, also web and ebook technologies.
Having brought a UNIX background from school, I was comfortable with
working within Terminal, and using the technologies there that were not
available within the GUI.
I've been scripting Mac applications (and equally as important, BETWEEN
Mac applications) since Userland Frontier came out, and then AppleScript
nearly since its inception. Inter-application scripting is what has set
the Mac apart from any other platform option for over 20 years.
While for many years, the Mac had no peer for graphics programs, that
has not been the case for some years. The Adobe applications have made a
switch to Windows an easy choice for many Mac users, since they had
functional parity — EXCEPT for AppleScript, because AppleScript allows
you not only to script within the narrow Adobe ecosystem, but also out
to the OS, Finder, the shell, and other scriptable applications. To a
limited extent it is possible to script even unscriptable applications,
though much less reliably.
Since QuarkXPress was the first application to be deeply scriptable,
InDesign, to compete, matched and exceeded that, and (to a lesser
extent, for the most part) many other applications have taken on being
scriptable. For many of us, it is a critical, 100% essential tool in our
arsenal.
THE ISSUES:
Robust and supported scripting and non-GUI-based automation technologies
are critical for the work that we do. That includes inter-application
scripting outside of the Adobe ecosystem.
We use hundreds or thousands of AppleScripts that have been developed
over nearly 20 years. Legacy support (or at the very least, flawless
translation to any superseding technology) is essential. Things seemed
to be moving in a good direction with ASObjC and _javascript_ Bridge.
Professional-level hardware has taken a back seat (to put it kindly)
over the past number of years, and the existence of equal or superior
(and advantageously, modular) hardware running Windows, with it's
infinitely greater amount of professional-level applications looks more
and more appealing.
Robust AppleScript and non-GUI-based automation technology is
literally the last real advantage that Apple has left for professionals.
PLEASE don't back off of your commitment to it. It's what keeps us
here.
Thanks for listening,
Rick Gordon
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On 11/16/16, 7:17 PM John Day said:
Everyone who is subscribed to this list should be on
Twitter, Facebook, email, etc. asking Apple to reconsider. Right now.
John Day
___________________________________________
RICK GORDON
EMERALD VALLEY GRAPHICS AND CONSULTING
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WWW: http://www.shelterpub.com