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Re: AppleScript Question
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Re: AppleScript Question


  • Subject: Re: AppleScript Question
  • From: Chris Hanson <email@hidden>
  • Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 19:25:21 -0600

At 12:13 AM -0800 2/11/02, Steve Gehrman wrote:
{application file "Graphing Calculator" of folder "Tests" of disk
"Experiments" of application "Finder"}

This is a list of object specifiers with one element. You can tell it's a list by the surrounding braces, and you can tell it's an object specifier by the '<type> <signifier> of <type> <signifier> of <type signifier>' notation.

Essentially, an object specifier is a special kind of AEDesc that consists of a desired object class, a container, a key form, and a key data. Above, you have an object specifier as follows:

Class: application file
Key form: name
Key data: (string) "Graphing Calculator"
Container: <another object specifier #>

That's right, the container can be another object specifier:

Class: folder
Key form: name
Key data: "Tests"
Container: an AEDesc of typeFSSpec to the disk "Experiments"

Or it could be of type FSSpec or FSRef, and Script Editor is just coercing it to a nice textual description. The AppleEvent Object Model is *very* flexible in this regard, and will do a lot of coercion for you (and enable you to add new coercions if you want).

To learn this stuff, you'd be best off reading some of "Inside Macintosh: Inter-Application Communication". There were also some good articles in Develop, the Apple technical journal that ran from 1990 through 1996. I think all the Develop content is still on Apple's web site.

-- Chris

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References: 
 >AppleScript Question (From: Steve Gehrman <email@hidden>)

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