On Sep 30, 2005, at 11:28 AM, Philip Regan wrote:
This may seem off-topic, but bear with me for a moment...
It's interesting that Applescript comes up in this context because
there's a couple threads about how Applescript is failure in terms of
being English-like but still having a strict and largely undocumented
syntax.
Sorry to add to the OT, but I keep seeing this undocumented syntax
assertion about AppleScript. AppleScript's syntax is fully
documented. The thing that makes AppleScript so useful and
frustrating at the same time is that it was designed to make
automated workflows possible. You can use it to link together
completely unrelated applications that have no clue about each other.
This is a wonderful thing, but it has it's drawbacks. The main one is
that each application vendor is able to support AppleScript to
whatever level they please.
This means that some programs have very poorly written dictionaries
and documentation. This reality is not the fault of AppleScript
necessarily. So while one vendor may support the "whose" clause,
another may not. This can cause a lot of confusion, but it's the
nature of the beast. I am thankful that there are so many apps that
support AppleScript even if they don't support it to the nth degree.
It makes things challenging sometimes, but at least these things are
possible. Without AppleScript, they wouldn't be.
And, to try and bring this back on topic a bit, Thomas Reed has his
presentation of REAL World 2004 still on his site if you would like
to support AppleScript in your RB made programs. <http://
www.bitjuggler.com/extra/index.shtml> Supporting some of the options
is pretty tricky. Looking through the presentation may give an idea
why complete scripting support isn't more prevalent. In my mind it's
a lack of effort from developers, and a lack of effort from Apple to
make it easier for developers to understand all the things that make
AppleScript better for end users. Even Apple gives it a half hearted
effort in a lot of cases. Anyone tried scripting Mail.app lately? :-)
- Kevin
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