The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Macintosh Resources - for the bookshelf Major Keary |
Mac OS X (version 10) is now at 10.3, which is better known as Panther. The big
leap from previous (up to OS 9.x) versions is the UNIX connection. The OS X
operating system is built on UNIX and is attracting converts from Microsoft
Windows, and is attracting developers. AppleScript is an added bonus; it has a
new Script Editor (written as a Cocoa application), can be integrated with UNIX
scripting, and comes as part of the OS X package.
AppleScript: The Definitive Guide
AppleScript is designed to enable users to "write and execute code
... as a way of
automating the behaviour of applications, reducing many steps to one, throwing
the burden of repetition and calculation onto the computer, and combining
multiple applications into a seamless united work-flow".
The Definitive Guide is not a tutorial in the sense of a step-by-step
description of scripts for specific applications. It is an explanation of how AppleScript works and how it is applied - an introduction in the academic sense,
but free of abstruse language.
In the introductory part the author illustrates what AppleScript can do with a
detailed discussion of a real world problem, and how a solution is developed.
'Developed' is the operative word; the narrative (not just annotated
didactic code) takes the reader through the process, including the dead ends, of
discovery. It is interesting and instructive.
The main part of the book is a description of the AppleScript language that
explains the 'talk': variables, handlers, objects, datatypes, operators,
constants, commands, etc. with examples. It is not just a list, but contains
comprehensive commentaries.
The last part, which describes AppleScript in practice, is the deep end. It
discusses the technicalities of doing things, such
as writing applications with AppleScript, using it to interact with the UNIX
shell, and understanding application dictionaries.
A complete and thorough guide, it does not deal with special AppleScript
sub-sets designed for particular applications (such as Finder, or Adobe
Photoshop), but deals with AppleScript itself. An essential resource for
developers and power users.
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Matt Neuberg: AppleScript: The Definitive Guide ISBN 0-596-00557-1 Published by O'Reilly, 453 pp., RRP $85.00 incl. GST |
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Reprinted from the July 2004 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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