02.28.05
AppScript
Lately I’ve been learning AppleScript as a means of automating certain repetitive tasks and because I might some day finish writing a proper Mac application, which of course I’d like to make scriptable. AppleScript Studio piques my curiosity, too.
Anyway, in the preferences of Apple’s Script Editor are a couple of interesting options: Default Language and Plugins. Turns out Apple isn’t really doing anything with those right now; they don’t seem to distribute any plugins and the only language available is AppleScript. But in searching the web for things I could do with those preference screens, I found Appscript, which is pretty cool. Appscript is a Python-based substitute for AppleScript. You get all the power (as far as I can tell), but with a syntax more familiar to experienced programmers. That’s not a small thing, either—as friendly as AppleScript strives to be, its verbosity and stubborn insistence on doing things its own way can be a difficult adjustment to those of us who pretty much grew up with C-based syntax.
I still intend to learn AppleScript, because I’d like to be able to distribute the scripts I write and I can’t depend on end users having Appscript installed. Still, for those of us who know Python and have repetitive personal tasks to automate, it’s a nice option.
