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Contents Listing

Preface

Part I. AppleScript Overview

1. Ways to Use AppleScript
The Nature and Purpose of AppleScript
Is This Application Scriptable?
Calculation and Repetition
Reduction
Customization
Combining Specialties

2. Places to Use AppleScript
Script Editor
Scripting Environment
Internally Scriptable Application
Script Runner
Automatic Location
Application
Unix

3. The AppleScript Experience
The Problem
A Day in the Life
Conclusions, Lessons, and Advice

4. Basic Concepts
Apple Event
The Open Scripting Architecture
Script
Compiling and Decompiling
Script Text File
Applet and Droplet
Scripting Addition
Dictionary
Scriptable, Recordable, Attachable

Part II. The AppleScript Language

5. Introducing AppleScript
A "Little Language"
Extensibility and Its Perils
The "English-likeness" Monster
Object-likeness
LISP-likeness
The Learning Curve

6. Syntactic Ground of Being
Lines
Result
Comments
Abbreviations and Synonyms
Blocks
The

7. Variables
Assignment and Retrieval
Declaration and Definition of Variables
Variable Names
Scoping of Variables
Script Properties
Lifetime of Variables

8. Handlers
Returned Value
Parameters
Syntax of Defining and Calling a Handler
Pass By Reference
Scoping of Handlers
Handlers as Values

9. Script Objects
Scoping of Script Objects
Top-Level Entities
Script Object's Run Handler
Handler Calls
Script Objects as Values
Compiled Script Files as Script Objects
Inheritance

10. Objects
Class
Target
Get
It
Me
Properties and Elements
Element Specifiers
Properties of Multiple References
Object String Specifier

11. References
References as Incantations
Creating a Reference
Identifying References
Dereferencing a Reference
Creating References to Local Variables
Reference as Parameter

12. Control
Branching
Looping
Tell
Using Terms From
With
Considering/Ignoring
Errors
Second-Level Evaluation

13. Datatypes
Boolean
Integer, Real, and Number
Date
String
Unicode Text
Styled Text
File
Alias
Application
Machine
Data
List
Record

14. Coercions
Implicit Coercion
Explicit Coercion
Boolean Coercions
String, Number and Date Coercions
File Coercions
List Coercions
Unit Conversions

15. Operators
Arithmetic Operators
Boolean Operators
Comparison Operators
Containment Operators
Concatenation Operator
Parentheses
Who Performs An Operation

16. Global Properties
Strings
Numbers
Miscellaneous

17. Constants

18. Commands
Application Commands
Logging Commands

Part III. AppleScript In Action

19. Dictionaries
Resolution of Terminology
Resolution Difficulties
What's In a Dictionary
The `aeut' Resource
Inadequacies of the Dictionary

20. Scripting Additions
Pros and Cons of Scripting Additions
Scripting Additions and Speed
Classic Scripting Additions
Loading Scripting Additions
Standard Scripting Addition Commands

21. Scriptable Applications
Targeting Scriptable Applications
Some Scriptable Applications

22. Unscriptable Applications
Getting Started With Accessibility
GUI Scripting Examples

23. Unix
Do Shell Script
Osascript

24. Writing Applications
Applets
Digital Hub Scripting
Folder Actions
CGI Application
AppleScript Studio

Appendix. Tools and Resources

Index