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Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	1	<!doctype HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN">
				2	<html><head><title>Using the Open Scripting Architecture from Python</title></head>
				3	<body>
				4	<h1>Using the Open Scripting Architecture from Python</h1>
				5	<hr>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	6
Thomas Wouters	0e3f591	2006-08-11 14:57:12 +0000	[diff] [blame]	7	<p><b>NOTE:</b> this document describes the OSA support that is shipped with
				8	the core python distribution. Most users are better of with the more
				9	userfriendly <a href="http://freespace.virgin.net/hamish.sanderson/appscript.html">appscript library</a>.
				10
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	11	<p>OSA support in Python is still not 100% complete, but
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	12	there is already enough in place to allow you to do some nifty things
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	13	with other programs from your python program. </p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	14
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	15
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	16	<p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	17	In this example, we will look at a scriptable application, extract its
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	18	“AppleScript Dictionary,” generate a Python interface package from
				19	the dictionary, and use that package to control the application.
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	20	The application we are going to script is Disk Copy, Apple's standard
				21	utility for making copies of floppies, creating files that are mountable
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	22	as disk images, etc.
				23	Because we want
				24	to concentrate on the OSA details, we won’t bother with a real
				25	user-interface for our application. </p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	26
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	27
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	28	<p>
				29	<em>When we say “AppleScript” in this document we actually mean
				30	“the Open Scripting Architecture.” There is nothing
				31	AppleScript-specific in the Python implementation. Most of this document
				32	focuses on the classic Mac OS; <a href="#osx">Mac OS X</a> users have some
				33	additional tools.</em>
				34	</p>
				35
				36	<h2>Python OSA architecture</h2>
				37
				38	<p>Open Scripting suites and inheritance can be modelled rather nicely
				39	with Python packages, so we generate
				40	a package for each application we want to script. Each suite defined in
				41	the application becomes a module in the
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	42	package, and the package main module imports everything from all the
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	43	submodules and glues together all the classes (in Python terminology—
				44	events in OSA terminology or verbs in AppleScript terminology). </p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	45
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	46	<p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	47	A suite in an OSA application can extend the functionality of a standard
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	48	suite. This is implemented in Python by importing everything from the
				49	module that implements the standard suites and overriding anything that has
				50	been extended. The standard suites live in the StdSuite package. </p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	51
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	52	<p>
				53	This all sounds complicated, but the good news is that basic
				54	scripting is actually pretty simple. You can do strange and wondrous things
				55	with OSA scripting once you fully understand it. </p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	56
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	57	<h2>Creating the Python interface package</h2>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	58
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	59
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	60	<p>There is a tool in the standard distribution that can automatically
				61	generate the interface packages. This tool is called
				62	<code>gensuitemodule.py</code>, and lives in <code>Mac:scripts</code>.
				63	It looks through a file
				64	for an ‘AETE’ or ‘AEUT’ resource,
				65	the internal representation of the
				66	AppleScript dictionary, and parses the resource to generate the suite
				67	modules.
				68	When we start <code>gensuitemodule</code>, it asks us for an input file;
				69	for our example,
				70	we point it to the Disk Copy executable. </p>
				71
				72	<p>
				73	Next, <code>gensuitemodule</code> wants a folder where it will store the
				74	package it is going to generate.
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	75	Note that this is the package folder, not the parent folder, so we
				76	navigate to <code>Python:Mac:Demo:applescript</code>, create a folder
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	77	<code>Disk_Copy</code>, and select that. </p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	78
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	79	<p>
				80	We next specify the folder from which <code>gensuitemodule</code>
				81	should import the standard suites. Here,
				82	we always select <code>Python:Mac:Lib:lib-scriptpackages:StdSuites</code>. (There is
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	83	one exception to this rule: when you are generating <code>StdSuites</code> itself
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	84	you select <code>_builtinSuites</code>.)
				85	</p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	86
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	87	<p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	88	It starts parsing the AETE resource, and for
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	89	each AppleEvent suite it finds, <code>gensuitemodule.py</code>
				90	prompts us for the filename of the
Jack Jansen	f10786b	1997-08-19 14:00:56 +0000	[diff] [blame]	91	resulting python module. Remember to change folders for the first
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	92	module—you don't want to clutter up, say, the
Jack Jansen	9051ad1	2002-01-25 15:28:39 +0000	[diff] [blame]	93	Disk Copy folder
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	94	with your python
				95	interfaces. If you want to skip a suite, press <code>cancel</code> and the process
				96	continues with the next suite. </p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	97
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	98	<h3>Summary</h3>
				99
				100	<ol>
				101
				102	<li>Run <code>gensuitemodule</code>.</li>
				103
				104	<li>Select the application (or OSAX) for which you would like a Python interface.</li>
				105
				106	<li>Select the package folder where the interface modules should be
				107	stored.</li>
				108
				109	<li>Specify the folder <code>Python:Mac:Lib:lib-scriptpackages:StdSuites</code>
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	110	to import the standard suites (or <code>_builtinSuites</code> if you are
				111	generating <code>StdSuites</code> itself). </li>
				112
				113	<li>Save the generated suites (use <code>cancel</code> to skip a suite).</li>
				114
				115
				116	</ol>
				117
				118
				119	<h3>Notes</h3>
				120
				121
				122	<ul>
				123
Jack Jansen	9051ad1	2002-01-25 15:28:39 +0000	[diff] [blame]	124	<li>The interface package may occasionally need some editing by hand. For example,
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	125	<code>gensuitemodule</code> does not handle all Python reserved words, so
				126	if
				127	one of the AppleScript verbs is a Python reserved word, a <code>SyntaxError</code>
				128	may be raised when the package is imported.
				129	Simply rename the class into something acceptable, if this happens;
				130	take a look at how the
				131	<code>print</code> verb is handled (automatically by <code>gensuitemodule</code>)
Jack Jansen	9051ad1	2002-01-25 15:28:39 +0000	[diff] [blame]	132	in the standard suites. But: f you need to edit your package this should be considered a
				133	bug in gensuitemodule, so please report it so it can be fixed in future releases.
				134	</li>
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	135
				136
				137	<li>If you want to re-create the StdSuite modules,
				138	you should look in one of two places. With versions of AppleScript older than 1.4.0
				139	(which first shipped with OS 9.0), you will find the
				140	AEUT resources in <code>System Folder:Extensions:Scripting
				141	Additions:Dialects:English Dialect</code>. For newer versions, you will
				142	find them in <code>System Folder:Extensions:Applescript</code>.
				143	</li>
				144
				145	<li>Since MacPython 2.0, this new structure, with packages
				146	per application and submodules per suite, is used. Older MacPythons had a
				147	single level of modules, with uncertain semantics. With the new structure,
				148	it is possible for programs to override standard suites, as programs often do.
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	149
				150	</li>
				151
				152	<li><code>Gensuitemodule.py</code> may ask you questions
				153	like “Where is enum 'xyz ' declared?”.
				154	This is either due to a misunderstanding on my part or (rather too commonly)
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	155	bugs in the AETE resources. Pressing <code>cancel</code> is usually the
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	156	right choice: it will cause the specific enum not to be treated as an enum
				157	but as a “normal” type. As things like fsspecs and TEXT strings clearly are
				158	not enumerators, this is correct. If someone understands what is really going on
				159	here, please let me know.</li>
Jack Jansen	f10786b	1997-08-19 14:00:56 +0000	[diff] [blame]	160
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	161	</ul>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	162
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	163
				164
				165	<h2>The Python interface package contents</h2>
				166
				167	<p>
				168	Let’s glance at the
				169	<a href="applescript/Disk_Copy">Disk_Copy</a> package just created. You
				170	may want to open Script Editor alongside to see how it
				171	interprets the dictionary.
				172	</p>
				173
				174
				175	<p>
				176	The main package module is in <code>__init__.py</code>.
				177	The only interesting bit is the <code>Disk_Copy</code> class, which
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	178	includes the event handling classes from the individual suites. It also
				179	inherits <code>aetools.TalkTo</code>, which is a base class that handles all
				180	details on how to start the program and talk to it, and a class variable
				181	<code>_signature</code> which is the default application this class will talk
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	182	to (you can override this in various ways when you instantiate your class, see
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	183	<code>aetools.py</code> for details).
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	184	</p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	185
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	186	<p>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	187	The <a href="applescript/Disk_Copy/Special_Events.py">Special_Events</a>
				188	module is a nice example of a suite module.
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	189	The <code>Special_Events_Events</code> class is the bulk of the code
				190	generated. For each verb, it contains a method. Each method knows what
				191	arguments the verb expects, and it makes use of keyword
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	192	arguments to present a palatable
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	193	interface to the python programmer.
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	194
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	195	Notice that each method
				196	calls some routines from <code>aetools</code>, an auxiliary module
				197	living in <code>Mac:Lib</code>.
				198	The other thing to notice is that each method calls
				199	<code>self.send</code>. This comes from the <code>aetools.TalkTo</code>
				200	baseclass. </p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	201
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	202
				203	<p>
				204	After the big class, there are a number of little class declarations. These
				205	declarations are for the (AppleEvent) classes and properties in the suite.
Jack Jansen	f10786b	1997-08-19 14:00:56 +0000	[diff] [blame]	206	They allow you to create object IDs, which can then be passed to the verbs.
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	207	For instance,
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	208	when scripting the popular email program Eudora,
				209	you would use <code>mailbox("inbox").message(1).sender</code>
				210	to get the name of the sender of the first message in mailbox
				211	inbox. It is
Jack Jansen	f10786b	1997-08-19 14:00:56 +0000	[diff] [blame]	212	also possible to specify this as <code>sender(message(1, mailbox("inbox")))</code>,
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	213	which is sometimes needed because these classes don’t always inherit correctly
				214	from baseclasses, so you may have to use a class or property from another
				215	suite. </p>
Jack Jansen	f10786b	1997-08-19 14:00:56 +0000	[diff] [blame]	216
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	217	<p>
Jack Jansen	f10786b	1997-08-19 14:00:56 +0000	[diff] [blame]	218	Next we get the enumeration dictionaries, which allow you to pass
				219	english names as arguments to verbs, so you don't have to bother with the 4-letter
				220	type code. So, you can say
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	221	<code>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	222	diskcopy.create(..., filesystem="Mac OS Standard")
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	223	</code>
				224	as it is called in Script Editor, instead of the cryptic lowlevel
				225	<code>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	226	diskcopy.create(..., filesystem="Fhfs")
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	227	</code></p>
Jack Jansen	f10786b	1997-08-19 14:00:56 +0000	[diff] [blame]	228
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	229	<p>
				230	Finally, we get the “table of contents” of the module, listing all
				231	classes and such
Jack Jansen	9051ad1	2002-01-25 15:28:39 +0000	[diff] [blame]	232	by code, which is used by <code>gensuitemodule</code> itself: if you use this
				233	suite as a base package in a later run this is how it knows what is defined in this
				234	suite, and what the Python names are.
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	235	</p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	236
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	237	<h3>Notes</h3>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	238
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	239	<ul>
				240
				241	<li>The <code>aetools</code> module contains some other nifty
				242	AppleEvent tools as well. Have a look at it sometime, there is (of
				243	course) no documentation yet.
				244	</li>
				245
				246	<li>There are also some older object specifiers for standard objects in aetools.
				247	You use these in the form <code>aetools.Word(10,
				248	aetools.Document(1))</code>, where the corresponding AppleScript
				249	terminology would be <code>word 10 of the first
				250	document</code>. Examine
				251	<code>aetools</code> and <code>aetools.TalkTo</code>
				252	along with
				253	the comments at the end of your suite module if you need to create
				254	more than the standard object specifiers.
				255	</li>
				256
				257	</ul>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	258
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	259
				260
				261
				262	<h2>Using a Python suite module</h2>
				263
				264	<p>
				265	Now that we have created the suite module, we can use it in a Python script.
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	266	In older MacPython distributions this used to be a rather
				267	complicated affair, but with the package scheme and with the application signature
				268	known by the package it is very simple: you import the package and instantiate
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	269	the class, e.g.
				270	<code>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	271	talker = Disk_Copy.Disk_Copy(start=1)
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	272	</code>
				273	You will usually specify the <code>start=1</code>: it will run the application if it is
				274	not already running.
				275	You may want to omit it if you want to talk to the application
				276	only if it is already running, or if the application is something like the Finder.
Jack Jansen	9051ad1	2002-01-25 15:28:39 +0000	[diff] [blame]	277	Another way to ensure that the application is running is to call <code>talker._start()</code>.
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	278	</p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	279
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	280	<p>
				281	Looking at the sourcefile <a
				282	href="applescript/makedisk.py">makedisk.py</a>, we see that it starts
				283	with some imports. Naturally, one of these is the Python interface to Disk
				284	Copy.</p>
Jack Jansen	bdf03a0	1996-09-20 15:22:47 +0000	[diff] [blame]	285
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	286	<p>
				287	The main program itself is a wonder of simplicity: we create the
				288	object (<code>talker</code>) that talks to Disk Copy,
				289	create a disk, and mount it. The bulk of
				290	the work is done by <code>talker</code> and the Python interface package we
				291	just created.</p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	292
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	293	<p>
				294	The exception handling does warrant a few comments, though. Since
				295	AppleScript is basically a connectionless RPC protocol,
				296	nothing happens
				297	when we create the <code>talker</code> object. Hence, if the destination application
				298	is not running, we will not notice until we send our first
				299	command (avoid this as described above). There is another thing to note about errors returned by
				300	AppleScript calls: <code>MacOS.Error</code> is raised for
				301	all of the errors that are known to be <code>OSErr</code>-type errors,
				302	while
				303	server generated errors raise <code>aetools.Error</code>. </p>
Jack Jansen	a630813	1996-03-18 13:38:52 +0000	[diff] [blame]	304
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	305	<h2>Scripting Additions</h2>
Jack Jansen	a742d11	1996-12-23 17:28:53 +0000	[diff] [blame]	306
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	307	<p>
Jack Jansen	a742d11	1996-12-23 17:28:53 +0000	[diff] [blame]	308	If you want to use any of the scripting additions (or OSAXen, in
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	309	everyday speech) from a Python program, you can use the same method
				310	as for applications, i.e. run <code>gensuitemodule</code> on the
				311	OSAX (commonly found in <code>System Folder:Scripting Additions</code>
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	312	or something similar). There is one minor gotcha: the application
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	313	signature to use is <code>MACS</code>. You will need to edit the main class
				314	in the <code>__init__.py</code> file of the created package and change the value
Jack Jansen	9051ad1	2002-01-25 15:28:39 +0000	[diff] [blame]	315	of <code>_signature</code> to <code>MACS</code>, or use a subclass to the
				316	same effect.
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	317	</p>
Jack Jansen	a742d11	1996-12-23 17:28:53 +0000	[diff] [blame]	318
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	319	<p>
				320	There are two minor points to watch out for when using <code>gensuitemodule</code>
				321	on OSAXen: they appear all to define the class <code>System_Object_Suite</code>,
Jack Jansen	a742d11	1996-12-23 17:28:53 +0000	[diff] [blame]	322	and a lot of them have the command set in multiple dialects. You have to
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	323	watch out for name conflicts and make sure you select a reasonable dialect
				324	(some of the non-English dialects cause <code>gensuitemodule</code> to generate incorrect
				325	Python code). </p>
Jack Jansen	a742d11	1996-12-23 17:28:53 +0000	[diff] [blame]	326
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	327	Despite these difficulties, OSAXen offer a lot of possibilities. Take a
				328	look at some of the OSAXen in the Scripting Additions folder, or
				329	<A HREF="http://www.osaxen.com/index.php">download</A> some from the net.
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	330
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	331	<h2>Further Reading</h2>
				332
				333	<p>
				334	If you want to look at more involved examples of applescripting, look at the standard
Jack Jansen	c15ab03	2000-08-20 21:57:38 +0000	[diff] [blame]	335	modules <code>findertools</code> and <code>nsremote</code>, or (possibly better, as it
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	336	is more involved) <code>fullbuild</code> from the <code>Mac:scripts</code> folder.
				337	</p>
				338
				339	<h2><a name="alternatives">Alternatives</a></h2>
				340
				341	<h3><a name="osx">Mac OS X</a></h3>
				342
				343	<p>
				344	Under Mac OS X, the above still works, but with some new difficulties.
Jack Jansen	9051ad1	2002-01-25 15:28:39 +0000	[diff] [blame]	345	The application package structure can hide the ‘AETE’ or
				346	‘AEUT’ resource from <code>gensuitemodule</code>, so that,
				347	for example, it cannot generate an OSA interface to iTunes. Script
				348	Editor gets at the dictionary of such programs using a ‘Get
				349	AETE’ AppleEvent, if someone wants to donate code to use the same
				350	method for gensuitemodule: by all means!
Jack Jansen	c7a7d2d	2002-01-25 15:06:19 +0000	[diff] [blame]	351	</p>
				352
				353	<p>
				354	One alternative is available through the Unix command line version of python.
				355	Apple has provided the <code>osacompile</code> and <code>osascript</code> tools,
				356	which can be used to compile and execute scripts written in OSA languages. See the
				357	man pages for more details.
				358	</p>
				359
				360
				361	</body>
Thomas Wouters	0e3f591	2006-08-11 14:57:12 +0000	[diff] [blame]	362	</html>