bdugan@teri.bio.uci.edu (Bill Dugan) (03/14/91)
According to the first press releases for System 7.0, Apple would release something called "user scripting" which to me sounded like the closest thing to a CLI available for the Macintosh, although something more akin to Macromaker seems more likely. Then I believe the "user scripting" was delayed for the System version that will follow System 7.0. Questions: (1) What details do we have on the user scripting? Will we be able to, say, specify a bunch of files (using wildcards, of course) as inputs to a certain program, and then rout the output of that program to a second program, and rout the output of both programs to a third? Or is it going to be more like another keyboard macro program? (2) Any idea on when it will arrive? (Yeah, right, like Apple would tell us that anyway. :( Oh well.) bill
edgar@function.mps.ohio-state.edu (Gerald Edgar) (03/14/91)
> the closest thing to a CLI available for the Macintosh
Isn't that MPW?
--
Gerald A. Edgar
Department of Mathematics Bitnet: EDGAR@OHSTPY
The Ohio State University Internet: edgar@mps.ohio-state.edu
Columbus, OH 43210 ...!{att,pyramid}!osu-cis!shape.mps.ohio-state.edu!edgarbskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (03/14/91)
In article <27DF36E7.19478@orion.oac.uci.edu> bdugan@teri.bio.uci.edu (Bill Dugan) writes: >According to the first press releases for System 7.0, Apple would release >something called "user scripting" which to me sounded like the closest thing >to a CLI available for the Macintosh ... > >Questions: (1) What details do we have on the user scripting? Will we >be able to, say, specify a bunch of files (using wildcards, of course) as >inputs to a certain program, and then rout the output of that program to >a second program, and rout the output of both programs to a third? Or >is it going to be more like another keyboard macro program? I suspect it'll be more along the lines of "when a file is put into this folder, do such-and-such" or "at precisely this time, execute this list of actions", where the actions include opening applications and sending AppleEvents to them, sending files to the printer, and so forth. I really don't think it'll be anything that looks like a CLI. Apple is decidedly anti-CLI, for better or worse (probably for the better, because if they provide a CLI, then people will come to use it, and then come to depend on it, and this would mean there's something wrong with their desktop interface. Actually, I can't think of any _revolutionary_ benefits a CLI would bring to the Mac except piping and redirection, but then again how do you pipe anything to and from a word processor?) Besides, wildcards aren't necessarily intuitive... >(2) Any idea on when it will arrive? (Yeah, right, like Apple would tell us >that anyway. :( Oh well.) DIfferent reports have speculated that it'd be released either with `System 7.1' or `System 8.0'. AppleScript has been shelved until everything else has settled down enough to devote some time to it, as has been the new print architecture and other tasks on the to-do list such as a rewrite of MacinTalk (no, the 2.0 floating around isn't real). << Brian >> | Brian S. Kendig \ Macintosh | Engineering, | bskendig | | Computer Engineering |\ Thought | USS Enterprise | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | Princeton University |_\ Police | -= NCC-1701-D =- | @PUCC.BITNET | "It's not that I don't HAVE the work to *do* -- I don't DO the work I *have*."
dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner) (03/14/91)
In article <27DF36E7.19478@orion.oac.uci.edu> bdugan@teri.bio.uci.edu (Bill Dugan) writes: >something called "user scripting" which to me sounded like the closest thing >to a CLI available for the Macintosh, although something more akin to >Macromaker seems more likely. There is a CLI for the Macintosh; the MPW shell. You can say things like: WriteNow foo* ('Course, you don't use '*', you use option-x. This is an important human-factors issue; it forces your hands into awkward positions to reduce RMS :-)) I infer from other's comments that the user scripting will be more like HyperTalk than anything else. Whether it will have goodies like pattern matching, I haven't heard. HyperTalk doesn't (as of 1.x; haven't looked much at 2.0 yet), if that is any indication. -- Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu UUCP: uunet!uiucuxc!uiuc.edu!s-dorner
torrie@cs.stanford.edu (Evan Torrie) (03/15/91)
bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) writes: >In article <27DF36E7.19478@orion.oac.uci.edu> bdugan@teri.bio.uci.edu (Bill Dugan) writes: >>According to the first press releases for System 7.0, Apple would release >>something called "user scripting" which to me sounded like the closest thing >>to a CLI available for the Macintosh ... >> >>Questions: (1) What details do we have on the user scripting? Will we >>be able to, say, specify a bunch of files (using wildcards, of course) as >>inputs to a certain program, and then rout the output of that program to >>a second program, and rout the output of both programs to a third? Or >>is it going to be more like another keyboard macro program? >I suspect it'll be more along the lines of "when a file is put into >this folder, do such-and-such" or "at precisely this time, execute >>(2) Any idea on when it will arrive? (Yeah, right, like Apple would tell us >>that anyway. :( Oh well.) >DIfferent reports have speculated that it'd be released either with >`System 7.1' or `System 8.0'. AppleScript has been shelved until >everything else has settled down enough to devote some time to it, as >has been the new print architecture and other tasks on the to-do list >such as a rewrite of MacinTalk (no, the 2.0 floating around isn't >real). And the Line/Layout Manager... this was something I was really looking forward to in 7.0, a way to get ligatures and precise line measurement/kerning etc, so that Mac output can finally look like TeX output. Any guesses as to when System 7.1, or System 8.0 will appear?? I certainly hope it's before the end of 1992. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Evan Torrie. Stanford University, Class of 199? torrie@cs.stanford.edu "And remember, whatever you do, DON'T MENTION THE WAR!"
lai@Apple.COM (Ed Lai) (03/15/91)
In article <1991Mar14.142609.17874@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner) writes: >In article <27DF36E7.19478@orion.oac.uci.edu> bdugan@teri.bio.uci.edu (Bill Dugan) writes: >>something called "user scripting" which to me sounded like the closest thing >>to a CLI available for the Macintosh, although something more akin to >>Macromaker seems more likely. > >There is a CLI for the Macintosh; the MPW shell. You can say things like: > >WriteNow foo* > >('Course, you don't use '*', you use option-x. This is an important >human-factors issue; it forces your hands into awkward positions to >reduce RMS :-)) > >I infer from other's comments that the user scripting will be more like >HyperTalk than anything else. Whether it will have goodies like pattern >matching, I haven't heard. HyperTalk doesn't (as of 1.x; haven't looked >much at 2.0 yet), if that is any indication. >-- >Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office >Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu UUCP: uunet!uiucuxc!uiuc.edu!s-dorner Of course most people would prefer a scripting language that looks like HyperTalk than MPW scripts, so it is likely that Apple's scripting language will look more than HyperTalk than MPW scripts. However that does not prevent you from using MPW scripts in MPW (or any another scripting language) as your own personal scripting language provided that your scripting language can send AppleEvents. So in the case of MPW, you need a MPW tool to send AppleEvents. Such a tool may be available in developer CD or channel like that. /* Disclaimer: All statments and opinions expressed are my own */ /* Edmund K. Lai */ /* Apple Computer, MS37-UP */ /* 20525 Mariani Ave, */ /* Cupertino, CA 95014 */ /* (408)974-6272 */ zW@h9cOi