Welcome to AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner. Apple-Script Studio is a collection of tools that work together to create a powerful application development environment that supports the development of native Mac OS X applications. AppleScript Studio supports the creation of graphical desktop applications using the AppleScript scripting language to provide the underlying program code. AppleScript is an English-like scripting language that provides the ability to interact with the Mac OS X operating system and to control the execution of desktop applications.
AppleScript is a popular scripting language that is native to Mac OS X. It comes preinstalled and ready to run. Apple users, hobbyists, and programmers have used it for many years to develop scripts that automate tasks by developing workflows that control multiple applications in order to perform specific tasks. AppleScript is especially useful for automating tasks that you find yourself performing repeatedly. For example, you might use AppleScript to automate the process of moving downloaded image files from your digital camera to a particular folder, changing the file type of each image to .gif or .jpeg, and then using your preferred photo manager application to print them.
This book focuses on teaching the reader how to program using AppleScript, the language that controls and automates applications on Mac OS X. Unlike other books on AppleScript, AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner focuses on AppleScript's role in supporting the development of AppleScript Studio applications. AppleScript Studio comes free with Mac OS X and provides the framework and integrated development environment for creating applications that include fully functional graphical user interfaces. Throughout the book, users will learn the key functionality of both the AppleScript language and the AppleScript Studio application development framework by developing graphical game-based applications that are actually fun to create. Topics covered include values, variables, classes, conditional logic, loop building, strings, lists, records, handlers, and much more. Although intended for readers new to programming, there is also additional coverage of more advanced topics; users will learn to work with drives, files and folders, how to control applications, and how to debug programs and handle errors. The companion CD-ROM includes all of the source code from the book.