[Pythonmac-SIG] [ann] AppScripting 0.1.0

[has]

Jack wrote:

>On 19 Nov 2003, at 10:11, has wrote:
>>More important stuff includes figuring out how to create 
>>typeAppSignature AEDescs (or equivalent) for apps like Address Book 
>>that don't have creator codes, and how best to implement the user 
>>interface for the by-test reference form (aka 'whose clauses').
>
>Assume that a LaunchServices or ApplicationServices or whatever 
>module will be available soon. That'll solve the first problem, 
>right?

Afraid I'm too ignorant of the lower workings of MacOS to give an 
answer. Must defer to smarter minds for that.


>The second problem is more of a design problem, Python has no 
>language construct for this that we could use. But the bad news is 
>that I don't have an easy solution either:-(

The options I can think of are:

1.  Let users work directly with the various test-related classes, eg:

    imagesRef = blah.blah.blah.whose(AS.is_in(AS.ref.name_extension, 
['gif', 'jpg', 'png']))

(This'd be simple to implement, but also the least pleasant to use.)


2. Let users express the test as an interpolated string that's parsed 
for meaning internally, eg:

    imagesRef = blah.blah.blah.whose('name_extension is in $', ['gif', 
'jpg', 'png'])

(This'd require a basic parser, but nothing I couldn't write myself. 
And Python folk are already used to %-interpolated strings so 
shouldn't find this variant too tedious.)


3. Let users express the test as a series of attribute accesses and 
method calls:

    imagesRef = blah.blah.blah.whose.name_extension.is_in(['gif', 'jpg', 'png'])

(This is just an extension of the approach ScriptingInterface uses to 
build OSA object specifiers - a series of chained __getattr__ calls 
hanging off a smart 'whose' object that assembles the OSA expression.)


Any thoughts?

has
-- 
http://freespace.virgin.net/hamish.sanderson/