Scripting Tinderbox in v8: new opportunities

PS I wonder if you feel entirely happy with the formulation new support for AppleScript (and use of the section name Applescript) ?

One might argue that:

  • it’s technically new support for osascript, which has both AppleScript and JavaScript bindings.
  • While use of AppleScript makes good sense for those already familiar with it, it is perhaps less clear whether it now makes a sensible investment (or sound recommendation) for anyone beginning the use of osascript.

Not just because JS:

  • has a richer set of built-in functions for regex, sorting, url encoding/decoding etc, and more user-friendly records/dictionaries, or because
  • familiarity with JS is an investment of time with more generous and more broadly distributed harvests (web scripting, iOS scripting, and now Omni app scripting (OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner already, OmniFocus next) and Quark scripting)

But also because Apple (perhaps because of its iOS revenue focus) has now parked AppleScript in legacy or sunset mode, with no sign of future development, whereas the Apple JS interpreter, used both for osascript and Safari, continues to be actively and competitively maintained, and macOS app houses like Omni and Quark are now doing their new scripting developments in JS interpreters which are quite separate from AppleScript.

(OmniJS uses a non-osascript embedding of the Webkit (Safari) JS interpreter, Quark is now using a non-osascript embedding of the V8 Chrome JS interpreter. I have had years of fun with AppleScript, but if I were starting macOS scripting now, I would certainly start with JS instead, and there are plenty of books and resources for learning it).

Just a thought.

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