This seems interesting because it feels like I can gain more control over the desktop which previously I felt limited to by Bash or Python. Being a web dev I never wanted to get into Obj. C or Swift so this seems like it's opening some doors to a broader audience. It's funny they are showcasing Mail - does anyone actually use the desktop mail client? I thought that's been dead since 2003?
Can you leverage this API from within Node.js running on OSX ? Then we can start to see some cool, realtime desktop stuff.
EG:
How I think this could be used for a developer:
"Applet" or script that opens up a dev project you're working on.
- Open Sublime text (or whatever IDE)
- Pull latest down from Git
- Fire up your respective local server if needed
- Run tests
- Release unicorns if everything goes Green through Desktop notifications of some type
It's funny they are showcasing Mail - does anyone actually use the desktop mail client? I thought that's been dead since 2003?
I'm not sure if you're referring to OS X Mail in particular or desktop mail clients in general, but I personally still use the latter (Thunderbird) very frequently. Binding all of your webmail addresses into a single local application is quite convenient.
I have been using mailmate as a successor to thunderbird because thunderbird's search was so slow amongst many other show stopping bugs for me. It's worth checking it out if you search your mail a lot or have power user mail needs... The smart folders are a neat feature that are very powerful and fast.
I have used AppleScript to open the current finder location in a new iTerm tab and to open all selected files in vim or the folder if nothing's selected... AppleScript is terrible but the end product is useful.
Another one was to merge a folder of PDFs into one document and another to convert a bunch of images into one PDF. Useful stuff but a bit awkward to create it initially.
And I don't think hideous is a complaint, hideous is a personal opinion.
Imprecise, you'll have to expand on.
While certain things, depending on you want to do turn into a wild goose chase requiring multiple hundred lines of code to get something simple. That will not change with JavaScript, in some instances it looks like it may require even more lines with JavaScript. And it is a natural language, language. I don't think it is as terrible as you make it out too be.
As a recent Mac OS user, there were a bunch of things I wanted to automate with AS. I looked and looked for documentation and basically never found a coherent set of docs anywhere. So, I'd (still) love to see the thorough documentation.
But, that's just AppleScript. The problem is that the scripting dictionaries for applications are inconsistent. But, that's the fault of the developers and you'll run into the same problem with Javascript.
Oh, for a good overall site, I'd recommend Mac OS X Automation,
The best documentation is Matt Neuburg's _AppleScript: The Definitive Guide_ [1] although it may be a bit dated now. Matt is one of the most talented tech writers out there.
When OSX first came on the scene there was a javascript OSA. A company called "Late Night Software" or some such had a drop in that allowed you to use js.
Can you leverage this API from within Node.js running on OSX ? Then we can start to see some cool, realtime desktop stuff.
EG: How I think this could be used for a developer: "Applet" or script that opens up a dev project you're working on. - Open Sublime text (or whatever IDE) - Pull latest down from Git - Fire up your respective local server if needed - Run tests - Release unicorns if everything goes Green through Desktop notifications of some type