4 ms·

I’m still waiting for a shell with a parser as great for natural language as discworld mud was. $ ls every second jpeg in first red folder in my backpack

_wire_ 2y ago
AppleScript offers a NL style where you code using an english language description of an imperative syntax. At first it seemed cool, but I quickly found it to be perverse and incomprehensible. These samples are from Apple's Guide: set numClowns to 5 --result: 5 set myList to { 1, 2, "four" } --result: {1, 2, "four"} tell application "TextEdit" set word1 to word 1 of front document end tell --result: some word "DUMPtruck" is equal to "dumptruck" --result: true considering case "DUMPtruck" is equal to "dumptruck" end considering --result: false I DID NOT MAKE THIS UP on raiseToTheNth(x, power) set returnVal to x repeat power - 1 times set returnVal to returnVal \* x end repeat return returnVal end raiseToTheNth The good news is that you can control an app as if you are interacting with its GUI and all the features are in there somewhere, somehow. tell application "Finder" ignoring application responses empty the trash -- other statements that ignore application responses considering application responses set itemName to name of first item of startup disk end considering -- other statements that ignore application responses end ignoring end tell The bad news is a syntax from hell and how do you discover the available idioms? The facility can be turned into an abomination when you interface from a shell using the osascript shim. It's so bad that if I have to use it I can't help but fall in with it love because a working script seems like a minor miracle to be recorded in a religious tome of divine encounters.
- IshKebab 2y ago
  I agree, the "natural" syntax is awful. Worst of both worlds. Terrible for experienced programmers because the syntax is so bad; terrible for beginners because it pretends to be natural but isn't. Fortunately they offer a (barely documented) JavaScript alternative these days.

_wire_ 2y ago

AppleScript offers a NL style where you code using an english language description of an imperative syntax. At first it seemed cool, but I quickly found it to be perverse and incomprehensible. These samples are from Apple's Guide: set numClowns to 5 --result: 5 set myList to { 1, 2, "four" } --result: {1, 2, "four"} tell application "TextEdit" set word1 to word 1 of front document end tell --result: some word "DUMPtruck" is equal to "dumptruck" --result: true considering case "DUMPtruck" is equal to "dumptruck" end considering --result: false I DID NOT MAKE THIS UP on raiseToTheNth(x, power) set returnVal to x repeat power - 1 times set returnVal to returnVal \* x end repeat return returnVal end raiseToTheNth The good news is that you can control an app as if you are interacting with its GUI and all the features are in there somewhere, somehow. tell application "Finder" ignoring application responses empty the trash -- other statements that ignore application responses considering application responses set itemName to name of first item of startup disk end considering -- other statements that ignore application responses end ignoring end tell The bad news is a syntax from hell and how do you discover the available idioms? The facility can be turned into an abomination when you interface from a shell using the osascript shim. It's so bad that if I have to use it I can't help but fall in with it love because a working script seems like a minor miracle to be recorded in a religious tome of divine encounters.

IshKebab 2y ago
I agree, the "natural" syntax is awful. Worst of both worlds. Terrible for experienced programmers because the syntax is so bad; terrible for beginners because it pretends to be natural but isn't. Fortunately they offer a (barely documented) JavaScript alternative these days.