Re(2): [MacPerl] MacPerl & Frontier

[jwb@olympus.net (John W. Baxter)]

At 1:11 7/26/96, Georges Martin wrote:
>The 'aete' resource in an application describes its AppleScript Dictionary.
>Frontier is using it when creating a "glue" table (a set of UserTalk verbs for
>this application).
>
>Why not imagine such an importer to create raw "glue" modules ?

The 'aete' sort of describes the scripting capabilities of an application.
It fails to exactly describe the capabilities for a couple of reasons:

1.  The developer writes it wrong

2.  It is impossible with the design of the 'aete' to describe everything.
As one example, Scriptable Finder (only Finder worth running these days)
has an 'aete' which says most inputs which describe files or folders are
object specifiers>   [In AppleScript
   file "foo" of folder "bar" of disk "baz"
and the like.]

In almost all cases, what Finder really wants there is an object specifier,
an alias
   alias baz:bar:foo
or a file spec
   file baz:bar:foo
or (if the Jon's Commands scripting addition is installed), just a pathname
string)
   "baz:bar:foo"

Finder will also (in most cases) accept a list of those things (any
mixture).  One would never know that by examining the 'aete'...the design
doesn't allow that much informtion.

   --John

  --
   Development of software takes longer and costs more.
jwbaxter@olympus.net (John W. Baxter)  Port Ludlow, WA, USA