Petition Apple for AppleScript 3.0

AppleScript
#81

The only wish i had for using AppleScript was to automate XCode. And it is eye opening to find out that XCode does not support a scripting API beyond the bare automatic minimum we get from any objective-c app. So if XCode will not do it nobody is interested in automatization.

I found this thread after googling if i should spend time adding a scripting layer to my app. I see i should not really spend time on it. Better do coding for Android or doing just another fancy animation. Sad state of the union for us techies.

But (i say this while i only read the first half of this thread) isn’t there a future in ChatGTP and AI coding. If ChatGPT can output a more english like language then it would be easier for the end user to check if the generated automatisation script is really what they want. Train the AI to write AppleScript and let the user only read it. Even as a programmer it’s hard to understand Swift code.

So spending a few millions on developing an AI assisted language like Apple Script for Apple Home Automatisation and macOS Apps. This can be a market now. It wasn’t before but this is the unique sales point.

I also disagree that Apple does only care about iOS and iPhones. This is not the case. The macOS computer market is still a huge money maker for Apple and with the upcoming breaking of the AppStore monopol and honestly a technical fiasco after the other (Failed MacPro is just the tip of the Iceberg). macOS and desktop is still important in the world of white collar high income workers.

#82

I’m curious what tasks exactly did you want to automate in Xcode that wasn’t possible? I also wonder if you checked Xcode developer tools that offer all kind of shell script commands that you can use in AppleScript?

I by no means an expert in automating Xcode so it’s quite possible that its AppleScript support is lacking. I was able to automate everything I did want to automate – mostly related to signing and notarization. It did require to use shell commands.

Well I’m sure you know that Xcode users is only a small fraction of those who use Macs.

I think that it depends on the nature of your particular app as well as its user base to determine whether it’s worth spending time adding a scripting layer to your app (and how extensive this support should be). For example, many Adobe apps offer extensive scripting support that covers most of what’s available via their SDKs.

#83

It was some time ago, i think Apple implemented a way now to do it but at least 5 years after i needed it and thought its a very normal task (nothing clever or unsual at all).

Just take screenshots from the layout of all the dialogs you have in all localized versions and in different dialog sizes. To present it in a overview gallery for quick pattern matching of things gone wrong. QA work. I found out that there is zero scripting.

For your comment that XCode is a small part of the users. You are right. But it’s almost everyone at Apple Research and Development that uses it. As the old saying “Eat your own dogfood” and if they have nobody in the team to push it for them, then either the company has a very very bad human resource management (and yes i think Apple is a terrible employee) or AppleScript stinks.

#84

Third possibility:

  • Apple’s main platform is now iOS / iPad, and
  • Apple Events play no role on that platform.

(explanations depending on blame, wrong-headedness, very very bad XYZ, or stinky something else, are expressive, and understandable, but never really shed much light)

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#85

I agree. Applescript remains an invaluable tool for Mac power users and should be supported.

#86

I agree! One of the reasons macOS is superior to others.

#87

I agree! I agree! wholeheartedly.

#88

I agree

Also my reply must be greater than 20 characters

#89

I agree, totally. I can’t imagine macOS without AppleScript!

#90

I use it all the time, invaluable

#91

I agree! iOS, iPadOS, and WatchOS all emerged with a view toward maximizing energy from a very small battery (by comparison with MacOS). Applescript emerged at a time when computers had continuous power. The only real constraint was memory. When Apple invented iOS for the iPhone, it was clear that MacOS and iOS would eventually blend, but not without efficient gains on battery to make this possible.

Applescript, by contrast, was simply constrained by active memory, and longed for the day enough would make it possible to have programs “talk” to each other (anyone remember “AppleTalk”? and eventually “Bonjour”?) Those were the device-equivalents of what Applescript sought between “Applications”, “Files”, and “Workflows”.

But coding in iOS, iPadOS, and WatchOS emerged within an ethos for making sure nothing talks to each other for very long (to preserve power and reallocate memory). And assurances for specific permissions would be required for each request (only single-point access for a temporary period of time and with an end-user approval button). That added security constraint is Applescript-averse. Applescript doesn’t feel like Applescript when every new ‘tell’ statement requires a new end-user approval “Ok”. These are the difficulties of trying to re-spawn Applescript on these OSes.

For MacOS, Automator was the answer to make automation more accessible to the masses. It did some good, but could never replace the more custom workflows Applescript pros know and love. This is because the power and passion for Applescript comes from what becomes possible across applications, files, and workflows. It is like conducting a coding symphony! This is why there is so much residual passion for this programming language and why so many of us don’t want to see its support atrophy.

“Shortcuts” is the emerging Automator of iOS, iPadOS, and WatchOS. It represents where we are on that arc of sufficient power and memory for automation on these devices—currently only for use with a few apps. Currently, the developer training and focus is for these OSes. As a result, “Shortcuts” (iOS Automator) is the natural path. But, for those of us who love Applescript on MacOS, who appreciate making it sing across apps, and who know its value once the efficiency constraints are overcome, we long for the bridge which makes pro work on Apple devices such a delight. But the arc for sufficient battery life, workable security constraints, etc., are just not there (yet) for Applescript on iOS, iPadOS, or WatchOS.

But what about VisionOS?
It seems to me that VisionOS is a natural landing for Applescript. VisionOS is absolutely incredible and while it may not be ready for 8 hour workdays, the workflow made possible by its foundation is truly revolutionary. Perhaps VisionOS is a good place to put the focus for the Applescript petition? The battery life is significantly better than iOS, iPadOS, and WatchOS. Could VisionOS be a productive gateway to begin thinking about the blending of MacOS and these battery-sensitive, app-siloed ways of thinking about the entire experience? Does Applescript on VisionOS make it possible to smooth out the experience in ways which have not been considered? It certainly seems like a fantastic device for conducting a symphony! :wink:

Here’s to the crazy ones!

#92

Can VisionOS currently be used without attaching a box to the head?

#93

I agree! AI craves automation and all of the companies are attempting to apply Machine Learning to visuals of user-interaction with desktop OSes. They are literally trying to figure out how to record GUI macros to automate workflows—across multiple applications.

AI tools are pining for ways to speed up what they can do with the OS across multiple applications. macOS—with Applescript and application libraries—is already ready-to-go. And macOS already has the security safeguards many of these other systems do not (to enact the same kind of functionality).

Imagine what we could have done with Applescript if we had AI tools like Grok, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude, etc… This turns macOS into an “ideal AI playground.” But, to other’s good points in this forum, this has to be marketed and sold and showcased, if enough people are going to discover the automative power this gives them on their Macs.

AI creates the possibility for an Applescript and macOS renaissance. And even from a showcase-focused perspective, just imagine what a keynote might look like on macOS showing how you can capture automated workflows and save them as scripts with easy-to-read code? Just ask Apple Intelligence “explain this to me like I am 28 years old” or “comment out my code” or …”how can I make this AppleScript more concise?” Or “how can I make this AppleScript do X or Y?

It would make for a killer keynote. And think of the contrast. The masses can ask these AI tools to code in Javascript, Ruby, Python. But they cannot understand it once it is presented to them. Applescript gives them something both functional and understandable. And that creates an accessible learning path for them. I could see many more people falling in love with Applescript when the barriers to acquiring skills with it get erased with AI.

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