AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner [Paperback]

Jr. Jerry Lee Ford (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1598633031 | ISBN-13: 978-1598633030 | Publication Date: October 27, 2006 | Edition: 1

This book focuses on teaching the reader how to program using AppleScript, the language that controls and automates applications on Mac OS X. Unlike other books on AppleScript, AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner focuses on AppleScript's role in supporting the development of AppleScript Studio applications. AppleScript Studio comes free with Mac OS X and provides the framework and integrated development environment for creating applications that include fully functional graphical user interfaces. Throughout the book, users will learn the key functionality of both the AppleScript language and the AppleScript Studio application development framework by developing graphical game-based applications that are actually fun to create. Topics covered include values, variables, classes, conditional logic, loop building, strings, lists, records, handlers, and much more. Although intended for readers new to programming, there is also additional coverage of more advanced topics; users will learn to work with drives, files and folders, how to control applications, and how to debug programs and handle errors. The companion CD-ROM includes all of the source code from the book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 363 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (October 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598633031
• ISBN-13: 978-1598633030
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,081,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jerry Lee Ford, Jr. is an author, educator, and an IT professional with over 18 years of experience in information technology, including roles as an automation analyst, technical manager, technical support analyst, automation engineer, and security analyst. He is the author of 23 other books and co-author of two additional books. His published works include AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Microsoft Windows PowerShell Programming for the Absolute Beginner, Visual Basic 2005 Express Programming for the Absolute Beginner, VBScript Professional Projects, Microsoft Windows Shell Scripting and WSH Administrator's Guide, Microsoft Windows Shell Scripting for the Absolute Beginner, Learn JavaScript in a Weekend, and Microsoft Windows XP Professional Administrator's Guide.

Ford has a master's degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia and has over five years of experience as an adjunct instructor teaching networking courses in information technology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 22, 2007

By 

David A. Low - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)

The book has too many errors and is poorly edited. Some of the errors are minor. For example, pg 26 step 5 says to quit the Interface Builder and save when prompted. The very next step says to select the button control and click Show Inspector... hmm, can't do that if the Interface Builder is closed. There are several instances of these kind of errors sprinkled throughout, and I'm only on pg 57 (of 363.)

Which brings me to my next problem. The second project is creating the Fortune Teller app. I've stopped at pg 57 because I can't get the app to run. The code is typed in exactly as in the book and it gives me an error when I build and run it. I'm running OS X 10.4, same as the author. No problem I thought, I'll just go to the web site and see if there are any corrections. Appendix A is called "What's on the companion web site?" and describes the code examples in the book. That's great, but they neglected to print the url to get to the site. I searched for 10 mins looking for it and found it in small print on the back of the book [...].

Now for the inexcusable part. I found the web page for this book with the download link to the code samples. The link shows as "33031_AppleScript_Source.ZIP". However, the link is really pointing to "33031_AppleScript_Source.exe". An executable? Well, not really because when I downloaded it, Get Info shows it as a document. I can't even open this document. I tried changing the extension to .zip but that didn't work. I also tried .gz and some other popular compression extensions but nothing works.

It's a shame. This book has the potential to be a great introduction to Applescripting and building apps that interact and leverage the power of other apps on your system. As it stands, I think absolute beginners, the target audience for this book, would quickly become frustrated and give up.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Okay, where's the fireplace?, April 26, 2007

By 

Dustin Williams (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)

This book is a wonderful idea, but unfortunately, it's a total disaster. Here's why:

1) The book is poorly edited and a vast majority of the examples provided in it simply don't work.

2) The book claims that there's a companion website, but they don't tell you where it is.

3) After searching the web, I finally found on the company's website an MS Windows-only executable file, which contains the book's examples. Unfortunately, Mac users cannot open "Microsoft" programs, making the example files worthless.

As I said, this book is a good idea, but they did a terrible job producing it. This is definitely a DON'T BUY ITEM...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What happened to the "Studio" part?, July 2, 2008

By 

Robert "Boberino" (San Diego, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: AppleScript Studio Programming for the Absolute Beginner (Paperback)

Someone needs to write a book on Applescript Studio. This sure isn't it. 95% of it is on Applescript ONLY. This was supposed to on Applescript Studio, remember? I suspect the Studio part was left out because the author doesn't really know it very well. What few items look at Applescript Studio, and they are very few, are screen shots of menus, etc. This book was a big disappointment! I would buy a real Applescript Studio book in a heartbeat. Hopefully there is someone capable and willing to write it.

Very, very, poor.