>
> Apple Script seems goofy to me because it reads like English but has
> extra words I don't expect as a programmer. I cut and paste Apple
> Script code to make sure I get the syntax right. It reads like
> English, but it's not what I would have written. For example:
>
> tell app "Terminal"
> set custom title of first window to "XYZ - something.foo.com"
>
> If I'd written this myself, I would have left out "custom" and "of
> first window."
>
> Geoffrey
> --
> Geoffrey S. Knauth | http://knauth.org/gsk
Geoffrey,
I think the problem with AppleScript is how it simulates natural language.
Under the hood it is treating multiword phrases as identifiers and operators, so the words "custom title" are really seen as a single symbol internally and a phrase like "is not contained by" is seen as a single operator.
When you write new pseudo-english functions in AppleScript, you are stuck with a fixed grammar and need to fit your use of language into one of the calling patterns built into AppleScript.
"Of first window" gets added to your script because it provides the context in which "cutom title" can be found in the presence of anaphora (ie. your omitting the object whose "custom title" you wished to set.
There is no theorectical reason why your original syntax couldn't have been preserved and correlated with its normalized cannonical representation. I'm sure the PLT Scheme crew could handle this with ease. So I would say this annoyance is more a question of implementation choices at Apple than a deficiency of natural language based notations per se.
Warmest Regards,
Peter
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Peter J. Wasilko, Esq.
J.D., LL.M.
Executive Director, The Institute for End User Computing, Inc.
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