Glossary

• 'aete' resource  

  An Apple event terminology resource; supplies scripting terminology for a Carbon application. Compare script suite.



• AppKit framework  

  Defines classes to support a graphical, event-driven user interface for applications. See also Cocoa framework.



• Apple Event Manager  

  Provides an API for sending and receiving Apple events and working with the information they contain.



• AppleScript  

  A scripting system that allows users to directly control Macintosh applications, including the Mac OS itself, by creating sets of English-like instructions, or scripts.



• AppleScript component  

  The scripting component in Mac OS X that implements the AppleScript scripting language. A scripting component provides services for compiling and executing scripts (and relies on the Open Scripting Architecture).



• AppleScriptKit framework  

  Supplies advanced Cocoa scripting support and other features required by AppleScript Studio.



• AppleScript object  

  A distinct object in an application or its documents that can be specified in a script.



• AppleScript object class  

  A category for AppleScript objects that share characteristics, such as properties and elements.



• AppleScript script file  

  A file with the extension “.applescript” that contains statements in the AppleScript scripting language.



• AppleScript source code editor  

  an Xcode pane for editing and compiling AppleScript script files (files with the extension “.applescript”). The source editor relies on the osacompile shell tool to compile scripts.



• AppleScript Studio  

  A development environment and application framework that combines features from AppleScript, Xcode, Interface Builder, and the Cocoa application framework to provide a sophisticated environment for creating AppleScript Studio applications.



• AppleScript Studio application  

  A Mac OS X application that combines AppleScript scripts and Cocoa user-interface objects.



• backtrace  

  A list of the handlers that have been invoked at any point in a script execution. Each handler is listed as a call frame.



• build directory  

  The file system directory in which built products are stored. This is usually the “build” folder in the project folder.



• build phase  

  A step of the process of building a target. Each build phase deals with one category of source or resource files (e.g. Objective-C, AppleScript, Bundle resources, shell scripts). The Jam system automatically performs all necessary build phases in reverse order of their dependency on each other.



• build style  

  A methodology of creating a product from a target in Xcode. Development and Deployment build styles use different methodologies.



• call frame  

  The information about a handler call, including its calling parameters and local variables.



• Cocoa framework  

  An object-oriented application framework, consisting of a collection of advanced object-oriented APIs. The Cocoa framework is made up of the AppKit and Foundation frameworks. Also referred to simply as Cocoa.



• Cocoa user interface class  

  A class that supports a user interface item. The Application Kit provides many of these classes; for example, NSButton and NSBrowser are Cocoa user interface classes provided by the Application Kit.



• Cocoa user interface object  

  An instance of a Cocoa user interface class.



• command  

  A word or phrase in a script that requests an action. For example, a script can send a stop command to a progress indicator object. Compare event.



• CVS  

  The Concurrent Version System, a source-code control system that Xcode can use to manage changes in source code over time and across multiple developers.



• data source object  

  An object supplied by AppleScript Studio that supplies data to a table view or other view with rows and columns.



• deployment build style  

  A methodology of creating a product from a target that makes the product more appropriate for distribution to users.



• development build style  

  A methodology of creating a product from a target that makes the product more appropriate for debugging and testing.



• dictionary browser  

  See terminology browser.



• droplet  

  A script application that launches when you drag a file or folder icon in the Finder and “drop” it on the droplet’s icon. A droplet receives a list of descriptors for the folders or files dropped on it and typically performs operations on each item in the list.



• event  

  An action an object can respond to. For example, a button click is an event that may result in execution of a clicked handler for the button that was clicked. Compare command.



• event handler  

  A handler that responds to an action in an AppleScript Studio application. Compare handler.



• executable  

  An application that uses a project’s product and can be launched in order to debug that product. For AppleScript Studio, the executable is the product.



• Foundation framework  

  Defines a layer of useful primitive object classes, including support for Unicode strings, allocation and deallocation of objects, arrays and collections, dates, ports, and more. See also Cocoa framework.



• framework  

  A type of bundle (or directory in the file system) that packages software with the resources that software requires, including its interface.



• GDB or gdb  

  The GNU debugger—an open-source debugger, available with Mac OS X, for debugging programs written in C, C++, and Objective-C.



• handler  

  A named series of one or more script statements that are executed by calling its name. Compare event handler.



• information property list  

  A special property list that contains predefined keys for application information that may be used by the Finder, by other applications, and by the application itself. See also property list.



• Info window  

  An Interface Builder window for setting both attributes and connections for the associated user interface object.



• Interface Builder  

  A graphical user interface editor for creating interfaces for Cocoa, Carbon, and AppleScript Studio applications.



• model-view-controller (MVC)  

  A programming paradigm in which the view is responsible for part of the application visible on screen, the model represents the application’s data and algorithms, and the controller interprets user input and specifies changes to the model and the view.



• nib  

  A resource that stores a collection of Cocoa user interface objects, such as buttons, text fields, and pop-up menus, as well as information about the relationships between those objects and project code.



• nib file  

  A file that stores one or more nibs.



• Open Scripting Architecture (OSA)  

  An API for compiling and executing scripts, and for creating scripting components.



• osacompile  

  A shell tool for compiling script files.



• Palette window  

  An Interface Builder window that provides a number of palettes (or panes), each of which contains object instances you can add to an application.



• product  

  An application or framework produced by Xcode. AppleScript Studio projects create an application as a product.



• product directory  

  The file system directory that contains a project file, the project's source code and resources, and the build directory.



• Xcode  

  An integrated development environment for Mac OS X that supports building Cocoa, Carbon, and AppleScript Studio applications (as well as bundles, frameworks, plug-ins, and tools) with C, C++, Objective-C, and Java.



• project file  

  A file created by Xcode that organizes source code, resources, and settings used to build a product.



• property list  

  A structured, textual representation of data, commonly stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format. Elements of a property list represent data of certain types, such as arrays, dictionaries, and strings.



• Script Editor application  

  An application distributed with the Mac OS that provides a basic environment for editing, compiling, and executing scripts.



• scripting addition  

  Code, stored in /System/Library/SystemAdditions, that makes additional commands or coercions available to scripts on the same computer.



• script object  

  A user-defined object, combining data (in the form of properties) and handlers, that can be used in a script.



• script object definition  

  A compound statement that can contain collections of properties, handlers, and other AppleScript script statements.



• script suite  

  The combination of at least one suite definition and one suite terminology that together define the scripting capabilities and terminology for Cocoa and AppleScript Studio applications.



• SOAP (simple object access protocol)  

  A remote procedure call protocol designed for a distributed environment, where a server may consist of a hierarchy of objects whose methods can be called over the Internet.



• suite definition  

  A property list that describes scriptable objects in terms of their attributes, relationships, and supported commands



• suite terminology  

  A property list that maps AppleScript terminology—the English-like words and phrases you can use in a script—to the class and command descriptions in a suite definition.



• target  

  A subdivision of an Xcode project that is responsible for building one product. AppleScript Studio projects usually have only one target.



• terminology browser  

  A graphical tool for displaying the scripting terminology for a scriptable application. Also known as a dictionary browser.



• XML-RPC  

  A simple protocol for making remote procedure requests to Internet-based servers.