I have been programming computers for over 20 years. I often spend more time programming the user interface than the guts behind it. The PC world has Visual Basic, and NeXT had its NeXTStep, to ease the load on the programmer creating a graphical user interface (GUI). One of the programs available to Apple users is a commercial package called FaceSpan, which is used along with a scripting language such as AppleScript.

AppleScript is a language with which to create scripts to manipulate data at the system level. It can be used to create simple macros or more intelligent programs that respond differently depending on conditions. It can be used as a glue to bind data from different software packages and sources. Its syntax is similar to that of Hypertalk, that is, it is English-like and includes objects.

The title of the book is a bit misleading. AppleScript shares the book with FaceSpan, which works with any scripting language that supports the Open Scripting Architecture (OSA). It provides an editor, allowing the user to quickly create applications with the typical Apple Macintosh user interface. The reader is introduced to AppleScript and FaceSpan through a series of projects of increasing complexity.

The book comes with a CD-ROM containing AppleScript 1.1, FaceSpan software, many different shareware and freeware programs related to various scripting functions, and the many sample scripts that are found in the book. I always appreciate getting the sample programs on disk, since this saves time and problems with typos (mine and the author’s).

With this book, the reader is ready to jump into the world of scripting. The included disk is the icing on the cake. If you are interested in automating mundane tasks or creating powerful and flexible applications, take a look at this book. You will need a Macintosh with System 7, a CD-ROM drive, 2 MB of free hard disk space, and a minimum of 8 MB of RAM.