Introduction to AppleScript Overview

Introduces the technology for writing scripts to control applications. Useful for scripters and application developers.

Who Should Read This Document

You should read AppleScript Overview to get a broad understanding of AppleScript and related automation technologies, and to determine where they fit into your development process.

This document may also be of interest if you write AppleScript scripts and would like to know more about the technology behind them.

AppleScript Overview is intended for a general developer audience, but experience with some kind of scripting language is helpful. If you are starting from scratch, see Getting Started with AppleScript .

Organization of This Document

This document contains the following:

About AppleScript introduces AppleScript, describes when you might use it, and notes some limitations.

Open Scripting Architecture describes the underlying technology used to implement AppleScript and Apple events. It also describes how to extend AppleScript.

Scripting with AppleScript provides a brief description of how you work with AppleScript scripts. It also describes options for combining AppleScript scripting with other kinds of scripting.

Scriptable Applications explains how scriptable applications work, including how they specify their scripting terminology, and describes the programming resources available for creating scriptable applications.

Scripting Bridge describes a technology available starting in OS X version 10.5 that generates Objective-C API for accessing scriptable applications.

Automator describes Apple’s graphical automation program and how developers can take advantage of it.

AppleScript Utilities and Applications describes utilities and applications that work with AppleScript or provide additional features you can use in AppleScript scripts.

Introduction to AppleScript Overview

Who Should Read This Document

Organization of This Document

See Also