AppleScript: The Definitive Guide [Paperback]

The structure of the book is somewhat confusing. It starts off well with some practical examples, but then moves into very complex terrain, having the potential to quickly leave the AppleScript newbie behind. Throughout the book, Neuburg discusses many of the quirks and nuances of dealing with AppleScript. It could be argued that he deals with too many of these quirks, which gives the book a somewhat choppy feel at times. The value, however, is that this treatment does lend a sense of reassurance - when you're banging your head against the keyboard because a script doesn't work as expected, it's good to know that the language is not without unique "personality" and that you're not alone. This may not always help you get your script running any faster, but what a sense of camaraderie!

Far and away the best feature of the book is the third chapter, where the author walks through the "AppleScript Experience." In this chapter, the reader is led through the step-by-step process of how the author develops a real script to take care of an otherwise long and tedious repetitive task - exactly the sort of thing that AppleScript is designed for. Neuburg explains the thought process of building the script, and provides each iteration of code along the way, warts and all, until all of the kinks are worked out. This was both educational and entertaining, and we could easily put ourselves into the same place, having been there before. It should be noted that the thought process of creating a script is really one of the most challenging, and poorly explained, aspects of coding in general. If you're new to programming, you likely expect that learning the technical syntax and structure is the hard part, but in reality that's easy in comparison to wrapping your head around what to do with this technical knowledge. Neuburg's tour of his headspace during the scripting process is invaluable and you'll gain some worthwhile vicarious experience in Chapter 3.

Bottom line: it's a great book if you can follow it, and a hard read if it loses you. It makes for an excellent reference source, and is certainly a comprehensive look at the language, covering all of the significant aspects of coding with AppleScript. We would expect veterans to find this book to be a well written in-depth discussion, while most beginners (to programming) would likely be more than a bit intimidated. It is perhaps most ideally suited to programmers of other languages that are new to AppleScript, but can rely on their background knowledge and interest to relate to the finer points presented.

The structure of the book is somewhat confusing. It starts off well with some practical examples, but then moves into very complex terrain, having the potential to quickly leave the AppleScript newbie behind. Throughout the book, Neuburg discusses many of the quirks and nuances of dealing with AppleScript. It could be argued that he deals with too many of these quirks, which gives the book a somewhat choppy feel at times. The value, however, is that this treatment does lend a sense of reassurance - when you're banging your head against the keyboard because a script doesn't work as expected, it's good to know that the language is not without unique "personality" and that you're not alone. This may not always help you get your script running any faster, but what a sense of camaraderie!

Far and away the best feature of the book is the third chapter, where the author walks through the "AppleScript Experience." In this chapter, the reader is led through the step-by-step process of how the author develops a real script to take care of an otherwise long and tedious repetitive task - exactly the sort of thing that AppleScript is designed for. Neuburg explains the thought process of building the script, and provides each iteration of code along the way, warts and all, until all of the kinks are worked out. This was both educational and entertaining, and we could easily put ourselves into the same place, having been there before. It should be noted that the thought process of creating a script is really one of the most challenging, and poorly explained, aspects of coding in general. If you're new to programming, you likely expect that learning the technical syntax and structure is the hard part, but in reality that's easy in comparison to wrapping your head around what to do with this technical knowledge. Neuburg's tour of his headspace during the scripting process is invaluable and you'll gain some worthwhile vicarious experience in Chapter 3.

Bottom line: it's a great book if you can follow it, and a hard read if it loses you. It makes for an excellent reference source, and is certainly a comprehensive look at the language, covering all of the significant aspects of coding with AppleScript. We would expect veterans to find this book to be a well written in-depth discussion, while most beginners (to programming) would likely be more than a bit intimidated. It is perhaps most ideally suited to programmers of other languages that are new to AppleScript, but can rely on their background knowledge and interest to relate to the finer points presented.