Looking for a more universal scripting language than AppleScript or Automator

I want to learn a cross-platform/web scripting language to automate tasks, write scripts and with the potential to create programs and web apps.
I am looking for something that:
- is not a program with a GUI like Automator, iKey, Quickeys, Maestro...
- is more "universal" than Applescript, cross-platform
- can be used to automate simple tasks in a simple way
- can also be used to create more complex scripts, web apps and maybe, eventually, programs (with GUI)
I've read about Javascript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Perl, C+, C++, Java and others, but I really don't know.
- Java sounds pretty cool, Python too.
- I'm not crazy about PHP or Perl, with Javascript, but some people swear by it
- I don't know anything about C+, C++
Does anyone have any suggestion(s)? Please let me know if you need any more details. Thank you.

C, C++, Objective-C are nor scripting languages and will not help you do web pages. (Don;t know what C+ is).
Forget Java it has lots of security problems and more and more users are disabling Java in their web browsers because of this. Developing in Java would be, in my opinion, a mistake.
If you are doing any web works at all you will need to know some Javascript, no way around that. But Javascript is actually not a bad language
Note Java and Javascript are two totally separate languages that have nothing in common but the first 4 letters of their names.
So you are left with PHP, Perl, Python and Ruby.
Dismissing PHP and Perl out of hand is a big mistake, They are both major players and you will run into them just about everywhere. If you are looking to do this for possible employment you will need to be familiar with them at least.
Python and Ruby are both strong languages as well. I don't have a lot of experience with either so I can;t speak to their strengths but learnign either would not be a mistake.
Knowing what your reasons are for asking this, personal use or for employment, might help refine the list some.
regards
Message was edited by: Frank Caggiano - Perl is also included in OS X by default. Not sure about PHP but I believe it also is. I agree TextWrangler would be a good editor for this type of work.

Similar Messages

A More Universal Scripting Language Than Applescript or Automator?

I want to learn a scripting language to automate events or actions on a schedule or by using shortcuts, and maybe a little more eventually (like web apps for example). I am looking for something that is not a program with a GUI like Automator, iKey, Quickeys, Maestro... I would rather learn a more "universal" language than Applescript. I've read a little bit about Javascript, Python, Ruby on Rails, PHP, Perl, C+, C++, and others, but I really don't know. I would prefer a language that can be used to program simple things in a simple way, but with a high learning curve. Does anyone have any suggestion(s)? Please let me know if you need any more details. Thanks

Another possibly better forum to ask this would be
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_technologies

Looking for a less expensive program other than Photoshop CS6

Looking for a less expensive program other than Photoshop CS6 and was wondering if Photoshop Elements is the answer. Does Photoshop Elements read PSD files, create layers, can you change the levels and color balance?

drumford65 wrote:
Looking for a less expensive program other than Photoshop CS6 and was wondering if Photoshop Elements is the answer. Does Photoshop Elements read PSD files, create layers, can you change the levels and color balance?
Yes, and much more.
Why not try the 30 days trial version which has all the features of Elements ?

- Looking for Drop Down menu script w/ semi-transparent backgrounds...

Looking for a dropdown menu script that will allow
semi-transparent
backgrounds (so we can partly see what the list is displaying
over).
I've Googled this to death using all the obvious keywords,
but have yet to
find what I'm looking for.
Thanks.

Yes. I understand and agree. Good point.
Thanks.
Al Sparber - PVII
http://www.projectseven.com
Extending Dreamweaver - Nav Systems | Galleries | Widgets
Authors: "42nd Street: Mastering the Art of CSS Design"
"T.Pastrana - 4Level" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I posted mainly for the benefit of Reese, I know you know
this.
>
>
> --
> Best Regards,
> ..Trent Pastrana
> www.fourlevel.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Al Sparber- PVII" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Actually, it's not an error. But we do happen to
have it in a CC on
>> that page because the last time I posted that page
on this forum it
>> was criticized for "failing" the W3C CSS validator.
>>
>>
http://www.projectseven.com/foxy.gif
>>
>> The Firefox console simply would report it as a
warning - not an
>> error. It would have no affect on the page. But
thanks for pointing
>> that out.
>>
>> --
>> Al Sparber - PVII
>>
http://www.projectseven.com
>> Extending Dreamweaver - Nav Systems | Galleries |
Widgets
>> Authors: "42nd Street: Mastering the Art of CSS
Design"
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "T.Pastrana - 4Level" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> If you want your page to validate you might want
to separate the
>>> properties. Some modern browsers like Firefox
will throw an error
>>> with the filter property.
>>>
>>> #menu li {
>>> opacity: 0.85;
>>> }
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Best Regards,
>>> ..Trent Pastrana
>>> www.fourlevel.com
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Al Sparber- PVII"
<[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>> If, for example, you are using an unordered
list for your menu, set
>>>> opacity on the LI, like so:
>>>>
>>>> #menu li {
>>>> opacity: 0.85;
>>>> filter: alpha(opacity=85);
>>>> }
>>>>
>>>> As far as I know, there are no
"off-the-shelf" menu tools of worth
>>>> that offer this as an automatic option. You
should pick yourself a
>>>> good menu system then set opacity on the
relevant element. The
>>>> menu "script" or "system" really has nothing
to do with it.
>>>>
>>>> If you need a good base menu system, you can
find free ones and
>>>> commercial ones on our site. Here is an
example of one with
>>>> transparency:
>>>>
>>>>
http://www.projectseven.com/products/menusystems/pmm/css_tweaks/opacity/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Al Sparber - PVII
>>>>
http://www.projectseven.com
>>>> Extending Dreamweaver - Nav Systems |
Galleries | Widgets
>>>> Authors: "42nd Street: Mastering the Art of
CSS Design"
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Reese" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>>> Looking for a dropdown menu script that
will allow
>>>>> semi-transparent backgrounds (so we can
partly see what the list
>>>>> is displaying over).
>>>>>
>>>>> I've Googled this to death using all the
obvious keywords, but
>>>>> have yet to find what I'm looking for.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>

Looking for ACE Probe TCL script specific for LDAPS

Hello Everyone,
I have searched the forum, and i am having difficulty finding an example of how to modify the LDAP TCL probe from port 389 to secure LDAP port 636.
Could someone kindly point me or provide me the modified TCL script if you happen to have it.
During my search I also found a config that someone had provided, which contained the following probe:
probe tcp LDAPS_Probe
port 636
probe tcp LDAP_Probe
port 389
I was trying to figure out if this a modified TCL script for LDAP or modifed TCP TCL script specific for port 636.
This is how I applied the script for LDAP port 389.
script file 1 LDAP_PROBE
probe scripted LDAP_PROBE_389
interval 5
passdetect interval 30
receive 5
script LDAP_PROBE
serverfarm host SF-LDAP-389
description SF LDAP Port 389
predictor leastconns
probe LDAP_PROBE_389
rserver LDAP-RS1-389
inservice
I will be more than glad to provide you any additional information that you need.
As always thanks for your input.
Raman Azizian
SAIC/NISN Network services

normally you would engage a TCL developer or ciso advanced services to develop a custom script for anything other than what Cisco provides in canned scripts. If you are comfortable with tcl you can do it yourself. Here is an example of the LDAP script modified to include initiation via ssl. default port is 389 when you implement you would specify 636.
#!name = LDAP_PROBE
# Description:
#    LDAP_PROBE opens a TCP connection to an LDAP server, sends a bind request. and
#    determines whether the bind request succeeds. LDAP_PROBE then closes the
#    connection with a TCP RST.
#    If a port is specified in the "probe scripted" configuration, the script probes
#     each suspect on that port. If no port is specified, the default LDAP port 389
#     is used.
# Success:
#   The script succeeds if the server returns a bind response indicating success
#    (status code 0x0a0100) to the bind request.
#   The script closes the TCP connection with a RST following a successful attempt.
# Failure:
#   The script fails due to timeout if the response is not returned. This
#    includes a failure to receive ARP resolution, a failure to create a TCP connection
#    to the port, or a failure to return a response to the LDAP bind request.
#   The script also fails if the server bind response does not indicate success.
#    This specific error returns the 30002 error code.
#   The script closes any attempted TCP connection, successful or not, with a RST.
# PLEASE NOTE: This script expects the server LDAP bind response to specify length
#   in ASN.1 short definite form. Responses using other length forms (e.g., long
#   definite length form) will require script modification to achieve success.
# SCRIPT version: 1.0       April 1, 2008
# Parameters:
#   [DEBUG]
#      username - user login name
#      password - password
#      DEBUG        - optional key word 'DEBUG'. default is off
#         Do not enable this flag while multiple probe suspects are configured for this
#         script.
# Example config :
#   probe scripted USE_LDAP_PROBE
#         script LDAP_PROBE
#   Values configured in the "probe scripted" configuration populate the
#   scriptprobe_env array. These may be accessed or manipulated if desired.
# Documentation:
#    A detailed discussion of the use of scripts on the ACE is included in
#       "Using Toolkit Command Language (TCL) Scripts with the ACE"
#    in the "Load-Balancing Configuration Guide" section of the ACE documentation set.
# Copyright (c) 2005-2008 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
# debug procedure
# set the EXIT_MSG environment variable to help debug
# also print the debug message when debug flag is on
proc ace_debug { msg } {
    global debug ip port EXIT_MSG
    set EXIT_MSG $msg
    if { [ info exists ip ] && [ info exists port ] } {
     set EXIT_MSG "[ info script ]:$ip:$port: $EXIT_MSG "
    if { [ info exists debug ] && $debug } {
     puts $EXIT_MSG
# main
# parse cmd line args and initialize variables
## set debug value
set debug 0
if { [ regsub -nocase "DEBUG" $argv "" argv] } {
    set debug 1
ace_debug "initializing variable"
set EXIT_MSG "Error config: script LDAP_PROBE \[DEBUG\]"
set ip $scriptprobe_env(realIP)
set port $scriptprobe_env(realPort)
# if port is zero the use well known ldap port 389
if { $port == 0 } {
    set port 389
# PROBE START
# open connection
ace_debug "opening socket"
set sock [ socket -sslversion all -sslcipher RSA_WITH_RC4_128_MD5 $ip $port ]
fconfigure $sock -buffering line -translation binary
# send a standard anonymous bind request
ace_debug "sending ldap bind request"
puts -nonewline $sock [ binary format "H*" 300c020101600702010304008000 ]
flush $sock
# read string back from server
ace_debug "receiving ldap bind result"
set line [read $sock 14]
binary scan $line H* res
binary scan $line @7H6 code
ace_debug "received $res with code $code"
# close connection
ace_debug "closing socket"
close $sock
# make probe fail by exit with 30002 if ldap reply code != success code 0x0a0100
if { $code != "0a0100" } {
    ace_debug " probe failed : expect response code \'0a0100\' but received \'$code\'"
    exit 30002
## make probe success by exit with 30001
ace_debug "probe success"
exit 30001

Looking for a more suitable animation tool

I've been creating animations from sprites in After Effects, with mixed results. The input is a number of pixel art sprites (exported from elsewhere), and the output is a video, characters running around and interacting. I have AFX doing quite a lot, but it's very awkward and I'm pretty sure it's the wrong tool for the job. Can anyone either suggest better approaches, or more suitable software? I'll describe what I'm doing now:
- Many sprites are bodies or heads to combine, eg. a smiling or angry faces and walking or standing bodies. I set the head position for each body sprite, so any head fits in the right place on any body (trivial rigging), then apply it with a script, so I can change the body and the head moves to the right place automatically.
- Some sprites have multiple layers. For example, while heads are normally on top of bodies, a body may have an arm raised, which needs to be above the head instead of below it. I can create the extra layer for the body separately, and it works for any head.
- I can set the draw order per-layer. Usually, one character and all of its parts is drawn on top of another--body1, head1, body2, head2. But, if two characters collide, handshake, or interact in other complex ways, I may want to draw both bodies, and then both heads, even though the heads and bodies are still anchored normally. Some sprites may have multiple layers, eg. body, head, hands, legs. (Z position hack...)
- Individual layers can be adjusted separately, eg. to adjust the default head position downwards to give a nod.
- Some sprites are hue shifted (hair color, clothing color) or have more complex adjustments applied, so I can reuse more sprites.
(I'm only describing what I'm doing and not how. I wrote more detail about what I'm actually doing in AFX and the specific issues I'm having, but it was too long and people can probably already guess the practical issues of using AFX like this. I'll post more info if anybody asks.)
The result is functional, but a real hassle to actually work with. AFX is a compositing and effects tool and it's not really designed for animations, and only its scripting support has let me abuse it this much. I don't know of a better tool, though--searches for animation tools mostly come up with things like Spine (authoring individual models for importing into games), and nothing suitable for creating complex video animations from sprite sets.
There are probably many tools to do small pieces of this (sprite animation sequences, effects, scene animation, camera), but I'd really like to not split into a multi-tool workflow, since I want to experiment freely with a scene, not lay out an entire scene and then create it start to finish. Does anyone have any suggestions (or better places to ask)?

There are many other DTP applications:
http://www.freeforum101.com/iworktipsntrick/viewtopic.php?t=137&mforum=iworktips ntrick
You have to be more specific about what you are looking for.
Peter

Looking for some more experience...

Hi,
I've had a interest in video for some time now and am looking for more opportunities to learn the craft than I can get from the various books and tutorial materials. I have shot some local event video but I work full time and going out and getting jobs is difficult. To that end, I'm hoping to locate someone in the Western MA or Northern CT areas who could use an occasional assistant to help out a shoot. I have my own equipment and basic editing facillities. Please feel free to contact me via my profile e-mail.
Dan

OWC has the Drobo for what seems like a good price (for a Drobo), and it is empty.
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Data%20Robotics%2C%20Inc%2E/DRBSHRB/
A Drobo is like a RAID, except the data is redundantly stored using fancy built-in software, so you don't have to back it up to another location or worry about losing data if one drive fails. You can get more details at
http://www.drobo.com/
OWC sells most of their enclosures as a kit, where you add your own drive(s).
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/

Looking for a Mail utility/script to remove older newsletters

I subscribe to several newsletters from various companies (airlines, hotels, etc) and I'm looking for a utility/script that looks at incoming mail and zaps/displays older mailings since the new message supersedes the older ones. For instance, weekly discount offers come in and I want the previous ones from the same company to be automatically deleted. A confirmation window displaying the candidate messages to be deleted would be a nice feature.
Does anybody know of such a utility?
TIA

well, to catch an email you have to add the email address from the sender or distinctive text, so for simplification purposes you may have to create a rule for each newletter, rather than one rule with lots of text in that field. plus if you create one rule for each, then it is easier to troubleshoot if one newsletter does not get deleted in the way you have specified it.
glad i could help

Looking for professionals with Illustrator scripting experience near Nürnberg Germany

I work for a large consumer products company with a large in-house design team working on Illustrator as a main platform. I'm looking for advice on where to find individuals with a lot of Illustrator scripting experience to help our team for a limited time duration. Any thoughts on other forums, job posting sites etc. where I could search for this would be greatly appreciated. Our company is located near the Nürnberg metro area in Germany and ideally are looking for on-site help. Thanks!

I know at times it doesn't look like it but I do have a day job ( just about ) Carlos… Language would a problem too ( I just about do english as we brits do, pig ignorant bunch ) I've been to Hamburg and the beer was great thou…
I don't know why but I have think Chris Gebab may be from that way…

Looking for a free expression script

Hi guys,
So recently i bought Adobe CC and was eager to start with it. I forgot only one thing and that was to save my old scripts that i used in AE CS6.
It was a free expression script wich looks similar to this one: http://aescripts.com/ease-and-wizz/
It had things like "glue, bounce, expo in, wiggle" and more stuff. I tried my best Googling skills but i can't seem to find it.
Does anyone know wich one i mean? If i remember correctly, it was a free script.
Thanks in advance!
Bye bye!
Leroy

I finally found it. The script/tool i was looking for was this one:
http://aescripts.com/animationpatterns/
Thanks!

Looking for localize names of script folders

Hi, i'm trying to get a list of all the scriptfolder names.
This will solve path issues with other language versions of illustrator.
My script for now:
scriptfolder = {
en: "Scripts",
nl: "Scripts",
de: "Skripten"
var imageiconprinter = File(app.path+'/Presets.localized/' + app.locale + '/'+localize(scriptfolder)+'/idatabase/Images/Infopanel_heinerich/heinerichinfopanelprint er.png');
I've defined a country like de: which is german and put the correct foldername behind it.
I would love to have a list of all countrys.
if you don't have a list just fill in the foldername and countryname of your country.
Thanks
Daniel

Perhaps this helps a little bit. It is language-independent and shows the path (or the name) to the corresponding scripts folder completly.
#target Illustrator
// at first save this script and than run
var fo = File($.fileName).parent.fsName; //path to scripts folder
//var fo = File($.fileName).parent.name; // the name of scripts folder
alert (fo)
The result should always display the folder where the script is stored.

Looking for OD only binding script

Hello everyone,
after several weeks of trying different solutions we are stuck with trusted binding / OD binding in Deploy Studio.
We've added several workstations to our computers and they are renamed by a script this works fine.
The problem is that we have to add those workstations to our Open Directory and then add those workstations via OD to several groups.
The workstation is binded but it doesn't bind correctly.
We can see the OD server in the "Users and Groups" as "connected". But it's only bound locally (can only be seen on the workstation)
But it's not binded as we want it to be.
Our goal is that the workstation needs access to the directory (System Preferences -> Accounts -> Login Options -> Network Account Server -> Open Directory Access… --> LDAPv3 ...)
And then we have to use "Edit..."-> "bind" .After that the workstation is added to our OD and we can see it in our workgroup manager and add this workstation to the group.
Is it possible to solve this issue with Deploy Studio?
We've already tried to use "Enable trusted binding" but after imaging a workstation there is only the ouput "An error occured while trying to establish a trusted binding with the server "xxxxx",new attempt in 10 seconds..." and "Invalid credentials supplied for binding to the server" in the finalize script and the workstation has to be bound to the OD manually.
But the credentials are 100% correct.We are using the login of your OD-administrator account for the trusted binding.
We've also tried to activate trusted binding without any login information in the fields for "Directory Admin", after that there is no error but the workstation has to be bound manually again.
It would be great if there is anybody who has the same issue and maybe solved it or has any idea what to do here.
Sorry if the english description for several "buttons" aren't exactly,we are using a german version of MAC OS X (10.8.2). I hope everything is easy to understand.
Just tell me if you need any additional information about things.
DPS Version: 1.0 RC 135 (121112)
Kind regards
This is my post in the official DPS forums but there wasn't any reply except one that we could use an own OD binding script.
Is there anybody who has a working script?I found one but it has AD inside and I don't know if it's that easy to delete the AD parts from this script.
It would be great if there is someone who could help with this issue.
Kind regards

We're still looking for a solution for this issue as it still doesn't work.
We also tried to solve it with this script but it didn't work either:
#!/bin/bash
computerid=`scutil –get ComputerName`
dsconfigldap -v -f -a OD_SERVER -n OD_SERVER -c $computerid -u ADMIN_USERNAME -p ‘ADMIN_PASSWORD’
sleep 10
dscl /Search -create / SearchPolicy CSPSearchPath
dscl /Search -append / CSPSearchPath /LDAPv3/OD_SERVER
sleep 10
dscl /Search/Contacts -create / SearchPolicy CSPSearchPath
dscl /Search/Contacts -append / CSPSearchPath /LDAPv3/OD_SERVEROD_SERVER= FQDN of our OpenDirectory
ADMIN_USERNAME= account used for binding computers manually
ADMIN_PASSWORD= password for ADMIN_USERNAME
It would be great if there is somebody who could help us with this issue.
Kind regards

Security audit: Looking for a tool or script that lists al of the users in AD that have access to a folder on a computer

Thank you,

You should be able to find a third party auditing tool for this. But if you are looking for free one, you may need to update the logic, combine multiple scripts etc to achieve this.
1. Get the ACL of the folder using a tool
2. Translate the SID to an object in AD
3. If it is a group. Get the group members
3a. if it a nested group, get all members from all nested groups.
Santhosh Sivarajan | Houston, TX | www.sivarajan.com
ITIL,MCITP,MCTS,MCSE (W2K3/W2K/NT4),MCSA(W2K3/W2K/MSG),Network+,CCNA
Windows Server 2012 Book - Migrating from 2008 to Windows Server 2012
Blogs: Blogs
Twitter: Twitter
LinkedIn: LinkedIn
Facebook: Facebook
Microsoft Virtual Academy:
Microsoft Virtual Academy
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Looking for slide-in banner script..!

Where can I find a script featuring a slide-in banner feature -- the kind that pushes the content of the page downwards, but shifts it back up when an action is taken on it (like clicking the little "x")?
Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Hi
There are a number of plug-ins to do what you require, try -
http://www.tutcity.com/view/jquery-sliding-panel.19726.html
or for a more complete list - http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/web-development/jquery-image-galleries/
It may be necessary to find one that has the appearance you wish, then modify it by adding the close button and code for it to scroll to the closed position.
PZ

Looking for something more robust than global variables

Hi,
The company I work for makes really big deals based on the Forms we develop,
and it makes me edgy to rely on :Global.variables to assign big amounts of money
to a field or another.
Maybe someone could direct me to a paper about a more robust scheme to run tests deciding what is going to happen next, like calling another form or populating another block?
Many thanks :-)
Message was edited by:
JeanParis

JeanParis,
I did a quick Google search, but didn't find any reference material on you question so I'll give you my personal preference. Bear in mind, it truly was a "quick" search. I'm sure there is information about this topic somewhere.
I use a Global Variable (GV) when a value is needed by significant number of Forms in the application. If the value of the is only needed by a few Forms, then I use a Parameter List. When I do use GVs, I only use them for as long as I need them. In other words, I'll assign the value of the GV to a Forms Block Item (base table or Control Block) or a parameter and then set the value of the GV to NULL. This ensures the value is only available "Globally" for as long as it is absolutely needed. This does cause a little extra work, but it make the Form safer in my opinion.
If I simply need to have access to a "Global Variable" within the scope of a single form, I prefer to use a Form Parameter (FP). I like using using FPs over a Control Block (CB) Item because there is less overhead (attributes of a FP) than with an Item (attributes of the Item) in a CB. I know this is nit-picking, but there is a cost associated with each attribute that is loaded into memory and I like to keep this cost to a minimum. (I suppose if you sub-classed your CB Item then it would share the attributes and reduce the overhead even more). I develop Forms for the web using Forms 10g so any time I can shave off the load-time of my Form is worth it to me.
Hope this helps.
Craig...
Message was edited by:
CraigB
Steve beat me to the punch. I like his option as well and have used this method a time or two. :-)

Looking for a more universal scripting language than AppleScript or Automator

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