21–30 of 51 posts
Every application I use daily is scriptable. My OS is scriptable. My shell is scriptable. My text editor is scriptable. I hate to be negative, but I call BS.
Do you use scripting on your smartphone or tablet?
(Admittedly, my tablet is a raspberry pi duct-taped to a LCD screen, but I would have the same expectations of a 'proper' tablet. (Which is a major factor in why I am using a raspberry pi duct-taped to a LCD screen.))
First, there was no guarantee you could get useful data out of the programs of the PC and Mac era if they didn't explicitly support getting data out. I've got tons of sheet music in a Windows 3.1-era notation program that I can't get out, because it's stored in a binary format and there's no built-in exporter.
Second, APIs for web services actually do support lots of this. I have a very tiny script taking all my Foursquare checkins and sending them to a private Slack, for instance. I wrote the script. I didn't need approval from Foursquare or Slack.
I wonder if the author has actually tried using any APIs. The fact that some '90s desktop apps were easily scriptable and some '10s web services aren't scriptable has nothing to do with them being desktop apps or web services.
(Not to mention most '10s web services being scrapable. I don't remember any screen-scraping tools for Windows 3.1 or classic Mac UIs that were anywhere near as good as the web-scraping tools we have today.)
Every application I use daily is scriptable. My OS is scriptable. My shell is scriptable. My text editor is scriptable. I hate to be negative, but I call BS.
Do you use scripting on your smartphone or tablet?
All very true. But what to do about it? The hubris, that is.
Every application I use daily is scriptable. My OS is scriptable. My shell is scriptable. My text editor is scriptable. I hate to be negative, but I call BS.
Even if you don't, I assume that you are a programmer based on context and your comment, which means that the applications you use were designed for people who know how to program and therefore are more likely to be interested in scripting. Also, as a programmer, you're more likely to be using a lot of free software tools even if you're not running a libre system.
Take iTunes for instance. On Windows I'm under the impression that it's not at all scriptable. On OS X there's AppleScript, but it's somewhat underpowered (I remember back in my Apple days I tried scripting it and found that some metadata fields were inaccessible from AppleScript, namely Album Artist. It's also woefully underdocumented.
Every application I use daily is scriptable. My OS is scriptable. My shell is scriptable. My text editor is scriptable. I hate to be negative, but I call BS.
Do you use scripting on your smartphone or tablet?
Also, truth be told, since I got a smartphone, the muses just haven't spoken to me with an idea of something to script, that's interesting enough to capture my attention.
Lack of a decent keyboard and editor are barriers for me. I need a larger screen simply to see what I'm doing, in my old age. And most of what I do with scripting, nowadays, has to do with things that are not on my phone anyway, such as processing big files and interacting with measurement instruments.
What's happened instead is that I got a tablet with an OS that's scriptable, and that has a detachable keyboard. Now, all I have to do is wait for those damn muses to speak up. ;-)
Every application I use daily is scriptable. My OS is scriptable. My shell is scriptable. My text editor is scriptable. I hate to be negative, but I call BS.
Do you use scripting on your smartphone or tablet?
Then as far as development, its pretty much a necessity.
Every application I use daily is scriptable. My OS is scriptable. My shell is scriptable. My text editor is scriptable. I hate to be negative, but I call BS.
Do you run a free software focused system like GNU/Linux? They're much more scriptable than OS X and Windows because (1) a lot of programs embrace the Unix interoperability conventions and (2) free software means that if someone felt that a program's scripting facilities are lacking they can submit a patch. Even if you don't, I assume that you are a programmer based on context and your comment, which means that the a…
Can you script copy and paste or move the cursor? It will be used for nefarious purposes, block it. Can you install and run apps as a user from your home directory? That is a security hole, should be disabled. Can you read windows' titles and move windows around? That is an information leak, it should be plugged. I like secure system just like everybody but I am worried that this will interfere with my pleasant very automated computer life.
But this article is about something else, so I will stop the rant here.