Learn AppleScript: The Comprehensive Guide to Scripting and Automation on Mac OS X (Learn (Apress))

Without any doubt, this is the most up-to-date and complete guide to AppleScript. Covering AppleScript 2 and the Mac OSX, the text is complete without being too lenthy and boring. The explanations are complete, and yet succinct, a rarety in programming texts, and well suited to both the beginner and the experienced user of earlier versions of AppleScript. Loaded with many easy to follow, yet highly informative examples of useable scripts, as well as the most complete covering of controlling AppleScript unfriendly applications via GUI scripting I have seen to date. The primary focus is in AppleScripting OS X v6, with relevant info about v5. All that, with the incredibly low prices available, this is a terrific value to anyone interested in programming the Mac OSX.

I bought this over a year ago, and it was a great place to quickly get used to the Applescript syntax, which can be really confusing. I have prior programming experience and this book made sense in every page. I also think that someone who has never fiddled around with programming would have a good start with the book itself. I would also recommend "AppleScriptObjC Explored" if you are going to be creating Applescript projects with Xcode. It is not available thru Amazon but you buy directly from the author, who does an outstanding job helping you out when you are stumped.

I have numerous books on applescript. This is probably the best of the best for beginners and advanced as well. Very comprehensive. Covers almost everything you will need, except for the specific applications.

On only about the 5th chapter, and I just thought I'd report that so far this book has only had one complete exercise in I think chapter 3. Most of the book seems descriptive. He explains all aspects of AppleScript, but you read for pages and pages and he never really seems to connect what he's describing to creating actual practical scripts. He could have put exercises at the end of chapters so that readers could merge theory with practice. It's clear the author knows his subject, but I think the First Head writers would do a better job at making a book like this one of practical use. I really find it annoying when authors explain complex definitions and then sum by saying, "now that you understand so and so." It's like why do you think that just because you have explained something, your readers are supposed to understand it? That's not how learning works. Learning comes through practice, and trail and error. When for example he defines and talks about class and properties, he should have readers do an exercise that helps them understand what he just spent five pages talking about. Anyway, I'm going to keep reading; if it gets any better, I'll come back and update my review. If you don't have an prior experience with AppleScript and you're ready to jump into actually doing so, this book is not the best one to begin with. If you do have experience, this might make good reference book.

This book is very good read. It is loaded with examples and full explanation of the concepts. I found it very useful in both as a learning tool and as a reference.

I was completely ignorant of AppleScript and this book took me step by step through the process. The book is very detailed and easy to follow.

So the 1st link I come to in the book has an incorrect address. I couldn't find the errata sheet on the publisher's site and their customer service was of no help. They 1st wanted my amazon order number so they could help. I gave it to them. Then then said it was no good and needed my proof of purchase. I sent that to them in an email. They said they couldn't read it / open it. So I then sent it as .pdf. They then replied than they needed my ticket no., log in id to their site and my customer id. None of which I have because I am not a part of their site... TERRIBLE. I returned the book.

I got this because I wanted to get in to the world of AppleScript and all the info and descriptions said that it was for beginners of all types. The biggest problem I had, coming from not already being entrenched in this world, was that the order of the chapters, the knowledge given in each, did not seem to be in a learnable order. Several times, the author would mention something in a chapter that relied on something that wouldn't be taught for several more chapters yet. I just ended up getting first confused, then frustrated and finally stopped using this book. Instead I started AppleScript Programming for the Absolute Beginner which I found significantly more helpful.

I had already purchased a couple of recommended books, AppleScript 1-2-3 and AppleScript, The Definitive Guide. While these were good in their own way when I was looking for help in how to do deal with a particular situation I had difficulty in finding this in these two books. As a beginner to AppleScript I was looking for something that was more in the way of a Cookbook and I found that this book filled the bill. It has a very comprehensive index and in its 1,000+ pages I have so far found everything I've been looking for. It is a bit out of date but this has not concerned me.

Inhalt: für mich ausführlich. Exzellentes Lehrbuch. Ausgezeichnetes Nachschlagwerk. Sprache: pittoresk, lebendig, ergreifend. Stil: mit ähnlichem Interesse und Unwillen, das Buch weg zu legen, las ich Stieg Larssons Millennium Trilogie. Fazit: für alle Anfänger – zögert NICHT! Das Buch ist ein Erlebnis und hinterlässt mehr als Einiges. Die Profis sollen selber entscheiden; ich bin keiner.

I haven't gone through the entire book yet, but I can say the different aspects of AppleScript are explained well in small topics and in logical steps. AppleScript is not as straight forward as it is often presented and the author does a good job of braking it down in small bits with plenty of explanations. Even if I haven't finished reading it, I can say it is the best source of AppleScript information I have come across yet.

Great book and very useful

Auch wenn schon etwas älter, ein gut geschriebener, mit vielen sinnvollen Tips und Hinweisen versehener Einstieg in AppleScript, der zudem noch zu einigen weiterführenden Themen (OOP, Cocoa, AppleScriptObjC,...) einen ersten Zugang liefert. Man merkt, dass die Autoren sich das Ziel gesetzt haben, ein GUTES Buch zu schreiben. Absolut sein Geld wert.