December, 2006 - AppleScript Code Libraries.
If you have been reading my columns for a while (prior to my introductory series on scripting different applications), then you may know that I am somewhat of a subroutine handler fanatic. I feel that handlers are an extremely important part of AppleScript development, and that every AppleScripter should be using them quite often. Unfortunately, many AppleScript developers do not.
There are many benefits to using handlers in a script. Let's discuss a few of these briefly. Handlers provide a mechanism for modularizing AppleScript code into generic chunks, which can be called from multiple locations within a script. This can lead to more efficient script writing. Instead of spending time writing virtually the same code over and over again throughout a script, you can instead focus more time on writing a solid and reliable handler, which can be called numerous times throughout the script. Not only does this help to cut down on the total amount of code you need to write in a script, but it also helps to provide a more focused completed script. Because multiple sections of the script call the same handler code, there are typically fewer areas to troubleshoot if problems do occur during execution. Furthermore, if written modularly enough, it may even be possible to extract a handler from a script, and plug it into other scripts, potentially reducing script writing time in the future too. This leads me into the main focus of this month's column, AppleScript code libraries.
