| 1 | F-Script Anywhere 1.1.5 [1 October 2002]
|
|---|
| 2 | =======================
|
|---|
| 3 |
|
|---|
| 4 | Add a F-Script interpreter to Cocoa applications dynamically.
|
|---|
| 5 |
|
|---|
| 6 | Written by Nicholas Riley <mailto:fsa@sabi.net>.
|
|---|
| 7 | Obtain updates from <http://web.sabi.net/nriley/software/>.
|
|---|
| 8 |
|
|---|
| 9 |
|
|---|
| 10 | WHAT IS IT?
|
|---|
| 11 | -----------
|
|---|
| 12 |
|
|---|
| 13 | Ever wanted to inspect a Cocoa applicationÕs objects from the inside?
|
|---|
| 14 | Frustrated with using GDB to debug Objective-C?
|
|---|
| 15 |
|
|---|
| 16 | You need F-Script Anywhere! (with apologies to Guido van Rossum)
|
|---|
| 17 |
|
|---|
| 18 |
|
|---|
| 19 | INSTALLATION
|
|---|
| 20 | ------------
|
|---|
| 21 |
|
|---|
| 22 | Install F-Script; you can download it at <http://www.fscript.org/>.
|
|---|
| 23 | In particular, make sure the framework is installed in a Frameworks
|
|---|
| 24 | directory, such as /Library/Frameworks or ~/Library/Frameworks.
|
|---|
| 25 |
|
|---|
| 26 | F-Script Anywhere 1.1.5 was tested with FScript.framework 1.2.2
|
|---|
| 27 | (20020604), Mac OS X 10.1.5 (5S66) and 10.2.1 (6D52). It may or may
|
|---|
| 28 | not work with earlier or later versions, I don't know. If you are
|
|---|
| 29 | using an earlier F-Script version, please upgrade.
|
|---|
| 30 |
|
|---|
| 31 |
|
|---|
| 32 | USAGE
|
|---|
| 33 | -----
|
|---|
| 34 |
|
|---|
| 35 | Open the F-Script Anywhere application. Pick a Cocoa application from
|
|---|
| 36 | the list and click Install or press return. F-Script Anywhere will
|
|---|
| 37 | either install itself in that application, give you an error message,
|
|---|
| 38 | or crash. (Hopefully not the latter!)
|
|---|
| 39 |
|
|---|
| 40 | Switch to the application, and you should find a ÒFSAÓ menu there.
|
|---|
| 41 | Select ÒNew F-Script WorkspaceÓ to display a F-Script workspace.
|
|---|
| 42 | This behaves like any other workspace, except it's executing within
|
|---|
| 43 | the context of the application.
|
|---|
| 44 |
|
|---|
| 45 | You can also install F-Script Anywhere by using its dock menu. If
|
|---|
| 46 | the frontmost application is a Cocoa application, just pick ÒInstallÉÓ
|
|---|
| 47 | from the menu and F-Script Anywhere will install in that application.
|
|---|
| 48 | If F-Script Anywhere canÕt install, the menu item will tell you so,
|
|---|
| 49 | or F-Script AnywhereÕs icon will bounce to indicate a pending sheet
|
|---|
| 50 | explaining the problem.
|
|---|
| 51 |
|
|---|
| 52 | When you're finished, quit the application before quitting F-Script
|
|---|
| 53 | Anywhere, otherwise the application will crash. This is an inherent
|
|---|
| 54 | limitation of the Objective-C runtime, and I can't do anything about
|
|---|
| 55 | it. F-Script Anywhere will warn you if you try to quit it when it's
|
|---|
| 56 | still installed in active applications.
|
|---|
| 57 |
|
|---|
| 58 |
|
|---|
| 59 | BUILDING
|
|---|
| 60 | --------
|
|---|
| 61 |
|
|---|
| 62 | The source to F-Script Anywhere is included. It has a number of
|
|---|
| 63 | dependencies.
|
|---|
| 64 |
|
|---|
| 65 | 1. Install FScript.framework (see above).
|
|---|
| 66 |
|
|---|
| 67 | 2. Install libPatch 1.2.1.
|
|---|
| 68 |
|
|---|
| 69 | <http://web.sabi.net/nriley/software/libPatch-1.2.1.tgz>
|
|---|
| 70 |
|
|---|
| 71 | I'd suggest you do it this way:
|
|---|
| 72 |
|
|---|
| 73 | % cd /
|
|---|
| 74 | % sudo gnutar --preserve-permissions -zxf libPatch-1.2.1.tgz
|
|---|
| 75 | Password:
|
|---|
| 76 | (please don't use StuffIt Expander)
|
|---|
| 77 |
|
|---|
| 78 | This installs files in /Developer/Examples and
|
|---|
| 79 | /usr/local/{bin,include,lib}. If you're paranoid, you may want to
|
|---|
| 80 | check the contents of the directory before installing.
|
|---|
| 81 |
|
|---|
| 82 | Please note that the layout of the libPatch distribution has changed
|
|---|
| 83 | since libPatch 1.0; the above instructions will not work for 1.0.
|
|---|
| 84 |
|
|---|
| 85 | I did not write libPatch, but am distributing it for your convenience
|
|---|
| 86 | because it may be unavailable from its original source. libPatch is
|
|---|
| 87 | unsupported; please do not contact libPatchÕs author for support.
|
|---|
| 88 |
|
|---|
| 89 | 3. Check out the source of 'otool' from the Darwin CVS repository.
|
|---|
| 90 | This is required because there's a bug in the function that returns
|
|---|
| 91 | the 'flavo(u)r' of an application: Cocoa, Carbon, Classic, etc.
|
|---|
| 92 | It identifies all Cocoa applications as Carbon ones. So as a
|
|---|
| 93 | workaround, F-Script Anywhere examines the application itself to
|
|---|
| 94 | see what libraries it links with. (This may fail if you're doing
|
|---|
| 95 | something weird like linking to development versions of Foundation
|
|---|
| 96 | and AppKit, but since I don't work for Apple, I couldn't test that
|
|---|
| 97 | eventuality.)
|
|---|
| 98 |
|
|---|
| 99 | Check out Commands/Apple/cctools/{include,libstuff} from Darwin
|
|---|
| 100 | CVS into the "Darwin source" directory. If you don't have a CVS
|
|---|
| 101 | account, go to <http://www.opensource.apple.com/> and get one.
|
|---|
| 102 |
|
|---|
| 103 | cd to the libstuff directory and type 'make' (it doesn't use
|
|---|
| 104 | jam/pbxbuild). I _think_ this is all you need.
|
|---|
| 105 |
|
|---|
| 106 | 4. Open 'F-Script Anywhere.pbproj' in Project Builder and build the
|
|---|
| 107 | Application target. It depends on the Library target, so you don't
|
|---|
| 108 | need to build it separately. You shouldnÕt see any errors or
|
|---|
| 109 | warnings, and the F-Script Anywhere application (as well as the
|
|---|
| 110 | library, which you can ignore because it is also copied into the
|
|---|
| 111 | application bundle) will appear in the build product directory.
|
|---|
| 112 |
|
|---|
| 113 | If you have any problems building F-Script Anywhere, please let me
|
|---|
| 114 | know.
|
|---|
| 115 |
|
|---|
| 116 |
|
|---|
| 117 | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
|
|---|
| 118 | --------------------------
|
|---|
| 119 |
|
|---|
| 120 | Q. What is F-Script?
|
|---|
| 121 |
|
|---|
| 122 | A. F-Script is a dialect of Smalltalk which includes a bridge to
|
|---|
| 123 | the Objective-C runtime on Mac OS X. It's open-source, and
|
|---|
| 124 | very nice. Its author, Philippe Mougin, has written several
|
|---|
| 125 | articles on it, and documentation is available from the
|
|---|
| 126 | F-Script Web site:
|
|---|
| 127 |
|
|---|
| 128 | <http://www.fscript.org/>
|
|---|
| 129 |
|
|---|
| 130 |
|
|---|
| 131 | Q. How do you access user interface elements?
|
|---|
| 132 |
|
|---|
| 133 | A. One way is to access a window and its views programmatically:
|
|---|
| 134 |
|
|---|
| 135 | > app := NSApplication sharedApplication
|
|---|
| 136 |
|
|---|
| 137 | > windows := app windows
|
|---|
| 138 |
|
|---|
| 139 | > windows
|
|---|
| 140 | NSCFArray {<NSWindow: 0x186770>, <NSWindow: 0x1ba4a0>, <NSWindow:
|
|---|
| 141 | 0x1f0cea0>}
|
|---|
| 142 |
|
|---|
| 143 | > windows collect: [:each | each title]
|
|---|
| 144 |
|
|---|
| 145 | error: an instance of NSWindow does not respond to "collect:"
|
|---|
| 146 |
|
|---|
| 147 | (...a gentle reminder that this is not Smalltalk...)
|
|---|
| 148 |
|
|---|
| 149 | > windows title
|
|---|
| 150 | {'F-Script', '', ''}
|
|---|
| 151 |
|
|---|
| 152 | (...but F-Script has some tricks of its own...)
|
|---|
| 153 |
|
|---|
| 154 | > fsw := windows at: 0
|
|---|
| 155 |
|
|---|
| 156 | > fswView := fsw contentView
|
|---|
| 157 |
|
|---|
| 158 | To open an F-Script object browser on fswView, type:
|
|---|
| 159 |
|
|---|
| 160 | > sys browse: fswView
|
|---|
| 161 |
|
|---|
| 162 | Or, click ÒNew Browser: Object...Ó, then click on fswView.
|
|---|
| 163 | Click 'subviews' in the message list. You can use 'subviews'
|
|---|
| 164 | repeatedly on container views if needed.
|
|---|
| 165 |
|
|---|
| 166 |
|
|---|
| 167 | Q. ThatÕs too hard, especially all that scrolling.
|
|---|
| 168 |
|
|---|
| 169 | A. If you need to access a view (such as a button or text field), menu or
|
|---|
| 170 | window, youÕre in luck. Click in an F-Script workspace window, then
|
|---|
| 171 | choose ÒAssociate With InterfaceÓ from the ÒFSAÓ menu.
|
|---|
| 172 | Follow the instructions in the window to select a user interface
|
|---|
| 173 | element, view it in an object browser or assign it to a variable.
|
|---|
| 174 |
|
|---|
| 175 |
|
|---|
| 176 | Q. F-Script Anywhere fails miserably on Jaguar.
|
|---|
| 177 |
|
|---|
| 178 | A. It shouldnÕt. Apple re-added support for libPatch to Jaguar late
|
|---|
| 179 | in the development process, with the result that F-Script Anywhere
|
|---|
| 180 | works. libPatch nevertheless needs to be replaced with a more
|
|---|
| 181 | robust mechanism, and I am currently working on using the Application
|
|---|
| 182 | Enhancer SDK <http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/ape/sdk/> for a future
|
|---|
| 183 | version of F-Script Anywhere.
|
|---|
| 184 |
|
|---|
| 185 |
|
|---|
| 186 | Q. F-Script Anywhere fails to recognize Spring as a Cocoa application.
|
|---|
| 187 |
|
|---|
| 188 | A. Yes, I'm aware of the irony: I contributed code to Spring. Spring
|
|---|
| 189 | uses a unique application launching mechanism which makes it
|
|---|
| 190 | difficult to determine what type of application it is. The only
|
|---|
| 191 | current workaround is to upgrade to Jaguar, where Spring will be
|
|---|
| 192 | correctly identified. This problem will be remedied with the move
|
|---|
| 193 | to Application Enhancer, described above, in a future version of
|
|---|
| 194 | F-Script Anywhere.
|
|---|
| 195 |
|
|---|
| 196 |
|
|---|
| 197 | Q. I donÕt like F-ScriptÕs syntax. I don't like the object browser.
|
|---|
| 198 | I donÕt like you either.
|
|---|
| 199 |
|
|---|
| 200 | A. I didnÕt write F-Script. Please address your questions to
|
|---|
| 201 | F-ScriptÕs author or the F-Script mailing list.
|
|---|
| 202 |
|
|---|
| 203 | <http://www.fscript.org/contacts.htm>
|
|---|
| 204 |
|
|---|
| 205 | Oh, and get lost.
|
|---|
| 206 |
|
|---|
| 207 |
|
|---|
| 208 | Q. My question isn't answered here.
|
|---|
| 209 |
|
|---|
| 210 | A. That's not a question. But if you have a question about F-Script
|
|---|
| 211 | Anywhere, a suggestion or a bug to report, please email it to me at
|
|---|
| 212 | <fsa@sabi.net>. Please try to keep your messages short and to the
|
|---|
| 213 | point, and I'll get back to you as soon as my schedule will allow.
|
|---|
| 214 | Thanks!
|
|---|
| 215 |
|
|---|
| 216 |
|
|---|
| 217 | VERSION HISTORY
|
|---|
| 218 | ---------------
|
|---|
| 219 |
|
|---|
| 220 | 1.1.6 - - better manage window on startup (only display
|
|---|
| 221 | when launch complete)
|
|---|
| 222 | 1.1.5 - 1 October 2002 - better identify Cocoa vs. Carbon applications
|
|---|
| 223 | on Jaguar; added hierarchical window list to
|
|---|
| 224 | FSA menu; fixed startup crash on Puma with
|
|---|
| 225 | certain Carbon CFM applications
|
|---|
| 226 | 1.1.4 - 25 August 2002 - fixed miscellaneous Jaguar issues; worked
|
|---|
| 227 | around broken application quit notifications;
|
|---|
| 228 | added unique interpreter/associate window titles
|
|---|
| 229 | 1.1.3 - 24 July 2002 - added bullseye-menu targeting cursor; added menu
|
|---|
| 230 | association; work around bug by stopping capture
|
|---|
| 231 | on suspend; added delegate, data source, target,
|
|---|
| 232 | cell selection for views; window controller for
|
|---|
| 233 | windows
|
|---|
| 234 | 1.1.2 - 18 July 2002 - fixed more startup issues with list management;
|
|---|
| 235 | properly scale icons of apps which have no
|
|---|
| 236 | small icons; added user interface association
|
|---|
| 237 | 1.1.1 - 3 July 2002 - fixed inefficiencies responsible for long
|
|---|
| 238 | startup time; reorganized Window menu; support
|
|---|
| 239 | paths to applications which contain non-ASCII
|
|---|
| 240 | characters [Martin Hcker]; added sample code
|
|---|
| 241 | to grab UI elements [Philippe Mougin]; cleaned
|
|---|
| 242 | up code and distribution layout
|
|---|
| 243 | 1.1 - 25 April 2002 - revised terminology; updated for F-Script 1.2;
|
|---|
| 244 | zoom to fit in application list; added help
|
|---|
| 245 | tags for workspace; focus workspace initially
|
|---|
| 246 | 1.0.2 - (unreleased) - minor cleanups, added error messages, updated
|
|---|
| 247 | scroll view component for faster UI response,
|
|---|
| 248 | removed help menu item because it's useless
|
|---|
| 249 | 1.0.1 - 1 March 2002 - corrected message for error 5; libPatch 1.2;
|
|---|
| 250 | fixed endless confirmation on window close
|
|---|
| 251 | 1.0.1d1 1 February 2002 - added error messages
|
|---|
| 252 | 1.0 - 3 February 2002 - added dock menu, URL launching, check for
|
|---|
| 253 | F-Script framework, floating window,
|
|---|
| 254 | application name in interpreter window title,
|
|---|
| 255 | fixed bugs, cleaned up error handling,
|
|---|
| 256 | licensed under the GPL (because of ASM code),
|
|---|
| 257 | packaged, added Read Me file and license
|
|---|
| 258 | 1.0d1 - 1 February 2002 - proof of feasibility, private test version
|
|---|
| 259 |
|
|---|
| 260 |
|
|---|
| 261 | CREDITS
|
|---|
| 262 | -------
|
|---|
| 263 |
|
|---|
| 264 | Thanks to the following people for their software and generous
|
|---|
| 265 | donations of source code:
|
|---|
| 266 |
|
|---|
| 267 | Philippe Mougin, for F-Script
|
|---|
| 268 | Mike Ferris, for TextExtras
|
|---|
| 269 | Apple, for Darwin
|
|---|
| 270 | Frank Vercruesse, for ASM |
|---|
