| 1 | appswitch 1.0b2 [11 February 2003] |
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| 2 | =============== |
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| 3 | |
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| 4 | A command-line interface to the Mac OS X process manager. |
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| 5 | |
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| 6 | Written by Nicholas Riley <mailto:appswitch@sabi.net>. |
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| 7 | Obtain updates from <http://web.sabi.net/nriley/software/>. |
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| 8 | |
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| 9 | WHAT IS IT? |
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| 10 | ----------- |
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| 11 | |
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| 12 | If you use shell scripts to automate Mac OS X applications, you may |
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| 13 | need to switch between applications. You could use AppleScript via |
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| 14 | osascript(1), but that would take several seconds for the script to |
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| 15 | compile and execute - or you could use appswitch, which works almost |
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| 16 | instantly. |
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| 17 | |
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| 18 | Say you're launching an X11 application from Terminal but the X server |
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| 19 | isn't in front when you need it. Use appswitch to fix the problem. |
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| 20 | |
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| 21 | Or, if you'd like a version of the ps(1) utility which understands the |
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| 22 | concept of OS X applications, appswitch can help. |
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| 23 | |
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| 24 | INSTALLATION |
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| 25 | ------------ |
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| 26 | |
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| 27 | The commands below install the 'appswitch' tool in /usr/local/bin, |
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| 28 | which is in the default path. You should subsequently be able to use |
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| 29 | 'appswitch' by typing its name. If you wish to install it somewhere |
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| 30 | else, modify the install line as appropriate. |
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| 31 | |
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| 32 | % sudo /usr/bin/install -d /usr/local/bin /usr/local/man/man1 |
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| 33 | % sudo /usr/bin/install -c build/appswitch /usr/local/bin |
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| 34 | % sudo /usr/bin/install -c appswitch.1 /usr/local/man/man1 |
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| 35 | % rehash |
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| 36 | |
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| 37 | Uninstallation: |
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| 38 | |
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| 39 | % sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/appswitch |
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| 40 | |
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| 41 | COMPILATION |
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| 42 | ----------- |
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| 43 | |
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| 44 | A Project Builder project, 'appswitch.pbproj', is included. A |
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| 45 | precompiled binary is also provided. 'appswitch' was developed and |
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| 46 | tested under Mac OS 10.2.4 with the December 2002 Developer Tools, |
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| 47 | and does not require any additional software to build. |
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| 48 | |
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| 49 | USAGE |
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| 50 | ----- |
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| 51 | |
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| 52 | Just type 'appswitch' by itself to receive usage information. See the |
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| 53 | manual page (man appswitch) for more information. |
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| 54 | |
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| 55 | If you're curious about the speed difference between appswitch and |
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| 56 | other methods, this should give you some indication. |
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| 57 | |
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| 58 | appswitch -a Emacs 0.00s user 0.02s system 5% cpu 0.355 total |
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| 59 | appswitch -i com.gnu.Emacs 0.01s user 0.04s system 13% cpu 0.381 total |
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| 60 | open -a Emacs 0.30s user 0.15s system 53% cpu 0.842 total |
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| 61 | osascript -e 'tell application "Emacs" to activate' |
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| 62 | 0.66s user 0.42s system 45% cpu 2.361 total |
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| 63 | |
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| 64 | The above tests were performed on a PowerBook G4/800; slower systems |
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| 65 | should show more dramatic differences. |
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| 66 | |
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| 67 | COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, BUG REPORTS, ETC. |
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| 68 | ---------------------------------------- |
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| 69 | |
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| 70 | Please send to the author, Nicholas Riley, at <appswitch@sabi.net>. |
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| 71 | |
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| 72 | VERSION HISTORY |
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| 73 | --------------- |
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| 74 | |
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| 75 | 1.0b2 - 11 February 2003 |
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| 76 | - display ? characters for unprintable creator code characters |
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| 77 | (e.g. java) |
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| 78 | - fixed -P/-p error in man page |
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| 79 | - revised and clarified man page |
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| 80 | 1.0b1 - 10 February 2003 |
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| 81 | - added -S, -S, -h, -H, -k, -P, -l, -F options |
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| 82 | - fixed reference to bogus -u option |
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| 83 | - fixed bug where unknown match type was silently discarded |
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| 84 | - added man page and this README |
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| 85 | 1.0d1 - 4 February 2003 |
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| 86 | - initial release |
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