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Authors: Sal Soghoian and Bill Cheeseman
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Edition: First (January 9, 2009)
ISBN 10: 0321149319
ISBN 13: 978-0321149312
Pages: 896
Price: $44.99

It’s been called the “Chinese Democracy” of the Apple community by Andy Ihnatko. The book that we all knew Sal Soghoian, Apple’s product manager for AppleScript, would someday write, though we waited and waited. Well, that day has come, and thankfully it doesn’t share a whole lot more in common with Chinese Democracy. For instance, you won’t regret buying it. It also won’t get you a free Dr. Pepper. So are you ready to automate away repetitive tasks?

Funny that Andy Ihnatko should make reference to how long it took for this book to come out.  Sal Soghoian has actually been waiting for a decent (indecent?) amount of time to publish these 880 pages of pure gold. Too bad you can’t automate publishing…or can you? (Clearly not, otherwise Sal would have beaten us all to it).  In any event, the book is out now; published by Peach Pit press in the Apple Training series.  Plus, it’s Apple Certified so you know it’s good to the core.

It only takes one chapter of this book to realize that AppleScript can be as simple or complicated as you make it; or indeed, as weak or as powerful as you desire.  Within one chapter you’ll be writing simple AppleScripts.  But don’t worry, Sal doesn’t throw you into the deep end of the scripting pool. Rather, he taps you just enough to fall into the shallow end.  The first chapter teaches you all about scripting simple things about the Finder, an application that we all use everyday.  While this might not be extremely useful, the ideas apply to all scriptable applications.

Sal will hold your hand as much as you need throughout AppleScript 1-2-3.  You don’t need to have any previous experience with anything other than possibly a Mac.  You don’t have to be a programmer, because everything is clearly explained from the basics.  He provides a ton of sample code to get you started, and you’ll find yourself exploring along the way.  That’s the sign of a good book, in my opinion—whether it can get you thinking.  I know I was experimenting the whole way through, and I discovered some fun things as a result.  If you are more familiar with such things, you can speed through certain portions of the book, which is fine too.

I should take a quick break and address those of you who don’t know what Applescript is.  Shame on you.  Actually, you’re far more likely to have heard a bit about its automating powers already.  You might have even told yourself you wanted to learn it, if you only had the time.  I know I’ve used that excuse enough times. It’s okay, really.

AppleScript is a scripting language that allows you, through English-like sentences, to tell your computer to do various things.  For instance, you can move a window, change its size, open an application, delete a file, etc. What may surprise you is how much like the English language AppleScript actually is. There are nouns and verbs, and tell blocks.  Okay, that last part is a bit different, but hey, it’s a scripting language.

AppleScript Utility is the application you’ll use to write AppleScripts, and it comes with your Mac.  Sal gives you a full tour and some information that you might not have found anywhere else.  In chapter two of this book you’ll find out all about the Dictionary.  No, not the book that I always argued was readable to my elementary school teachers, but it’s similar.  This Dictionary will help you find the commands you want to use inside in your AppleScripts.  If you want to tell your program to do something, this is where you look.  Unfortunately, Dictionary support varies by application, as it is provided by the developers who wish to have their apps be scriptable.

If you’ve ever used my favorite excuse for not learning something (I just don’t have the time), and you’re now ready to change, this is the book for you.  AppleScript is a powerful tool, and AppleScript 1-2-3 is the next best thing to being best buds with Sal.  AppleScript is not as hard or intimidating as you might think, and this book will make you realize that for yourself.  And let’s be honest, who would you rather have teach you AppleScript than Sal Soghoian?  I don’t know of a better person for the job.  So take the next few weekends and learn something useful already!