Language Guide

G L O S S A R Y
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command A word or phrase that requests
an action. In AppleScript, there are four
types of commands: AppleScript commands,
application commands, scripting additions,
and user-defined commands.
command handler A handler for an
application or system command. Command
handlers are similar to subroutines, but
instead of defining responses to user-defined
commands, they define responses to com-
mands, such as Open, Print, or Move, that
are sent to application objects.
comment Descriptive text that is ignored
by AppleScript when a script is executed.
compile In AppleScript, to convert a
script from the form typed into a script
editor to a form that can be used by
AppleScript. The process of compiling a
script includes syntax and vocabulary
checks. A script is compiled when you first
run it and again when you modify it and
then run it again, save it, or check its syntax.
compiled script The form to which a
script is converted when you compile it. The
form of a compiled script is independent of
the dialect in which a script is written.
complete reference A reference that has
enough information to identify an object or
objects uniquely. For a reference to an applica-
tion object to be complete, its outermost
container must be the application itself.
composite value A value that contains
other values. AppleScript has three types of
composite values: lists, records, and strings.
compound statement A statement that
occupies more than one line and contains
other statements. A compound statement
begins with a reserved word indicating its
function and ends with the word end.
conditional statement See If statement.
Considering statement A control state-
ment that lists a specific set of attributes to
be considered when AppleScript performs
operations on strings or sends commands to
applications.
constant A reserved word defined by
AppleScript or an application in its dictio-
nary. Constant is an AppleScript value class.
container An object that contains one or
more other objects, known as elements. You
specify containers with the reserved words
of or in.
continuation character A character ()
used in the Script Editor to extend a
statement to the next line.
control statement A statement that
controls when and how one or more other
statements are executed. The types of control
statements you can use in AppleScript are
Tell, If, Repeat, Considering and Ignoring,
With Timeout, and With Transaction.
current application Either the default
target application or whatever application
is currently set as a script’s parent property.
current directory The folder or volume
whose contents you can see when you
choose Open or the equivalent command
from an application’s File menu.