How to access/employ Bash.

The app is seemingly not notarized, which is the main issue.

TN3127: Inside Code Signing: Requirements | Apple Developer Documentation

TN3125: Inside Code Signing: Provisioning Profiles | Apple Developer Documentation

etc

The second involves a wad of bash that wants to access a macOS component known as System Events, which can be for various legitimate or nefarious reasons. Usually, it’s a bash script calling osascript to script something in the GUI. This path — scripting the GUI — tends to be more fragile.

Using an ePub would seem easier, but here are. Probably don’t want to get the books into DRM’d ePub or interactive ePub format, for whatever reasons, and created this viewing app.

Historically, these bespoke content- and media-viewing apps tend to vaporize and the content then becomes less than accessible or inaccessible. Piles of picture-viewing apps using some weird format or another disappeared some years ago, for instance. Given this one seems somewhat under-maintained, I’d not be all that comfortable with its future.

Bash is built in to macOS, but is less preferred to the newer zsh. You shouldn't need to install anything, and I've never been asked to allow bash to take control of my system, despite all the scripts I've written and deployed. Something seems off with this software.

Nicfarrow wrote:

Full disclosure (means I failed to tell you that)... my 21" 2017 iMac does not update to Sonoma, so is still operating on Ventura 13.6.6. The MacBook Air (M1) is on Sonoma.

That's irrelevant. You would need to be running an OS version much, much older in order for this to app to work.

I have been chasing the publishers for about two years on this, and this year, they finally came up with the idea I first mentioned.

I'm surprised they did that much. This app was abandoned at least a decade ago, if not longer.

Pity I rejected Bash, but there it is. Might have worked.

Those are two different dialogs. You can always do as your screen shot advises. There is no guarantee that will help. That 2017 date on your screenshot is misleading. This app dates from 2007, if not before.

I should just get back to them yet again.

Don't waste your time there.

The best thing to do is delete that app and try to install it from the original CD. This time, allow access for any dialog that comes up. There may be several. Follow Apple's instructions here to bypass that malicious software check: Open a Mac app from an unidentified developer - Apple Support

You might have more luck if this content is offered as an iPhone or iPad app. I'm not saying that will work, I'm saying you'll have a 5.7% of success instead of a 3.2% chances of success, and 5.7 is more than 3.2.

Could you provide the url for downloading this software?

I notice the system requirements do not list 14/sonoma, only earlier macOS versions. Is it possible the apps need updating? Do you know of other users with Sonoma who have gotten the app to work ok?

I would start with www.scriptingosx.com and go from there to begin learning bash. The author literally wrote the book on bash scripting for macOS and has links to tons of resources to help you grow. Bash and Python are extremely useful tools for Mac users (and even more so for Mac Admins and Mac Engineers).

Contact the publisher.

Unfortunately, software intended for education too often suffers from poor quality, instability, poor UIs, and rampant privacy problems.

While I have no experience with McMillan particularly, too much of what I’ve encountered is just bad.

There are many great free resources out there to help you learn bash. I would again point you to scriptingosx.com as the author of that site literally wrote the book on scripting on macOS.