osascript argv and records

Question

Level 1

35 points

osascript argv and records

On tiger, I have been trying to execute an applescript from the command line and passing a record in argv. I can pass data fine using

osascript x.scpt 'fred'

in x.scpt

on run argv
set x to item 1 of argv

x is set to "fred"

but what I need to do is something like

osascript x.scpt '{add:"domain.com",from:"Fred"}'

but x is never set to the record {add:"domain.com",from:"Fred"}

All help is appreciated.

Tom

powerbook, Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on Dec 5, 2005 7:23 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 5, 2005 8:44 AM in response to Tom Shaw

osascript will pass your argument to the script as a string no matter what. If you want that string to then become something fancy like a record, you're going to need to clean things up a bit and hack about.

It's always a good idea to check and make sure your record labels don't cause terminology conflicts. In this case from is a commonly used preposition. To use it as a label we must pipe it such that it becomes |from|.

Since a record on its own passes for legal code, we can take advantage of the run script command's ability to compile plain text and return a result. It's not the fastest thing, but a step up from passing strictly positional parameters anyway.

click here to ~~open this script in your editor~~ <pre style="font-family: 'Monaco', 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; overflow:auto; color: #222; background: #DDD; padding: 0.2em; font-size: 10px; width:400px">-- osascript test.scpt '{add:"domain.com", |from|:"Fred"}'
on run argv
set x to run script (item 1 of argv)
say |from| of x
end run</pre>

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Answer 2

ra5ul

Level 3

500 points

Dec 8, 2005 6:44 AM in response to Tom Shaw

what is x getting set to, e.g., with:

osascript x.scpt \{add:\"domain.com\",from:\"Fred\"\}

?

ibook g4 OSX.4.x

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Answer 3

Tom Shaw Author

Level 1

35 points

Dec 13, 2005 11:38 AM in response to ra5ul

what is x getting set to, e.g., with:

osascript x.scpt
\{add:\"domain.com\",from:\"Fred\"\}

?

ibook g4
OSX.4.x

Doesn't work 😟 with or without quotes

$ osascript SetUser2.scpt "\{username:\"test2\",domain:\"test.com\"\}"
SetUser2.scpt:94:104: execution error: Server X got an error: Can't make some data into the expected type. (-1700)

$ osascript SetUser2.scpt \{username:\"test2\",domain:\"test.com\"\}
SetUser2.scpt:94:104: execution error: Server X got an error: Can't make some data into the expected type. (-1700)

SetUser2.scpt:

on run argv
tell application "Server X"
set t to item 1 of argv

--try
set x to Set User t
--on error
-- return false
--end try
end tell
return x
end run

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Answer 4

Dec 13, 2005 6:03 PM in response to Tom Shaw

The manpage for osascript is pretty explicit about arguments/parameters:

Any arguments following the script will be passed as a list of strings

(my emphasis) Passing arguments has only been around since 10.4 anyway. If there is sufficient demand to expand the feature, then maybe they'll do it. I think the method I suggested works pretty well, especially considering that you'd be compiling from plain text anyway. If you need more speed, you might look at script objects or using a drop file or something... else.

PowerMac G5 (June 2004) 2x1.8GHz 1.25GB, PowerBook G4 (12-inch DVI) 1x1GHz 768MB Mac OS X (10.4.3)

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