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SwiftScripting

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Utilities and samples to aid in using Swift with the Scripting Bridge. If you want to automate tasks on your Mac, but don't like AppleScript, this is for you.

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# SwiftScripting
Utilities and samples to aid in using Swift with the Scripting Bridge

## Generating Swift API for a Target Application

The scripting approach leveraged here is a Swift layer on top of the [Scripting Bridge](https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/ScriptingBridgeConcepts/Introduction/Introduction.html).
Xcode ships with a pair of utilities, `sdef` and `sdp`, to aid Objective-C programmers in using the Scripting Bridge.

The `sdef` tool is used to extract the scripting definition from an application. It emits the scripting 
definition to standard output in XML format. The `sdp` tool can be used to convert the XML emitted by
`sdef` to an Objective-C header file. This header file defines the scripting interface for a target application
exposed to Objective-C by the Scripting Bridge.

When scripting applications using Swift, it is possible to leverage the same Objective-C headers emitted by `sdp`. 
However, due to the dynamically generated classes involved in realizing the Scripting Bridge interface, this approach 
can be cumbersome and forces the use of `AnyObject` types even in areas when more specific types are known to
exist.

The approach here is to generate a set of Swift protocols based on the Objective-C header emitted by `sdp`. In most cases, 
the generated file can be used without modification. There are some corner cases where manual editing is required to 
correct issues or workaround bugs in the Swift compiler.

The basic recipe for generating the Swift protocols and enums for a fictitious application called App.app is as follows

1. `sdef /Applications/App.app > App.sdef`
2. `sdp -fh --basename App App.sdef`
3. `sbhc.py App.h`
4. `sbsc.py App.sdef`

Step 1 will create the `App.sdef` file in the current directory. Step 2 will create a file `App.h`, also in the current
directory. Step 3 will create `App.swift` in the current directory. This is the primary file describing the scripting interface. The final step will create the file `AppScripting.swift` which contains an enum with values appropriate for class creation.

Note that the sbhc.py script leverages the [Python bindings](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/clang/3.5) for libclang.
You must install these bindings before running the script. (`pip install 'clang<=16'` for macOS 14 Sonoma). You'll also need to install the Xcode command line tools (`xcode-select --install`.)

See [https://majestysoftware.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/swift-scripting-part-1/](https://majestysoftware.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/swift-scripting-part-1/) for part one of a four-part series that gives a bit of explanation related to SwiftScripting.

SwiftScripting

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