Apple® Automator with AppleScript® Bible

Introduction

Welcome to the first Automator book in the history of the Bible series. Currently, as I sit here and write this introduction, there isn't another book out on the market that covers both Automator and AppleScript for the Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) release of Apple's vaunted operating system.

One of the things that makes writing a book on automation so interesting is the time of its release. Currently, we're deep in the doldrums of what some historians and economists call the worst recession in living memory. Every night on the news, the headlines are all about housing and mortgage crises, mass layoffs, soaring federal deficits, car manufacturers in Chapter 11, and all kinds of other bad news.

It's easy to fall into despair. Millions of us are becoming entrepreneurs, small business owners, and freelancers. Most of them didn't have much of a choice — one day folks are gainfully employed, and suddenly there's a layoff. Established small businesses are also taking their lumps, having to find any way they can to compete. If they can find any way to cut corners, become more efficient, last a little bit longer, do more with less, and all those other clichés, then that's a good thing.

All of that was on my mind when I wrote this book. Yes, it's certainly important to get your hands dirty when it comes to topics like Automator and AppleScript, but all the how-to in the world is worthless without the why-to and should-you that provides the context.

It's never been easier to leverage ...