AppleScript in a Nutshell

Chapter 4. Operators

Operators are symbols that programmers use to perform operations in AppleScript code, such as in mathematical expressions or equality tests. Operators (e.g., =, +, -, *) are familiar to programmers in other languages (such as Java and Perl), as well as young math students. In the following AppleScript code fragment, the * and the = characters are the operators:

2 * 10 = 20

With the exception of parentheses, AppleScript’s operators (listed in Table 4-1) are binary operators, meaning that each operator takes an operand, such as a number, variable, or expression, on either side of it. In the previous code fragment, the 2 is the left-hand operand and the 10 is the right-hand operand for the * operator. Operators can also be used to test two expressions for equality or to combine two strings into one string, as in these two code fragments:

Set eq to (56.5 >= 56) (* the eq variable is set to true; the >= 
("greater than or equal to") operator is used to test two values for 
equivalence *)
Set twostrings to ("two strings" & " are now one string.") (* using 
the & string-concatenation operator *)

Table 4-1. AppleScript Operators

&	As
( )	Begins with
*	Contains
+	Does not contain
-	Does not equal
/ ÷ div	Ends with
<	Is contained by
<= ≤	Is not contained by
=	Mod
>	Not
>= ≥	Or
A reference to
And

A distinguishing element of AppleScript is that its operators can be either symbols, such as &, =, +, or ≥ , or human-language words such as equals,