Cocoa® Programming Developer’s Handbook, Second Edition

Chapter 21. Adding Scripting

There are, generally speaking, two forms of scripting that an application can support. The first is in-application scripting, where the application provides a runtime environment for hosting scripts and runs them itself. The second is cross-application scripting, where scripts run outside the process and send it messages.

In-application scripting is very useful for automating repetitive tasks. It allows users to join together sequences of actions, and run them again easily. Macros in a text editor are one of the classic examples of this kind of scripting. They don’t interact with anything outside of the editor, and they are generally “programmed” by turning on a recording mode and doing something, and then playing ...