Can't get Apple SimpleScripting example to work when using NSApplicationDelegate

There are many problems with your SDEF file.

• While this is not a major issue, when defining your own "types" ( OSType
  
  codes), all lowercase letters are historically reserved for Apple. So, you should be able to do something like 'Smas'
  
  or 'Smas'
  
  , but not 'Smas'
  
  .

• It might have been a typo in the web browser, but you got it wrong inhereits
  
  on the line <class name="application" code="smaa" inhereits="application"...
  
  . It is important that the spelling is correct so that you can "extend" the base AppleScript class application
  
  with your own custom properties. This may be the reason why you only see the default application properties in the AppleScript editor. (While just fixing the spelling might work, there are other fixes you should make.)

• You are trying to point out that the Cocoa class is for your extended application
  
  AppleScript class AppDelegate
  
  , but this is problematic because it AppDelegate
  
  does not inherit from NSApplication
  
  as shown in the Apple.sdef example, rather it inherits from plain old NSObject
  
  .

Before moving on to how I will rewrite SDEF, I will consider that the basic idea is how the Apple SDEF example works to add custom properties application

to the default AppleScript class . The AppleScript application

class corresponds to the NSApplication

Cocoa class . When you launch an application, OS X creates an instance NSApplication

(or a subclass of it, as specified in the NSPrincipalClass

application's Info.plist entry ). This instance manages the application. There are two possible ways in Cocoa to add additional AppleScript properties to an existing class NSApplication

: 1) create a custom subclass NSApplication

that contains additional properties, or 2) use the Objective-C category to extend the existing classNSApplication

as-is. (In Cocoa, the Objective-C categories are a way to add additional functionality to an existing class without the potential complexity that subclasses introduce.) Apple's example SimpleScripting

uses the latter approach (Objective-C categories) to add additional functionality.

Below I will discuss how to rewrite SDEF.

SimpleScriptingAppDelegate.sdef:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE dictionary SYSTEM "file://localhost/System/Library/DTDs/sdef.dtd">
<dictionary xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2003/XInclude">
    <xi:include
    href="file:///System/Library/ScriptingDefinitions/CocoaStandard.sdef"
    xpointer="xpointer(/dictionary/suite)"/>
    <suite name="StatusMenuApp suite" code="SSAD"
                 description="StatusMenuApp-specific classes.">
        <class name="application" code="capp" inherits="application"
                                 description="Application object.">
            <cocoa class="NSApplication"/>
            <property name="foobaz" code="Foob"
                description="Description of the foobaz property." type="text">
                <cocoa key="foobaz"/>
            </property>
        </class>
    </suite>
</dictionary>

      

        
        
        
      

    

You will notice that I indicated that I am creating my own AppleScript class application

that inherits from the standard AppleScript class application

. I pointed out that the Cocoa class for this custom application

is NSApplication

. I added a custom AppleScript property whose name foobaz

and type text

. (The AppleScript class text

will correspond to the Cocoa class NSString

). Also important is that I have specified that the Cocoa key is to access this custom property foobaz

. This Cocoa key specifies the name of the Objective-C method that will be used to provide the property value. The configuration defined above indicates that a custom property foobaz

can be retrieved by calling a method foobaz

on a shared object instance NSApplication

.

To implement this on the Cocoa side, I defined the category (MDScriptingAdditions)

on NSApplication

as shown below:

MDNSApplicationScriptingAdditions.h:

@interface NSApplication (MDScriptingAdditions)

- (NSString *)foobaz;
- (void)setFoobaz:(NSString *)aFoobaz;

@end

      

        
        
        
      

    

MDNSApplicationScriptingAdditions.m:

#import "MDNSApplicationScriptingAdditions.h"
#import "AppDelegate.h"

@implementation NSApplication (MDScriptingAdditions)

- (NSString *)foobaz {
    return [(AppDelegate *)[NSApp delegate] foobaz];
}

- (void)setFoobaz:(NSString *)aFoobaz {
    return [(AppDelegate *)[NSApp delegate] setFoobaz:aFoobaz];
}
@end

      

        
        
        
      

    

You can see that I am basically redirecting the processing of these methods to the class AppDelegate

you would like to customize.

AppDelegate.h:

@interface AppDelegate : NSObject <NSApplicationDelegate> {
    IBOutlet NSWindow                    *window;
    IBOutlet NSTextField                *foobazTextField;

    NSString                            *foobaz;
}
- (NSString *)foobaz;
- (void)setFoobaz:(NSString *)aFoobaz;
@end

      

        
        
        
      

    

This setting allows you to get and set a custom property foobaz

via AppleScript. When you set a value, the value displayed in the text box foobaz:

will change to the value shown in the figure below:

Sample project: SimpleScriptingAppDelegate.zip