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Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

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CHAPTER 24 MAC <strong>OS</strong> X DEVELOPMENT: THE APPLICATION FRAMEWORKS<br />

Java<br />

Java is a cross-platform framework and eponymous object-oriented language. If you’re a Java<br />

programmer, the <strong>Mac</strong> is a great place to work. The Java implementation on the <strong>Mac</strong> is the best<br />

one out there. It takes almost no effort to package a Java application to launch, look, and behave<br />

just like a native <strong>Mac</strong> application, as shown in Figure 24-21.<br />

Figure 24-21. Java applications run just like native <strong>Mac</strong> <strong>OS</strong> X applications.<br />

That said, with the Java-Cocoa bridge being deprecated, the Java language is not a good<br />

choice for writing native <strong>Mac</strong> applications. Furthermore, when you develop without regard for a<br />

particular operating system, you give up all the support that an operating system provides. It is a<br />

lot harder to program in Java than it is to program in almost any native application framework.<br />

AppleScript<br />

AppleScript is best known for automating tasks that use other applications on the system. It’s<br />

also meant to be a very easy language to use, with an English-like syntax and very forgiving<br />

interpreter. With the improvements <strong>Leopard</strong> brings to AppleScript, we may well see a resurgence<br />

of this unique and useful language.<br />

Xcode includes an environment, called AppleScript Studio, that adds graphical interface<br />

widgets to AppleScript. This enables power users who dabble in development with AppleScript<br />

to bridge the gap to creating full-fledged applications.<br />

NOTE For more information on AppleScript, see Chapter 23.

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