# Ruby to Applescript **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [October 12, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-to-applescript/71960 "2006-10-12T22:06:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![devaulw](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@devaulw](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devaulw)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-to-applescript/71960/1 "2006-10-12T22:06:05Z")
[http://rb-appscript.rubyforge.org/](http://rb-appscript.rubyforge.org/) I thought this might be of interest to list readers. I used to do some Applescripting and wonder whether there are projects where I might use this. ---
**Author:** ![devaulw](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@devaulw](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devaulw)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 10:39am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-to-applescript/71960/2 "2006-10-18T10:39:42Z")
Bill D. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > [http://rb-appscript.rubyforge.org/](http://rb-appscript.rubyforge.org/) > > I thought this might be of interest to list readers. I used to do some > Applescripting and wonder whether there are projects where I might use > this. You can use it _anywhere_ you would have used AppleScript. That’s the point. m. ---
**Author:** ![devaulw](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/8e7dd6/32.png) [@devaulw](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devaulw)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2006, 10:40am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-to-applescript/71960/3 "2006-10-18T10:40:25Z")
matt neuburg wrote: > > I thought this might be of interest to list readers. I used to do some > > Applescripting and wonder whether there are projects where I might use > > this. > > You can use it _anywhere_ you would have used AppleScript. That’s the > point. m. To add to what Matt says: Yes, rb-appscript lets you use Ruby anywhere you’d use AppleScript… though with one caveat which I’ll explain in a tick. Python users are already using py-appscript for everything from dinking about with their iTunes playlist to driving professional publishing workflows - and rb-appscript is just as capable as py-appscript is. Also, one of the nice things about rb-appscript is that because it’s a port and not a from-scratch development, it’s already almost as mature as py-appscript is. Py-appscript’s already three years old, and has been good enough for regular deployment for about the last two, so has already been through a lot of field testing and refinement. There may be the odd dumb bug introduced during porting, but once those are shaken out (which won’t take long) you’ll be able to drop it in as an AppleScript replacement with some confidence as to its reliability, compatibility support, etc. … Now that caveat: The one limitation is that Python/Ruby+appscript can’t [yet] replace AppleScript for tasks where you need attachability support (e.g. Folder Actions, Mail rules, iCal alarm scripts, Studio-based apps). You’d need a full Ruby OSA language component to attach scripts to OSA-aware applications, not just an Apple event bridge. There is a basic RubyOSA available at [http://homepage.mac.com/philip\_aker/osa/osa.html](http://homepage.mac.com/philip_aker/osa/osa.html), but it provides only core functionality (load/store/compile/run), and not the more advanced features like built-in support for sending and receiving Apple events that most attachable apps require. … I have been looking into the possibility of writing a full Ruby OSA component as well; however, I think the Ruby interpreter suffers at least some of the same inherent limitations as the Python’s (global interpreter state, can’t provide completely independent contexts for each scripts due to low-level sharing of file handles, extensions). This’d make it tricky to produce a really good, robust OSA Ruby - maybe not impossible though given that ActiveScriptRuby (the Windows equivalent) has [presumably] managed it. Languages like JavaScript and Tcl are probably easier candidates for OSA-ification, but given the popularity of Python and Ruby I would still like to find a way to do those too. So if there’s any Ruby embedding gurus around that’d like to discuss embedding options further, then please get in touch. Cheers,