“F-Script is a lightweight open-source scripting layer specifically designed for the Mac OS X object system (i.e. Cocoa). F-Script provides scripting and interactive access to Cocoa frameworks and custom Objective-C objects. It aims to be a useful and fun tool for both beginners and experts, allowing interactively exploring, testing and using Cocoa-based objects and frameworks.”
I started using F-Script last fall, and it’s become one of the most essential tools in my box. I originally started using it with the intent to write the higher-level parts of an application in F-Script, but quickly began using it for a host of other uses. I’ve written a tool that uses configuration files written in F-Script. I have a miniature MATLAB-esque environment for whipping out quickie data processing tasks at work whose interface consists of nothing but F-Script. My favorite use, though, is for debugging frameworks. With F-Script and the XCode debugger’s “fix” feature, I can spend an entire day testing, debugging, and tweaking a module I’m working on without ever quitting the application.
i still don’t really understand how its supposed to be better than plain old objc and cocoa. anyone care to explain?
You can run practically Obj-C code while the program is executing. It’s very useful for debugging. As your program executes, you query objects in memory. Outside of debugging, you can control a program by writing a quick script. It’s a lot easier to write an F-Script than writing a plugin interface. Think of it as a “lower” AppleScript.