[Pythonmac-SIG] Python+Automator?

[has]

Bob wrote:

>>>Given the description, it would be trivial to write an Automator 
>>>Action in PyObjC 1.2+ using the py2app plug-in bundle support.
>>
>>Cool. How hard would it be to provide casual users a more Pythonic, 
>>easy-to-use API over part or all of that, you think?
>
>The Objective-C API is going to be faster and richer anyway, I don't 
>see a reason to care about the OSA interface for Automator in this 
>context.

PyObjC is a great piece of kit and definitely the way for 
professional developers to go, but not every Python user is a 
technical whizz and I can see the PyObjC route being somewhat 
overwhelming for newbies and casual scripters.

Not every user wants, needs or can immediately handle a professional 
Word/Photoshop/Cumulus/Quark publishing workflow, for example. Some 
will be much better catered for by something like Pages, which offers 
less functionality and control but presents it in a way that makes it 
much easier for non-professionals to use. Less is More, in other 
words.

Same sort of idea here: after all, Automator itself is just a GUI 
version of Unix pipes and commands, repackaged to suit a different 
audience. Apple's obviously planning to market AppleScript as the 
amateur's route into the underpinnings, and ObjC for the 
professionals. Python easily nails the latter group thanks to PyObjC; 
what I'm wondering here is how well it's going to cater to the former?

Sure as guns, there's going to lots of be Automator users who sooner 
or later need a custom action, and often that'll mean they'll be 
going under the hood themselves. A simple, cut-down, newbie-friendly 
API might make all the difference in bringing these folks to Python, 
giving them an easy way to get their foot in the door. The 
alternative is losing that potential audience to AppleScript - a far 
inferior platform in technical terms, but one which knows a thing or 
two about presenting itself in a newbie-friendly form.

It's a question of marketing really: what type(s) of audience do you 
wish to promote Python to, and what needs to be done to guarantee 
each's capture?

Cheers,

has
-- 
http://freespace.virgin.net/hamish.sanderson/