Python as a scripting language. Alternative to bash script?

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

In message <slrni3478o.1qf.usernet at rutherford.ilthio.net>, Tim Harig wrote:

> On 2010-07-05, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo at geek-central.gen.new_zealand>
> wrote:
>>
>> I’ve never come across any system where you could string together
>> multiple GUI apps, or even multiple GUI operations in the same app, in
>> any sensible or effective way at all. GUIs just aren???t designed to work
>> that way.
> 
> You can if they are designed to be used externally.  COM is an execellent
> example of this ...

But COM is an IPC architecture, which has nothing to do with GUI apps. 
Conflating the two leads to precisely the sort of inflexibility that is 
characteristic of GUIs. For example, things happening with the GUI on-screen 
while a script is running that are at best distracting to the user, or at 
worst vulnerable to breaking if the user accidentally presses a key or 
clicks in the wrong place.

> I have worked with complex business process automation centered around
> Excel and I have automated some really ugly AJAX style web based
> applications that would only work inside of IE6 by accessing IE through
> its COM interface.

If those apps really were using AJAX, then why did you need to script a Web 
browser at all? You could just make direct HTTP requests to retrieve the 
data.

> Automating GUI applications requires interal access to the program through
> some kind of interface ...

Some kind of interface that bypasses the GUI. This is why so many Open 
Source apps are structured as a GUI front end to a completely separate 
command-line tool (e.g. MPlayer). That way a script can use the latter 
without having to go through the former.