UserTalk(ID:2405/use004)

Originally "UserLand IAC Toolkit", for inter-application communication, incorporated into Frontier, and outline processor 1992. Now part of Radio Userland, a blogger kit.

The features of all Algol-like languages are features of UserTalk -- block stucture, variable scoping, local procedures, with many enhancements because unlike previous structured languages, UserTalk is embedded in a dynamic scripting environment built around an object database with a high-level editor/debugger that understands program structure.



Structures:
References:
  • Neuburg, Matt "Frontier: the definitive guide" O'Reilly Sebastapol 1998 view details Abstract: This definitive guide is the first book devoted exclusively to teaching and documenting Userland Frontier, a powerful scripting environment for Web site management and system level scripting. Packed with examples, advice, tricks, and tips, "Frontier: The Definitive Guide teaches you Frontier from the ground up. Learn how to automate repetitive processes, control remote computers across a network, beef up your Web site by generating hundreds of related Web pages automatically, and more. Whether you're a complete Frontier beginner or an experienced hand in need of a clear, ordered reference, you'll find what you need to make the most of Frontier. Even if you've never programmed before, you'll be cranking out Web pages or writing your own custom scripts in no time, joining the ranks of thousands of Macintosh power users who make Frontier their "home base." (Covers Frontier 4.2.3 for the Macintosh.) This book covers Frontier's: Simple but sophisticated multithreaded scripting language (UserTalk) and its elegant debugging environmentIntegrated database with instant access to data, text, outlines, and tablesTotally automated environment, where scripts can create dialogs, open windows, edit text, alter menusAbility to hook into the system and to read and write files, open documents, and read the clipboardCapacity for sending and receiving Apple events, so it can drive any scriptable application and be integrated into other scripting applicationsNetwork capability to function as a client or server over AppleTalk or the Internet
    Extract: A Little History
    A Little History
    Before there was the Open Scripting Architecture, before there was AppleScript, before there were Apple events, before there was System 7, way back in 1988, UserLand began development of Frontier. Its earliest incarnation, UserLand IAC Toolkit, appeared in 1989. IAC stands for inter-application communication; the program was dedicated to the proposition that if it was going to be too hard for the ordinary user to write an application, it should still be possible to tie existing applications together, acting in concert and communicating with one another.

    After System 7 and Apple events had a created a system-level standard for inter-application communication, Frontier 1.0 appeared, one of the earliest programs to exploit them. With its quietly revolutionary scripting language, milieu for editing and storing information in various formats, and database that tied it all together, it was not only the first system-level scripting environment for the Macintosh, but in its own right a tool of manifold usage and great versatility. Frontier 2.0 appeared in October 1992, and Version 3.0 in November 1993.

    By this time, AppleScript had been released. At first, AppleScript wasn't commonly available; it could be obtained cheaply, but few people were aware of this. However, Apple Computer soon bundled it with their system software. UserLand responded by doing something revolutionary: in 1995, they began giving Frontier away for free (the so-called "Aretha" release).1

    Frontier 4.0 shipped in May 1996, 4.1 shipped in October 1996, and 4.2 shipped in January 1997. These versions firmly established Frontier in the realms of Web site management and CGI scripting. It is a remarkable testament to Frontier's power and flexibility that it had all along been applicable to these areas; the main obstacle was that someone had to realize this.2

    With Frontier 5.0, UserLand will embark upon a mission to bring Frontier's scripting power to the Windows platform. At first, this will consist of a subset of Mac OS capabilities, but growth and expansion in new directions are to be expected in the future.

    External link: Online copy
    Resources