The Apache-Apple Event Bridge (aaeb)

After releasing 1.4, someone asked about returning a Script Object with AAEB.  Here’s a quick sample using AAEB 1.5 to call the script from Apache:

Place a simple script on your server that returns a script object (incorporate something like this into one of the sample AppleScripts included with AAEB):

script scriptObj
property p : “hello”
on dd()
display dialog p
end dd
end script
return scriptObj

Place this on your “Script Server”, save and compile the AppleScript for use with AAEB.

Next, on your “Client” machine, run the following script, which will go across the net, get the script object from the above compiled script and use it locally. (Note that curl is used to save the binary data to a file — any mechanism that calls or loads a URL would work.)

do shell script “curl -o curl.out http://192.168.1.2/cgi-bin/connectnr.aaeb?appName=scriptObject.app”
set my_lib to load script file “Macintosh HD:curl.out”
my_lib’s dd()

YourServer.com/cgi-bin/AppleScript.aaeb

You can also hide the name of your script from the URL and override or supplement the HTTP arguments from Apache (for details, check out the read me file).

Here’s that sample config file.

aaeb
appName=runMeFromApache.app
name=This_is_a_GET_Arg&name2=ThisIsAnotherArg
data=This_is_a_multiline_POST_Arg
anotherArg=5

Added support for suppressing the Reopen event if you are calling an app or script that is already running asynchronously (ACGIs).

Added support for AppleScripts that return Script Objects.

Added support for returning binary data (e.g., a JPEG image) and a new (simpler?) mechanism for calling your AppleScript.

The new connect.aaeb mechanism enables you to call your compiled AppleScript (or other app) with a URL of the form:

YourServer/cgi-bin/connect.aaeb?appName=CompiledAppleScript.app

There’s also a new Video Demo

David

Welcome to the blog for The Apache-Apple Event Bridge (aaeb). The app is just seeing it’s first public release July 22, 2010.  It’s been running in-house for about a year and I finally had the time to prep an installer, some samples, etc.

This blog will be a place to post questions and answers!  If a mailing list makes sense, guess I can create one too!

Thanks for your interest,

David Dantowitz