Language Reference – Introduction

Welcome to the BushelScript Language Reference. This set of documents is intended to specify, to a reasonable extent, the behaviour of the BushelScript language infrastructure and runtime interface.

Parallel documents

For each reference page, there is a parallel page in the Quick Tutorial which is written to be shorter and more accessible but which also glosses over details. Each page contains a "see also" link to its Quick Tutorial companion.

The BushelScript scripting language

BushelScript is a macOS scripting language designed with the following principal goals in mind:

• Be useful:
  • Displace AppleScript for most practical AppleEvent scripting.
  • Supersede AppleScript as "the ultimate duct tape" by integrating with tons of different scripting interfaces.
  • Add practically useful features on top of an AppleScript-lookalike base.
• Be predictable:
  • Be open-source and driven by the community.
  • Be straightforward to read and minimally confusing to write and debug.
  • Avoid obscure, lacking or useless features.
• Be accessible:
  • Don't force novice scripters to read code with unintelligible symbols.
  • Don't force experienced programmers into a natural language paradigm.
  • Avoid alienating non-English speakers.
  • Seamlessly translate between programmer/user registers and different natural language bases.

Versions and variants

This reference describes version 0.6 of BushelScript. Syntax specifications and examples refer to the "BushelScript English"/bushelscript_en language module.

Language grammar

An incomplete formal grammar is defined by this reference in Appendix B. When applicable, section headings throughout this reference act as links to relevant grammar rules.