/Doc/library/miniaeframe.rst

 1
 2:mod:`MiniAEFrame` --- Open Scripting Architecture server support
 3=================================================================
 4
 5.. module:: MiniAEFrame
 6   :platform: Mac
 7   :synopsis: Support to act as an Open Scripting Architecture (OSA) server ("Apple Events").
 8
 9
10.. index::
11   single: Open Scripting Architecture
12   single: AppleEvents
13   module: FrameWork
14
15The module :mod:`MiniAEFrame` provides a framework for an application that can
16function as an Open Scripting Architecture  (OSA) server, i.e. receive and
17process AppleEvents. It can be used in conjunction with :mod:`FrameWork` or
18standalone. As an example, it is used in :program:`PythonCGISlave`.
19
20The :mod:`MiniAEFrame` module defines the following classes:
21
22
23.. class:: AEServer()
24
25   A class that handles AppleEvent dispatch. Your application should subclass this
26   class together with either :class:`MiniApplication` or
27   :class:`FrameWork.Application`. Your :meth:`__init__` method should call the
28   :meth:`__init__` method for both classes.
29
30
31.. class:: MiniApplication()
32
33   A class that is more or less compatible with :class:`FrameWork.Application` but
34   with less functionality. Its event loop supports the apple menu, command-dot and
35   AppleEvents; other events are passed on to the Python interpreter and/or Sioux.
36   Useful if your application wants to use :class:`AEServer` but does not provide
37   its own windows, etc.
38
39
40.. _aeserver-objects:
41
42AEServer Objects
43----------------
44
45
46.. method:: AEServer.installaehandler(classe, type, callback)
47
48   Installs an AppleEvent handler. *classe* and *type* are the four-character OSA
49   Class and Type designators, ``'****'`` wildcards are allowed. When a matching
50   AppleEvent is received the parameters are decoded and your callback is invoked.
51
52
53.. method:: AEServer.callback(_object, **kwargs)
54
55   Your callback is called with the OSA Direct Object as first positional
56   parameter. The other parameters are passed as keyword arguments, with the
57   4-character designator as name. Three extra keyword parameters are passed:
58   ``_class`` and ``_type`` are the Class and Type designators and ``_attributes``
59   is a dictionary with the AppleEvent attributes.
60
61   The return value of your method is packed with :func:`aetools.packevent` and
62   sent as reply.
63
64Note that there are some serious problems with the current design. AppleEvents
65which have non-identifier 4-character designators for arguments are not
66implementable, and it is not possible to return an error to the originator. This
67will be addressed in a future release.
68