I’m currently rewriting my “unScripted” article about range references to bring it up to date and hopefully to make it bit more readable! :rolleyes:
While testing some scripts for it, I’ve come across an anomaly in Snow Leopard which doesn’t occur in Leopard or Tiger and which I’m pretty sure didn’t on my old Jaguar system either.
It happens when a ‘middle’ reference form is used as a boundary specifier in a range reference involving text. The expected result is that the returned extract(s) will begin or end with the middle element specified as the boundary. But in Snow Leopard, it begins or ends with the middle element of the type to be returned:
set myText to "Dip dip dip
My little ship
Sails on the water
Like a cup and saucer
The one who comes to number eight is it"
middle word of myText --> "a" (Just so that we know!)
-- Range reference with 'middle' boundary:
paragraphs from middle word to end of myText
-- Expected result as in Tiger and Leopard. Begins with the middle word.
--> {"a cup and saucer", "The one who comes to number eight is it"}
-- Result in Snow Leopard. Begins with the middle paragraph instead!
--> {"Sails on the water", "Like a cup and saucer", "The one who comes to number eight is it"}
On all three of the systems available to me, using ‘middle’ in a range reference involving a list results in a “Can’t get .” error, so ‘middle’ is probably best avoided altogether in range references. But I’d be interested to know what the situation is in Lion and Mountain Lion. Would any users of those systems be kind enough to tell me what the above script returns on their machines? Thanks.
Thanks, Shane. That brings me up to date. The change has probably gone unnoticed this long because no-one else has needed to write such a stupid script.
According to the overview of the release notes of AppleScript and it’s OS they have changed the way unicode text is counted (10.6 section). I think this ‘new’ way of counting has affected the way middle works as well.
The middle is not something used very often. Here is however a plausible usage, ( I think )
to getMedian for aNumberList
set b to count aNumberList
if b mod 2 = 0 then
set b to b div 2
set a to ((number b of aNumberList) + (number (b + 1) of aNumberList)) / 2
else
set a to middle number of aNumberList
end if
end getMedian
Another case when you need such things is when you have ordered list and have an non-indexed lookup function. Then you can bring down the iterations to 25% of the length of the data instead of the standard 50%.
I can’t see what you mean, could you provide a small sketch?
Thanks for putting the Releasenotes on the table, the word boundary problem, has bugged me for a long while, (that dashes is considered word breaking and such.
Reading the Releasenotes, I realize I can detail control what is a word character, and what not to a much greater extent. (From SL onwards)
Or it’s a bug that crept in at the time the other changes were made. I can’t see how the change to underlying definitions of words matters here, given that it seems to be ignored.
I’m not sure what you mean here. If you’re talking about a binary search, ‘middle’ isn’t suitable for that. In fact I can’t see much use for it at all, except to introduce a little “Englishlikeness” (!) where it works.
So, if this is, as Shane suggests, a bug they didn’t fix, then it isn’t hard to understand that they didn’t prioritize it.
And it may be useless, but it adds to the charm!
Here is a little dice game called 421, as uselsess as middle, which could be regarded as a bug in itself, and removed, as it lacks any purpose! (IMHO) (But still charming :D)
set aDice to {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
repeat
set a to {}
repeat with d from 1 to 3
set end of a to some number in aDice
end repeat
set won to false
repeat with i from 1 to 3
if first number of a is equal to middle number of a and middle number of a is equal to last number of a then
win(a)
set won to true
exit repeat
else if first number of a is equal to middle number of a then
if (first number of a) + (middle number of a) is 2 then
win(a)
set won to true
exit repeat
else if i < 3 then
set last item of a to some number in aDice
end if
else if first number of a is equal to last number of a then
if (first number of a) + (last number of a) is 2 then
win(a)
set won to true
exit repeat
else if i < 3 then
set middle item of a to some number in aDice
end if
else if middle number of a is equal to last number of a then
if (middle number of a) + (last number of a) is 2 then
win(a)
set won to true
exit repeat
else if i < 3 then
set middle item of a to some number in aDice
end if
else if 4 is in a and 2 is in a and 1 is in a then
win(a)
set won to true
exit repeat
else if 1 is in a and i < 3 then
if 1 is item 1 of a then
set middle item of a to some number of aDice
set last item of a to some number of aDice
else if 1 is middle item of a then
set first item of a to some number of aDice
set last item of a to some number of aDice
else
set first item of a to some number of aDice
set middle item of a to some number of aDice
end if
else if i < 3 then
set first item of a to some number of aDice
set middle item of a to some number of aDice
set last item of a to some number of aDice
end if
end repeat
if not won then
tell application "SystemUIServer"
activate
display dialog "You lost!
" & first item of a & " " & middle item of a & " " & last item of a with title " 4 2 1 "
end tell
end if
end repeat
to win(a)
set b to {}
if first item of a ≥ middle item of a and first item of a ≥ last item of a then
set end of b to first item of a
set a to rest of a
else if middle item of a ≥ first item of a and middle item of a ≥ last item of a then
set end of b to middle item of a
set a to first item of a & last item of a
else
set end of b to last item of a
set a to first item of a & middle item of a
end if
if last item of a is 2 then
set b to b & reverse of a
else
set b to b & a
end if
tell application "SystemUIServer"
activate
display dialog "You won!
" & first item of b & " " & middle item of b & " " & last item of b with title " 4 2 1 "
end tell
end win
(*
$NetBSD: acronyms,v 1.112 2002/09/27 03:40:46 junyoung Exp $
*)
set acronyms to "AFAIC as far as I'm concerned
AFAICR as far as I can recall
AFAICT as far as I can tell
AFAIK as far as I know
AFAIR as far as I recall
AFAIU as far as I understand
AFD away from desktop
AFK away from keyboard
AFU all fucked up
AFW away from window
AIU as I understand
AIUI as I understand it
AKA also known as
ASAIC as soon as I can
ASAP as soon as possible
ATM at the moment
AWOL absent without official leave
AYBABTU all your base are belong to us
B/C because
B/S bullshit
B/W between
BBIAB be back in a bit
BBL [I'll] be back later
BBS be back soon
BBT be back tomorrow
BFD big fucking deal
BIAB back in a bit
BIAF back in a few
BIALW back in a little while
BIAS back in a second
BIAW back in a while
BOATILAS bend over and take it like a slut
BOFH bastard operator from hell
BOGAHICA bend over, grab ankles, here it comes again
BOHICA bend over here it comes again
BRB [I'll] be right back
BS bullshit
BTDT been there, done that
BTTH boot to the head
BTW by the way
CMIIW correct me if I'm wrong
CNP continued [in my] next post
COB close of business [day]
COTS commercial off-the-shelf
CYA see you around
D/L download
DIY do it yourself
DKDC don't know, don't care
DSTM don't shoot the messenger
DTRT do the right thing
DTWT do the wrong thing
DWIM do what I mean
EG evil grin
EMSG email message
EOB end of business [day]
EOD end of discussion
EOL end of life
ETLA extended three letter acronym
EWAG experienced wild-ass guess
FAQ frequently asked question
FCFS first come first served
FIGJAM fuck I'm good, just ask me
FIIK fuck[ed] if I know
FIIR fuck[ed] if I remember
FINK Fink is not an acronym. See http://fink.sourceforge.net/faq/general.php#naming
FM fucking magic
FOAD fall over and die
FSDO for some definition of
FSVO for some value of
FTFM fuck the fuckin' manual!
FUBAR fucked up beyond all recognition
FUD fear, uncertainty and doubt
FWIW for what it's worth
FYI for your information
G grin
G/C garbage collect
GAC get a clue
GAL get a life
GIGO garbage in, garbage out
GMTA great minds think alike
GTFO get the fuck out
GTG got to go
HAND have a nice day
HHIS hanging head in shame
HICA here it comes again
HTH hope this helps
IAC in any case
IANAL I am not a lawyer
IC I see
ICBW I could be wrong
ICCL I couldn't care less
IHAFC I haven't a fucking clue
IHBW I have been wrong
IHNFC I have no fucking clue
IIANM if I am not mistaken
IIRC if I recall correctly
IIUC if I understand correctly
IMAO in my arrogant opinion
IMCO in my considered opinion
IMHO in my humble opinion
IMNSHO in my not so humble opinion
IMO in my opinion
IOW in other words
IRL in real life
ISAGN I see a great need
ISTM it seems to me
ISTR I seem to recall
ITYM I think you mean
IWBNI it would be nice if
IYSS If you say so
IYSS if you say so
J/K just kidding
JHD just hit ``delete''
JIC just in case
JK just kidding
JMO just my opinion
JTLYK just to let you know
KISS keep it simple, stupid
KITA kick in the ass
KNF kernel normal form
L8R later
LART luser attitude readjustment tool (ie, hammer)
LJBF let's just be friends
LMAO laughing my ass off
LMSO laughing my socks off
LOL laughing out loud
LTNS long time no see
MIA missing in action
MMU memory management unit
MOTAS member of the appropriate sex
MOTOS member of the opposite sex
MOTSS member of the same sex
MTF more to follow
MYOB mind your own business
N/M never mind
NBD no big deal
NFC no fucking clue
NFI no fucking idea
NFW no fucking way
NIH not invented here
NMF not my fault
NMP not my problem
NOYB none of your business
NOYFB none of your fucking business
NP no problem
NRFPT not ready for prime time
NRN no reply necessary
OIC oh, I see
OMG oh, my god
OT off topic
OTL out to lunch
OTOH on the other hand
OTT over the top
OTTOMH off the top of my head
PEBKAC problem exists between keyboard and chair
PFO please fuck off
PFY pimply faced youth
PITA pain in the ass
PKSP pound keys and spew profanity
PNG persona non grata
PNP plug and pray
POC point of contact
POLA principle of least astonishment
POS piece of shit
PPL pretty please
PTV parental tunnel vision
QED quod erat demonstrandum
RFC request for comments
RIP rest in peace
RL real life
RLC rod length check
ROFL rolling on floor laughing
ROFLMAO rolling on floor laughing my ass off
ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing
RP responsible person
RSN real soon now
RTFB read the fine/fucking book
RTFC read the fine/fucking code
RTFD read the fine/fucking documentation
RTFM read the fine/fucking manual
RTFMP read the fine/fucking man page
RTFS read the fine/fucking source
SCNR sorry, could not resist
SEP someone else's problem
SFA sweet fuck all
SHID slaps head in disgust
SIMCA sitting in my chair amused
SMLSFB so many losers, so few bullets
SMOP simple matter of programming
SNAFU situation normal, all fucked up
SNERT snot-nosed egotistical rude teenager
SNMP sorry, not my problem
SNR signal to noise ratio
SO significant other
SOB son of [a] bitch
SOL shit out [of] luck
SOP standard operating procedure
SSIA subject says it all
STFA search the fucking archives
STFU shut the fuck up
SUS stupid user syndrome
SWAG silly, wild-assed guess
SWAHBI silly, wild-assed hare-brained idea
SWMBO she who must be obeyed
TANSTAAFL there ain't no such thing as a free lunch
TBC to be continued
TBD to be {decided,determined,done}
TBOMK the best of my knowledge
THNX thanks
THX thanks
TIA thanks in advance
TINC there is no cabal
TLA three letter acronym
TLB translation lookaside buffer
TMA too many abbreviations
TMI too much information
TOEFL test of english as a foreign language
TPTB the powers that be
TRT the right thing
TTBOMK to the best of my knowledge
TTFN ta ta for now
TTYL talk to you later
TWIAVBP the world is a very big place
TY thank you
TYVM thank you very much
U/L upload
UTSL use the source, Luke
VEG very evil grin
W/ with
W/O without
WAG wild-ass guess
WB welcome back
WFM works for me
WIBNI wouldn't it be nice if
WIP work in progress
WOFTAM waste of fucking time and money
WOMBAT waste of money, brain, and time
WRT with respect to
WTF {what,where,who,why} the fuck
WTH {what,where,who,why} the hell
WYSIWYG what you see is what you get
YALIMO you are lame, in my opinion
YHBT you have been trolled
YHL you have lost
YKWIM you know what I mean
YMA yo momma's ass
YMMV your mileage may vary
YW you're welcome"
repeat
tell application "SystemUIServer"
activate
set mp to some paragraph of acronyms
display dialog mp
end tell
end repeat
