Address Book and Applescript
Here is an applescript that grabs the most common records and writes the data to a tab delimited text file. Once you have that you can slice and dice it.
This could be modified to put all the data into a variable which will slice and dice even faster.
Shell and Apple Address Book
Applescript sometimes has advantages but for speed in obtaining data from Apple’s Address Book it is hard to beat using shell scripts. Do a data dump and you should be able to work out how to grab specific items for use in your application.
Here are some handy ones…
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COMPLETE DUMP OF ALL DATA, TABLES, VALUES, ETC.:
sqlite3 $HOME/Library/App*Sup*/Add*B*/Add*B*-v22.abcddb .dump
GRAB ALL FIRST & LAST NAMES SEPARATED BY |:
sqlite3 $HOME/Library/App*Sup*/Add*B*/Add*B*-v22.abcddb \
“SELECT r.zfirstname, r.zlastname \
FROM ZABCDRECORD r ON pn.zowner = r.z_pk \
ORDER by r.zfirstname, r.zlastname;”
GRAB ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES:
sqlite3 $HOME/Library/App*Sup*/Add*B*/Add*B*-v22.abcddb \
“SELECT ZADDRESS\
FROM ZABCDEMAILADDRESS;”
GRAB ALL CONTACTS:
sqlite3 $HOME/Library/App*Sup*/Add*B*/Add*B*-v22.abcddb \
“SELECT ZSTRINGFORINDEXING \
FROM ZABCDCONTACTINDEX ;”
Ix-Xatt l-Ahmar bay - We moved close to here
Short blog lull happened because we were very busy moving to our new flat. These absolutely gorgeous views are a few hundred yards from our new home in Gozo. There will be some great swimming this summer!
Interview: Annard Brouwer
When I read in the DEVONtechnologies blog that one of their developers was moving to Malta I immediately got in touch with him. Their products are some of the most respected in the Macintosh world. Annard is one of the top software engineers on this planet and has worked all over the globe. I’ve learned a lot from Annard since moved here, if Malta plays its cards right then more professionals like Annard will hear about SmartCity Malta and make the move. Raising the level of talent in any pursuit also raises the level for those already in that pool. Malta would do well to listen to people such as Annard if they wish to raise the caliber of programmers here in Malta.
RSS - Ways your business can benfit are…
Businesses spend time, energy, and money getting messages out in the open, hoping that people will find them. Why leave this up to chance? If you have an on-going story to tell, new prices, events, and changes of all kinds, make sure interested people are informed about it. With an RSS tool they are informed about new things as soon as you post them.
Here is a short list of ways that RSS is good for your business…
Interview: Martin Debattista
“Journalist - a person who gathers and disseminates information about current events, trends, issues, and people.” There is far more to the story than that. Analysis of of those events and learning the character and traits of the players, people & companies, is one of Martin’s strong suits in my estimation. Being timely is not simply luck. Part detective must also be included for his job description. With SmartCity Malta coming online I suspect Martin will be adding Olympic athlete to the above list as sprinting will be required.
Walking at the tip of Valletta, Grand Harbour side
3rd most searched ‘what is’ query in 2007
Will 2008 be the year that people use RSS in a big way?
The most searched ‘what is’ items in Google for 2007 were Love, Autism, and RSS. There are several excellent reasons for this, one major reason is that people are seeking methods to control the fire hose of information that the internet is streaming at them. Instead of constantly checking web sites to see if anything new has been posted, using an RSS feed reader means that you are informed when something new is up. You decide who you want to inform you and many sites have multiple feeds so one can select the specific type of new items you want to be alerted to.
Walking at the tip of Valletta, Grand Harbour side
Interview: Andre Garzia
Andre Garzia has been a friend of mine for years and has also attended two software developer conferences here in Malta. Andre lives in Brazil and recently decided to change goals from film writing and directing to pursuing software development.
Bright, energetic, and very positive are a few words to describe him but fun to be around probably tops the list.
Malta is a fantastic place to hold a conference, here are some photos of Andre enjoying his visit to Malta:
Gozo Valletta Mdina The Thinker at the temples
SmartCity Malta - Center of Excellence
Safe harbour for the future of Malta
The project that will put Malta firmly on the Technology map.
Over the next few months I will be devoting more on this and will set up a ‘Page’ (accessible unders ‘My Pages’ in the right column) as there will surely be a lot to cover. Being an independent software developer myself, I am hoping that Malta will attract other developers. Having a community of all types of software developers here would be a major plus for Malta in many ways.
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Walking at the tip of Valletta, Grand Harbour side
Walking at the tip of Valletta, Grand Harbour side
Interview: Klaus Major
Rock star programmer - literally. Klaus Major became a professional muscian from dedication and hard work. In the recording studio, in a garage band, or playing in a traveling circus, Klaus was a dependable pro. However, when his arm became not so dependable he was forced to take up another career at age 37. Klaus is an excellent example of someone who entered the IT world later in life and flourishes.
Apple Dev - Applescript & Auto-Start
In many of my applications I enable the user to set up auto-start of the application. You can ask them to go to login items in System Prefs but setting up a simple preference choice makes it much easier for the user and also more likely your application will be used by them.
PHILIPPE STARCK
TED Talks | Philippe Starck | Why Design?
Not everyone will be lucky enough to attend Le Web 3 ‘07′ but you can still catch a glimpse of the brilliant Philippe Starck via TED. I had to play this several times in a row I loved it so much.
Walking at the tip of Valletta, Grand Harbour side
Questions & Answers: Richard A. Muscat
Want to find the future of technology in Malta and the world? Follow Richard, but you’d better move quickly as he is a very busy guy.
Ten tech questions for Richard A. Muscat…
Medieval Architecture & Interface Design
An interface designed for humans.
In the news today was an article that described an effort by the Malta Chamber of Architects which described “a visionary document, setting out a road map for the built and rural environment and proposing the setting up of a national centre for the built environment.” In this they reflect on the qualities that made villages attractive. Plus they recognize the need for a basic change in public transportation, “We must consider an effective nation-wide integrated public transport strategy”. “Quality in design is an essential tool for the country’s economic and social development,” said architect David Felice, the president of the Chamber.
Get out of that chair!
Of course, but be aware that the choice doesn’t have to be one or the other. It’s up to you to choose which & when.