Editing AppleScript (section)

===Script editors===
The [[development tools]] below provide a programing environment for scripting with AppleScript {{endash}} supporting composing, validating, compiling, running and debugging scripts. Some also provide for listing AppleScript dictionaries, saving scripts in a number of formats, [[syntax highlighting]] and inserting code snippets.

; [[AppleScript Editor]]: An editor from Apple packaged with macOS, called ''AppleScript Editor'' in [[Mac OS X Snow Leopard]] (10.6) through [[OS X Mavericks]] (10.9) and ''Script Editor'' in all earlier and later versions of macOS. Scripts are written in document editing windows where they can be compiled and run, and these windows contain various panes in which logged information, execution results, and other information is available for debugging purposes. Access to scripting dictionaries and prewritten code snippets is available through the application menus. Since [[OS X Yosemite]] (10.10), Script Editor includes the ability to write in both AppleScript and [[JavaScript]].<ref name="Siracusa JXA"/>

; [[Xcode]]: A suite of tools from Apple for developing applications with features for editing scripts and creating standalone applications written in AppleScript.

;[[Script Debugger]]: An commercial IDE from [[Late Night Software]], Script Debugger is a relatively advanced AppleScript environment that allows the script writer to debug AppleScripts via single [[program animation|stepping]], [[breakpoint]]s, stepping in and out of functions/subroutines, variable tracking, etc. Script Debugger also contains an advanced dictionary browser that allows the user to see the dictionary in action in real world situations. That is, rather than just a listing of what the dictionary covers, one can open a document in [[Pages (iWork)|Pages]], for example, and see how the dictionary's terms apply to that document, making it easier to determine which parts of the dictionary to use. Script Debugger is not designed to create scripts with a GUI, other than basic alerts and dialogs, but is focused more on the coding and debugging of scripts.

;[[Smile (software)|Smile and SmileLab]]: A third-party freeware/commercial IDE for AppleScript, itself written entirely in AppleScript.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.satimage.fr/software/en/ |title=Smile and SmileLab Home Page |website=satimage.fr |access-date=May 8, 2017}}</ref> Smile is free, and primarily designed for AppleScript development. SmileLab is commercial software with extensive additions for numerical analysis, graphing, machine automation and web production. Smile and SmileLab use an assortment of different windows—AppleScript windows for running and saving full scripts, AppleScript terminals for testing code line-by-line, unicode windows for working with text and XML. Users can create complex interfaces—called dialogs—for situations where the built-in dialogs in AppleScript are insufficient.

;ASObjC Explorer 4: A discontinued commercial IDE from Shane Stanley for AppleScript, especially for [[#AppleScriptObjC|AppleScriptObjC]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.macosxautomation.com/applescript/apps/explorer.html |title=ASObjC Explorer 4 Discontinued |website=macosxautomation.com |access-date=May 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170621152438/http://www.macosxautomation.com/applescript/apps/explorer.html |archive-date=June 21, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The main feature is [[Cocoa (API)|Cocoa]]-object/event logging, debugging and code-completion. Users can read Cocoa events and objects like other scriptable applications. This tool was originally built for [[#AppleScript Libraries|AppleScript Libraries]] (available in [[OS X Mavericks]]). AppleScript Libraries aims for re-usable AppleScript components and supports built-in AppleScript dictionary (sdef). ASObjC Explorer 4 can be an external Xcode script editor, too.

;FaceSpan: A discontinued commercial IDE from [[Late Night Software]] for creating AppleScript applications with graphic user interfaces.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.latenightsw.com/?cat=10 |title=Mark Alldritt's Journal » FaceSpan |website=blog.latenightsw.com |access-date=May 8, 2017}}</ref>