Required Software

Obtaining the Software

1. The latest version of MacHTTP. You don't want to miss a single one of the capabilities that have been added to this version (whichever one it is).
2. AppleScript. Get the latest version you can. If you're just starting with AppleScript, I recommend Danny Goodman's book, "The Complete AppleScript Handbook" which ships with AppleScript 1.1 and several very useful scripts. Although the release version of MacHTTP includes the AppleScript Extension, you will also need the Script Editor to get any work done.
   To get the most speed out of AppleScript, you will need to get the following OSAX (AppleScript Language Extensions):
   • the Script Tools package. These additions are extremely useful for any work with AppleScript.
   • the Tokenize OSAX. This extension separates text blocks into lists based on the specified list of delimiters. This OSAX, and many other useful ones, was written by Wayne Walrath.
   • the DecodeURL OSAX. This extensions translates the encoding used by http clients to represent special characters. This OSAX was written by Chuck Shotton, who also has made the source code public domain.
   • the DePlus OSAX. This extension converts all +'s to spaces in a string. Written by Jon Wiederspan, based on Chuck Shotton's code example.
   • Optional: the TCP/IP Scripting Additions. This OSAX provides access to TCP/IP communications from inside AppleScript. Using this, you could write a client or server for the most popular protocols (FTP, gopher, WWW, mail, NNTP, DNS) or whatever protocol you want. This product is shareware ($20) from Mango Tree Software.
3. Eudora 1.4.x from QualComm. This is a free e-mail package for the Macintosh (and other platforms). There is also a commercial version of Eudora that includes many incredibly useful additions, like automated sorting of new mail.

Installing the Software

To install MacHTTP, follow the instructions included with MacHTTP. This definitely should be the first step, as MacHTTP is required in order to test any code you write. Note: don't install MacHTTP on your development machine if you can help it. Many things can go wrong if you try to run both the client and server software for http on the same machine. Instead, use some other Macintosh (even an SE will do) to be the server and use the more powerful machine for development.

Installing AppleScript is best done by following the instructions in whatever package you bought to get AppleScript. After a successful installation, you will have a new folder in your "Extensions" folder (in you System folder). This new folder, called "Scripting Additions", contains extensions to your AppleScript system including libraries and OSAXen. This is a very important folder.

To install the OSAX (Decode URL, DePlus, ScriptTools, TCP/IP Scripting Additions, and Tokenize), drag the OSAXen to the folder named "Scripting Additions" in the "Extensions" folder of your System Folder (I told you this would be important). There is no need to restart the computer - AppleScript additions are loaded dynamically.

Installing Eudora consists of launching the application and setting your Preferences, especially the name of the SMTP and POP servers. When you save an AppleScript that communicates with Eudora, you will be asked to locate Eudora, so it doesn't matter where it is placed on your hard disk.