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Kross (software)
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<h2 id="comparison-with-other-scripting-frameworks">Comparison with other scripting frameworks</h2> <h3>SWIG: Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator</h3> <ul><li>Kross currently has fewer supported scripting languages.</li> <li>Kross is built on top of Qt/KDE. This allows access to Qt/KDE things without needing extra effort to wrap them.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li> <li>Applications supporting Kross do not require as much code as to support SWIG.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li>With SWIG, the set of supported scripting languages is determined at the time of compiling the application: each supported language must either have code in the application to invoke that language's interpreter, and/or have a shared library specific to that application–language pair whereas Kross doesn't need to know until runtime.</li></ul> <h3>AppleScript</h3> <p>Compared to AppleScript's Open Scripting Architecture (OSA): </p> <ul><li>OSA can be used with <a href="/facts/Inter-process_communication/cIQYyT6y">IPC</a> (<a href="/facts/Apple_events/dkUzzmlE">Apple events</a>), allowing a script to be in a separate process, whereas Kross scripts always run in the same process as the main application. In practical terms, using IPC allows a script to interface between several already-running applications; Kross does not.</li></ul> (IPC is not technically necessary for one script to access code from many applications at once: a script can link against library forms of those applications, such as the libraries produced by SWIG.) <ul><li>While Kross allows the scripter to write scripts in a language of their choice, AppleScript is one given language, though it can be called from within other (scripting) languages.</li> <li>Kross always requires code added to the application explicitly for Kross, whereas many <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">macOS</a> applications have basic scriptability just because of their choice of GUI toolkit (<a href="/facts/Cocoa_(API)/p10p5aFI">Cocoa</a>) (see <a href="/facts/AppleScript/cc3rc4wD">AppleScript</a> in macOS). (<a href="/facts/Dogtail/gG22Xa0s">Dogtail</a> and other <a href="/facts/List_of_GUI_testing_tools/eU0fDTz5">GUI testing/automation tools</a> also have this property.) “Basic scriptability” here means at least being able to click on buttons and menus and access information provided to <a href="/facts/Computer_accessibility/WgkqJYRL">accessibility</a> software such as <a href="/facts/Screen_reader/Twune61n">Screen readers</a>.</li></ul> <p>Kross does not currently have any provision for running untrusted scripts, i.e. does not allow restricting what scripts can do. Kross developer Sauer<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> suggests either using a language with good sandbox support (such as by using the experimental Java plugin) or using approaches to increase the trust in scripts, such as using signed scripts.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="applications-using-kross">Applications using Kross</h2> <ul> <li>Free and open-source software portal</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Calligra_Suite/SWrc9m2R">Calligra Suite</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Kexi/HFwXhAEg">Kexi</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Krita/VuMXYuxD">Krita</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/KDevelop/CFUunpL9">KDevelop</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/KTorrent/YKFxT49n">KTorrent</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Kopete/SYxAj3QQ">Kopete</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/KDE_Plasma/ao7x6z7s">Plasma</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://techbase.kde.org/Development/Tutorials/Kross/Introduction">Kross home page (documentation for developers)</a></li> <li><a href="http://dot.kde.org/1152490640/">Interview with Kross developer</a></li> <li><a href="http://techbase.kde.org/Development/Tutorials/Kross-Tutorial">Kross tutorial</a></li> <li><a href="http://conference2006.kde.org/conference/talks/2.php">aKademy 2006 conference talk on Kross</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110720142231/http://conference2006.kde.org/conference/talks/2.php">Archived</a> 2011-07-20 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070930031558/http://www.englishbreakfastnetwork.org/apidocs/apidox-kde-4.0/kdelibs-apidocs/kross/html/namespaceKross.html">Kross Namespace Reference</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Kross", KDE Frameworks, retrieved 2024-08-27 <a href="https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kross" target="_blank">https://invent.kde.org/frameworks/kross</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"?". Archived from the original on September 24, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-16. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060924165701/http://www.kexi-project.org/wiki/wikiview/index.php?Scripting" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060924165701/http://www.kexi-project.org/wiki/wikiview/index.php?Scripting</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"?". Archived from the original on September 24, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-16. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060924165701/http://www.kexi-project.org/wiki/wikiview/index.php?Scripting" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060924165701/http://www.kexi-project.org/wiki/wikiview/index.php?Scripting</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>The Road to KDE 4: New KOffice Technologies <a href="http://dot.kde.org/1168284615/" target="_blank">http://dot.kde.org/1168284615/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"?". Archived from the original on September 24, 2006. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060924165701/http://www.kexi-project.org/wiki/wikiview/index.php?Scripting" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060924165701/http://www.kexi-project.org/wiki/wikiview/index.php?Scripting</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>