What should AutoIT 4 have

[boludoz]

AutoIT 3 has many advantages that make it an easy language to understand, but it also has many shortcomings, in this humble list I list what AutoIT 4 should have to be all powerful.

- Threading, like python (It would give thousands of new possibilities).
- Slightly more complex exception handling (Try, Catch), like most current languages, @error could be preserved.
- Greater UNICODE support.
- Greater orientation to objects, lists, more complex dictionaries.
- Class, maybe.
- Select the parameters of the functions individually.
Example:

Test([$sCommand2 = 2])
Func Test($sCommand = 1, $sCommand2 = 2)
EndFunc

- Be OpenSource as much as possible (the most important thing). Perhaps this makes it portable to other platforms.

I don't want to sound arrogant with this, but AutoIT is a beautiful language that offers many possibilities, is well documented and very easy to use.
What would you like to see in a hypothetical AutoIT 4?

Edited September 5, 2022 by boludoz

[TheDcoder]

You might find my attempt interesting, see the link in my sig

[Jos]

Did you do a search on Autoit4 before posting?  ...  Guess not.

[TheSaint]

20 hours ago, boludoz said:

in this humble list I list what AutoIT 4 should have to be all powerful.

There never will be an AutoIT 4, and by all accounts no AutoIt 4 either.  

I am guessing this is probably the longest stretch we have had here, without a mention of AutoIt 4 ... until now.

We could tell you all the reasons for AutoIt 4 being unlikely, but where is the fun in that, much better if you just do some research ... plenty of topics out there to whet your appetite.  

Why do you want to Automate It 4?  

I'm not sure why we would want a 4th Auto IT department either.

Edited September 6, 2022 by TheSaint

[boludoz]

On 9/6/2022 at 9:56 AM, Jos said:

Did you do a search on Autoit4 before posting?  ...  Guess not.

Good vibes.

On 9/6/2022 at 8:58 AM, TheDcoder said:

You might find my attempt interesting, see the link in my sig

Thanks for the positive comment. I'm glad what I see in your link.

Edited September 9, 2022 by boludoz

[boludoz]

On 9/6/2022 at 1:09 PM, TheSaint said:

There never will be an AutoIT 4, and by all accounts no AutoIt 4 either.  

I am guessing this is probably the longest stretch we have had here, without a mention of AutoIt 4 ... until now.

We could tell you all the reasons for AutoIt 4 being unlikely, but where is the fun in that, much better if you just do some research ... plenty of topics out there to whet your appetite.  

Why do you want to Automate It 4?  

I'm not sure why we would want a 4th Auto IT department either.

Because while we have scripting languages like python, we don't have solid, compact languages like autoit 3 that are easy to use, there's practically nothing like it for automation.

[JLogan3o13]

11 hours ago, boludoz said:

Because while we have scripting languages like python, we don't have solid, compact languages like autoit 3 that are easy to use, there's practically nothing like it for automation.

We see this kind of "Hey, you should add xyz to AutoIt" post a lot. Unfortunately, the request lacks an understanding of the level of effort to implement these things.

If you truly want to see the language grow and thrive, you are more than welcome to offer your services in doing so; perhaps you will change Jon's mind on the need for AutoIt4. I would suggest starting by creating UDFs for things you see as "missing" from the current version, or processes you see as pain points. Show the dev staff that you know what you're doing and have a real vision, and go from there.

[TheSaint]

13 hours ago, boludoz said:

Because while we have scripting languages like python, we don't have solid, compact languages like autoit 3 that are easy to use, there's practically nothing like it for automation.

Seems my humor went over your head, as I wasn't being serious, and just playing on your misnaming of AutoIt, which stands for Automate It, and not some Auto IT department. AutoIt 3 is indeed a fabulous language, the best in my opinion, certainly for automation and for your average person who is not really a nerd or much of one, empowering them when it comes to usage and control of their PC. Many other languages are of course faster and more powerful, but also more complex. So in the end one uses the right tool for the job, and AutoIt is a fantastic tool to have in your toolbox.

Yes, some of those things you would like to see in a version 4 of AutoIt, would be lovely, but unfortunately they require huge changes, and for many years those in charge here, have been saying it simply will not happen. And some of what you want would make AutoIt more like other languages, which for me, is something I would not want. Sometimes you can change something to the point where it loses its soul and is no longer what was great about it.