Everyone must record code

I remember mucking around with Rexx in OS/2. It was a truly liberating experience, especially after spending way too much time with Edlin and batch files. It's OO-ness, simplicity and consistency helped me automate a variety of mundane systems admin tasks. But after the demise of OS/2, I found myself staring yet again at a less-than-useful set of scripting tools on the Wintel desktop.

That is perhaps one reason why CLI-savvy OSes like Linux, BSD, and even Mac OS X are findings their way onto many admin desks. They are rife with tools that let non-coders create a wide range of scripts. But one often overlooked capability available within these OSes is that of automation routines.

Just ask any Photoshop user how to tackle a repetitive task, and she'll tell you to just record a set of actions while performing the task at hand.

No scripting, just doing. Record once, run anytime.

I'd like to see the same notion applied in a standardized manner across apps as well as OSes. A systems admin in South Bend Indiana could then record and annotate a set of "backup" actions for a given environment. He could post those actions to a shared source server, returning the favor for already downloaded actions created by other admins. Others could download this source code and modify it to suite their specific needs.

Of course, without some abstraction layer or at least scripting standard that could accommodate for different file locations, formats, etc., this idea will never leave the application-specific space. Ah well. It's nice to dream. Anyone for a little HyperCard?