Scripts
When we started this unit, I thought that scripts were just something that actors read. It turns out that they are much more than that. A script is a “program or sequence of instructions that is interpreted or carried out by another program rather than by the computer processor.” source They are an easy way to automate tasks that take up time and energy that I just don’t have.
I’ve already written my thesis, but if I had to do it again, I would consider using a template and Pandoc. It would have been worth the effort to learn how to write in markdown and convert it to multiple formats effortlessly. As it was, it took me hours to format my dissertation (especially because it had a lot of images). If there were going to write another one (never again!), I’ll use the techniques I learned in the class.
In class, I made a Mad Libs script. It asked for different parts of speech and assembled some pretty funny sentences. After writing the Mad Libs, I still had no idea how to write the commands to convert documents from markdown into different formats. I figured it out by looking at the class notes and using the various tutorials to find out how to designate variables.
My script is very basic, but it works. I tried to figure out how to use a
template so I could have indented paragraphs, but I didn’t have a lot of time to
mess around. I also tried to color the document titles, but it didn’t work.
Unfortunately, I didn’t write down the code my professor used when he made a
“Happy Birthday” script. I tried Googling the information, but the codes I
tried didn’t work. There was probably some weird formatting issue with which
I’m not familiar.
It took me awhile to decide what document to convert, but turning it into markdown wasn’t very hard. In the end, I converted the beginning of Chapter Four of my dissertation into markdown. The excerpt discusses the work of American humanitarians in Turkey after the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1917. In the chapter as a whole, I address the creation of publicity photographs and other materials to raise money from the American public. I discuss the creation and use of a particular photograph featuring a female physician, Dr. Mabel Elliott, and her starving patient. You can find my converted documents at the following links: