Phantom is a system used to automate window (graphical interface) tasks.  The system consists of an interpreter, a script, and optionally a window declarations file.  These three interact to automate a window or set of windows.  The windows declaration file contains the information about the windows being automated.  The script contains the information about the actions to be performed. The interpreter uses all this information to perform the actual automation tasks.

The Phantom language is the scripting language used by the interpreter to perform automation tasks. The language is similar to C in syntax, and tracks variables, arrays, functions, and determines flow control of a script. The language is written using any ASCII text editor.

This system can be used to do any number of tasks, from creating system-wide macros to testing applications. Each action or set of actions has an associated script. These scripts are processed when sent to the interpreter from an executable Phantom interface (such as Phantom.exe, Phantom Sidekick, or the Phantom Test Driver). The interpreter then uses the window declarations to access a window and performs the functions indicated by the script. Throughout the execution, the interpreter communicates with the interface any problems or messages from the script. These messages are then displayed on the screen and, if appropriate, in a log file.

See Also: The Phantom Interpreter, Window Declarations