===== FinaleScript vs. JW Lua comparison =====

(Please note that this article is mainly intended for //JW Lua// script writers.)

==== The MakeMusic blog ====

Today (Sep. 18, 2013), Kelby Stine at MakeMusic made a post on the MakeMusic blog about replacing Wizard-created staff names through FinaleScript. I thought it would be interesting to do a //FinaleScript// vs. //JW Lua// comparison on this (testing on the //JW Lua beta 0.05// functionality, which is soon available).

Kelby's blog post is here:
[[http://www.finalemusic.com/blog/using-finalescript-to-rename-staves-in-your-finale-score/|http://www.finalemusic.com/blog/using-finalescript-to-rename-staves-in-your-finale-score/]]

==== The FinaleScript source ====

The FinaleScript source which the blog post is based on is here:
[[http://www.finalemusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Name_Change_Script.txt|http://www.finalemusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Name_Change_Script.txt]]

==== The JW Lua source ====

Here's the //JW Lua// script (what Kelby would probably call "code-based gobbledygook") for approximately the same functionality:
<code lua>function ChangeStaffInstruments(thestring)     
    -- Clarinets
    thestring:Replace("Clarinet in E^flat()", "E^flat() Clarinet")
    thestring:Replace("Clarinet in B^flat()", "B^flat() Clarinet")    
    if not thestring:ContainsLuaString("^flat()", nil) then
        thestring:Replace("Alto Clarinet", "E^flat() Alto Clarinet")
        thestring:Replace("Bass Clarinet", "B^flat() Bass Clarinet")    
        thestring:Replace("Contralto Clarinet", "E^flat() Contrabass Clarinet")    
        thestring:Replace("Contrabass Clarinet", "B^flat() Contrabass Clarinet")
    end

    -- Saxes
    if not thestring:ContainsLuaString("^flat()", nil) then
        thestring:Replace("Sopranino Sax", "E^flat() Sopranino Saxophone")
        thestring:Replace("Soprano Sax", "B^flat() Soprano Saxophone")
        thestring:Replace("Alto Sax", "E^flat() Alto Saxophone")
        thestring:Replace("Tenor Sax", "B^flat() Tenor Saxophone")
        thestring:Replace("Baritone Sax", "E^flat() Baritone Saxophone")
        thestring:Replace("Bass Sax", "B^flat() Bass Saxophone")
        thestring:Replace("Contrabass Sax", "E^flat() Contrabass\rSaxophone")
        thestring:Replace("SubContrabass Sax", "B^flat() Subcontrabass\rSaxophone")
    end

    -- Brass
    if not thestring:ContainsLuaString("^flat()", nil) then
        thestring:Replace("Trumpet in B^flat()", "B^flat() Trumpet")
        thestring:Replace("Horn in E^flat()", "E^flat() Horn")
    end
    thestring:Replace("Horn in F", "F Horn")    
    thestring:Replace("Baritone (B.C.)", "Baritone BC")
    thestring:Replace("Baritone (T.C.)", "Baritone TC")
end

-- Load all staves
local staves = finale.FCStaves()
staves:LoadAll()
-- Parse through the staves
for staff in each(staves) do    
    local oldstring = staff:CreateFullNameString()
    local staffstring = staff:CreateFullNameString()
    -- Change the instrument texts
    ChangeStaffInstruments(staffstring)
    -- If the text has changed, save the string
    if oldstring.LuaString ~= staffstring.LuaString then
        staff:SaveFullNameString(staffstring)
    end    
end</code>

==== Comparison Result ====

I did the comparisons on the same Finale document (a "Concert Band (Full)" created by the 2012c Document Wizard) on my Windows machine.

^ Comparison Area ^ FinaleScript ^ JW Lua ^
| Total Execution Time | 9.25 seconds (manually timed) | 0.02486 seconds |
| Lines of Code (not counting comment lines) | 19 | 37 |
| User Restrictions | Make sure to run only once, base document on Wizard's output | Base document on Wizard's output (see remark in "Conclusion" below) |

==== Conclusion ====

//JW Lua// is a programming language, and the comparison clearly shows that difference. You'll need to code a bit more, but you have full coding flexibility, can control the brevity of the language - and you get execution speed.

However, in Finale 2012 string replacement in staff names is generally a bad approach since it put user restrictions on the script. Instead, the //JW Lua// script should make changes primarily based on the ''InstrumentUUID'' property. In the specific example above, the //JW Lua// execution is about **372 times faster** than //FinaleScript//, which would probably be an even larger difference if a ''InstrumentUUID'' solution would be used. But that's way beyond this comparison. :-)