How do i create a script which presses the spacebar - applescript

Question

in applescript editor, i would like to know how i can make a script that presses the spacebar every 10 miliseconds, and can be paused and unpaused using a hot key. Sort of like the autohotkey script:
6::pause,toggle
5::
Loop,
{
Send, {Space}
Sleep, 10
}
return

Answer 1

If you're just looking for repeats on the spacebar, why not just put a paperweight on the space bar and let key repeat do the job?
In AppleScript, the repeat part is easy, but the toggle part is not something AppleScript is well-suited for. Instead, you should probably look at something like Keyboard Maestro for this kind of keystroke automation. You can set up Keyboard Maestro macros to alternately start or cancel other macros, which is pretty much what you're asking for.
In Keyboard Maestro you might make one hotkey-triggered macro to run the "repeat until false" applescript below, and another to cancel all macros.
I do not recommend the following.
If you still want to go the AppleScript approach, here's what I might suggest. Don't run this script, since it'll just hit space forever, but you'd set up a script like this:
repeat until false
tell application "System Events" to keystroke space
delay 0.01
end repeat
For testing, you can repeat a specific number of times like so:
repeat with i from 1 to 10
tell application "System Events" to keystroke space
delay 0.01
end repeat
You need to take the first script up there, throw it in Script Editor and "Export" it as an Application. Call it "SMASHYKEY.app". Now, you run that app to mash the space key, but you'll need a way to turn it off.
To turn it off, you'll make a new script:
do shell script "killall applet"
You'll probably want to export that as an App and stick it on your dock to double-click to kill this bastard.
If you want to get fancy with the AppleScript approach, you can throw both of those scripts into separate "Service" workflows in Automator. You can then bind hotkeys to those services from Keyboard Preferences in System Preferences. This is tedious, but I wrote about how to do it, among other methods of running AppleScript.
You're really better off with Keyboard Maestro for this specific kind of task.