Inline scripts are automatically executed when found in a display. Because gDesklets can load displays from remote locations as well, special care was taken to protect the user by running the code in a sandboxed environment.
This, however, has the effect that the capabilities of scripting code are limited to modifying the elements of the display. There is no way to read or modify data on the system.
If there is need for such actions, you have to use controls, which provide a controlled way to access data outside the sandbox. The use of controls is explained in another chapter.