We have sanderling framework, a real piece of art. He read the game interface , and put some tools on the table:
roling a script , something betwen scripting and c# programmation.
an API development interface. actually you can create/modify the scripts.
You can clone the git source of sanderling and bring modifications. The game is modified and sometime you have to change inside the code. by example, the version of game interface.
really important, sanderling doesn’t inject the code in game, so he use the mouse/keyboard. There are advantages ( not so fast detectable) but also disadvantages: you have to stay with your game window open and focused. of course, he is still a bot, and some guys got catched and … banned.
Yes, you have 3 samples of scripts: traveling, one simple mining script and one more developed. Inside this scripts you have basicaly all you need: traveling, moving stuff to inventory, fighting, warping , and protection if some neutrals come to your system. All this could be used for other things by adapting the code: warping to asteroids its almost the same like warping to anomaly ( almost, remember) or to a station. Fighting with rats could be used to run from them :)) or players. Moving the stuff from inventory - to changing a ship.
there are more specialized stuff but you must create yourself: market, hauling, scouts, etc
Abot is a small version of sanderling, packaged differently. the “scripts” are ordered , loaded by steps. Actually are files. He do the same things , differently , more efficient, or faster, or sometime … really different and hardly. He take all anomaly , but you will need to mark them if somebody already fight there. you need to orbit around an object and more stuff. thats why you need coding, because is not an by the box tools, ; its free, but you need to … work on him. Also if the game change, there is virtually nobody toupdate him. Sometime you need a master to resolve the stuffs,
Sanderling has a period of free , for testing, or making your own scripts, but, he is updated, and somebody work on him, and trust me they work hard. In other words, Abot is based on sanderling, he use some DLL from him.
So yes, you have to code. is not (so) hard if you have some knowledge.