Windows script host Book

(NOTE: Each chapter ends with Overview.)

1. Windows Script Host Fundamentals.

Background. Unix Scripting. The DOS Batch Language. Windows Scripting. How WSH Works. What Can WSH Do? WSH Operation. Scripting Technology. Two Scripting Utilities. WSH Languages. WSH and Objects.

2. The WSH Object Model.

Objects. Object References. Object Properties. Object Methods. Collections. The WshCollection Object. The FileSystemObject. The Dictionary Object. The Wscript Object. Obtaining Host Information. Script Interactivity. Terminating a Script. Setting a Timeout. Working with Objects. The WshShell Object. The WshEnvironment Object. The WshSpecialFolders Object. Working with Shortcuts. Displaying Popup Messages. Working with the Registry. Running Programs. The WshNetwork Object. Obtaining User Information. Working with Printers. Managing Network Drives.

3. Creating, Running, and Scheduling Scripts.

Creating Your Scripts. Online Documentation. Running Scripts. Script Shortcuts. Scheduling Scripts.

4. Working with Script Arguments, .WSH Files, and Web.

Scripting. Script Arguments. WSH Files. WSH and Web Scripting.

5. Testing and Debugging Your Scripts.

Catching Script Errors. Syntax Errors. Run-Time Errors. Bugs. Debugging Your Scripts. The Script Debugger. Using the Debugger.

6. VBScript: Syntax, Data Storage, and Operators.

Introduction to VBScript. Comparison with Visual Basic. Syntax Fundamentals. Comments. Line Continuations. Data Storage. Object References. Determining Data Type. Arrays. Static Arrays. Dynamic Arrays. Variant Arrays. Operators. Assignment Operator. Arithmetic Operators. String Operators. Comparison Operators. Logical Operators. Operator Precedence and Parentheses.

7. VBScript: Program Control and Procedures.

Conditional Statements. If… Then… Else. Select Case. Loop Statements. For…. Next. For Each… Next. Do…Loop. While…Wend. Infinite Loops. Procedures. Types of Procedures. Defining a Procedure. Passing Arguments to Procedures. Variables in Procedures. Calling Procedures.

8. VBScript: Working with Text, Numbers, Dates, and Times.

Text Manipulation. Asc. Chr. Filter. InStr, InStrRev. InStrRev. Join. LCase, Ucase. Left, Mid, Right. Len. LTrim, RTrim, Trim. Mid (function). RegExp. Right. Rtrim. Space. Split. String. StrComp. Trim. Ucase. Working With Numbers. Using Dates and Times. Date and Time Representation. Getting the Current Date and Time. Creating Dates and Times. Adding and Subtracting Dates and Times. Getting Date and Time Information. Formatting Dates and Times.

9. VBScript: User Interaction, Error Handling, And Miscellaneous Topics.

Interacting with the User. The MsgBox Function. InputBox. Error Handling. Other Topics. Eval. Execute and ExecuteGlobal.

10. JScript: Basic Syntax, Data Storage, and Operators.

Introduction to Jscript. Comparison with Java. Syntax Fundamentals. Comments. Data Storage. Constants. Variables. Data Types and Coersion. Object References. Arrays. JScript Operators. The Assignment Operators. The Arithmetic Operators. The Increment and Decrement Operators. The Comparison Operators. The Logical Operators. String Operators. Conditional Expressions. Operator Precedence and Parentheses.

11. JScript: Conditional Statements, Loops, and Functions.

Conditional Statements. If…Else. Switch. Loop Statements. For. While. Do…While. The Continue Statement. The With Statement. Functions. Defining a Function. Variables in Functions. Calling a Function.

12. JScript: Strings, Numbers, Math, Dates, and Times.

The String Object. The Split Method. Working with Regular Expressions. The Number Object. The Math Object. Dates and Times.

13. JScript: Built-in Objects, User Interaction, and Error Handling.

JScript Objects. The Boolean Object. The Enumerator Object. The Function Object. The VBArray Object. User Interaction. Error Handling. The Error Object. Try…Catch. The Throw Statement.

14. WSH 2.0 and WSF Files.

Using WSF Files. XML and WSF Files. The <script> Tag. The <job> and <package>Tags. The <object> Tag. The <reference> Tag. Importing Files. XML Compliance. XML Errors and Debugging.

15. File Access and Management.

The Scripting Run-time Library. File Management. Copying and Moving Files. Copying and Moving Folders. Creating Folders. Deleting Files and Folders. Seeing if a Drive, Folder, or File Exists. Obtaining Object References. Working with the Drives Collection and Drive Object. Working with the Folders Collection and Folder Object. Working with the Files Collection and File Object. Other FileSystemObject Methods. File Access. The TextStream Object. A TextStream Demonstration.

16. Creating Windows Script Components.

Defining a Class. Creating Class Instances. Defining Class Properties. Defining Class Methods. Defining Private Class Information. Procedural Class Properties. Defining a Default Class Property. Using a Class in Multiple Scripts. A Class Example.

17. Database Access with Scripting.

Database Fundamentals. Database Technologies. Active Data Objects. Creating a Connection. Creating a Connection String. Recordsets. Creating a Recordset. Working with Recordsets. Accessing Field Data. Moving through a Recordset. Modifying Recordset Data.

18. Scripting Microsoft Office Components.

The Office Object Model. The Word Object Model. The Document Object. Manipulating Document Content. Other Document Properties and Methods. The Excel Object Model. The Workbook Object. The Worksheet Object. Validating Object References.

19. Messaging With WSH.

Scripts and Messaging. Some E-mail Background. Scripting CDO. Sending a Message with CDO. Reading Mail with CDO. Scripting Microsoft Outlook. The NameSpace Object. Manipulating Folders and Items. Working with Mail Messages.

20. Using WSH For Administrative Tasks.

Mapping Network Drives. Automating LogOn Scripts. Updating Files. Creating Folders.

21. A Script Programmer's Library.

Installing Files from a CD. Obtaining Information about a Database. Printing from a Script.

Appendix A. VBScript Constants.

Color Constants. Comparison Constants. Date and Time Constants. Date and Time Format Constants. Miscellaneous Constants. MsgBox Constants. String Constants.

Appendix B. VBScript Keywords.

Appendix C. ASCII Character Codes.

Appendix D. VBScript Error Codes.

Appendix E. JScript Reserved Words.

Current Reserved Words. Future Reserved Words. Words to Avoid.

Appendix F. JScript Error Codes.

Appendix G. WSH Resources on the Internet.

Index.