Microsoft Wsh And Vbscript Programming For The Absolute Beginner

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ISBN: 9781592007318 | 1592007317
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 2/18/2005

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If you are new to programming with Microsoft WSH and VBScript and are looking for a solid introduction, this is the book for you. Developed by computer science professors, books in the for the absolute beginner series teach the principles of programming through simple game creation. You will acquire the skills that you need for more practical WSH and VBScript programming applications and will learn how these skills can be put to use in real-world scenarios. Best of all, by the time you finish this book, you will be able to apply the basic principles you've learned to the next programming language you tackle.

Introduction

PART I Introducing the WSH and VBScript

(62)

Getting Started with the Wsh and Vbscript

(32)

Project Preview: The Knock Knock Game

(1)

What Is the WSH?

(14)

WSH Scripting Engines

(1)

Selecting a WSH Script Execution Host

(1)

Introducing the WSH Core Object Model

(1)

How Does the WSH Compare to Windows Shell Scripting?

(1)

Understanding How the Windows Shell Works

(3)

How Does It All Work?

(1)

Operating System Compatibility

(1)

How Do You Install It?

(1)

How Does It Work with VBScript?

(4)

What Other Scripting Languages Does the WSH Support?

(1)

Introducing VBScript

(7)

VBScript Capabilities

(1)

VBScript's Roots

(1)

VBScript's Cousins: Visual Basic and VBA

(4)

Microsoft Scripting Technologies Web Page

(2)

Back to the Knock Knock Game

(5)

Designing the Game

(4)

The Final Result

(1)

Summary

(2)

Overview of the Windows Script Host

(28)

Project Preview: The Rock, Paper, and Scissors Game

(1)

A Detailed Examination of WSH Components

(15)

The Core Object Model

(2)

WSH Objects and Their Properties and Methods

(12)

Configuring WSH Execution Hosts

(7)

Configuring WScript and CScript Command-Line Execution

(2)

Configuring WScript Desktop Execution

(1)

Overriding Command-Line Host Execution Settings

(2)

Customizing WScript Settings for Individual Desktop Scripts

(2)

Back to the Rock, Paper, and Scissors Game

(4)

Designing the Game

(3)

The Final Result

(1)

Summary

(1)

PART II Learning VBScript & WSH Scripting

(168)

VBScript Basics

(36)

Project Preview: The Math Game

(2)

VBScript Statements

(1)

VBScript Syntax Rules

(5)

Reserved Characters

(1)

Adding Comments

(3)

Mastering the VBScript Object Model

(1)

Working with VBScript Run-Time Objects

(5)

Properties

(2)

Methods

(2)

Using VBScript Run-Time Objects in Your Scripts

(2)

Examining Built-in VBScript Functions

(2)

Demo: The Square Root Calculator

(1)

Demo: A New and Improved Square Root Calculator

(1)

Displaying Script Output

(6)

The WScript's Echo() Method

(1)

The WshShell Object's Popup() Method

(2)

The VBScript InputBox() Function

(1)

The VBScript MsgBox() Function

(2)

Back to the Math Game

(10)

A Quick Overview of the WshShell SendKeys() Method

(3)

Designing the Game

(4)

The Final Result

(3)

Summary

(2)

Constants, Variables, and Arrays

101

(44)

Project Preview: The Story of Captain Adventure

101

(2)

Understanding How Scripts View Data

103

(1)

Working with Data That Never Changes

104

(7)

Assigning Data to Constants

104

(3)

VBScript Run-Time Constants

107

(4)

Storing Data That Changes During Script Execution

111

(13)

VBScript Data Types

111

(1)

Defining Variables

112

(3)

Variable Naming Rules

115

(1)

Variable Scope

116

(1)

Modifying Variable Values with Expressions

117

(4)

Using the WSH to Work with Environment Variables

121

(3)

Working with Collections of Related Data

124

(11)

Single-Dimension Arrays

125

(1)

Multiple-Dimension Arrays

126

(1)

Processing Array Contents

127

(2)

Getting a Handle on the Size of Your Arrays

129

(1)

Resizing Arrays

130

(3)

Building Dynamic Arrays

133

(2)

Erasing Arrays

135

(1)

Processing Data Passed to a Script at Run-Time

135

(2)

Passing Arguments to Scripts

135

(1)

Designing Scripts That Accept Argument Input

136

(1)

Back to the Story of Captain Adventure

137

(7)

Designing the Game

138

(4)

The Final Result

142

(2)

Summary

144

(1)

Conditional Logic

145

(28)

Project Preview: The Star Trek Quiz Game

145

(2)

Examining Program Data

147

(14)

The If Statement

148

(10)

The Select Case Statement

158

(3)

Performing More Complex Tests with VBScript Operators

161

(1)

Back to the Star Trek Quiz Game

162

(10)

Game Development

163

(6)

The Fully Assembled Script

169

(3)

Summary

172

(1)

Processing Collections of Data

173

(30)

Project Preview: The Guess a Number Game

173

(2)

Adding Looping Logic to Scripts

175

(10)

The For . . . Next Statement

175

(3)

The For Each . . . Next Statement

178

(2)

Do . . . While

180

(3)

Do . . . Until

183

(1)

While . . . Wend

184

(1)

Back to the Guess a Number Game

185

(16)

Designing the Game

185

(4)

The Final Result

189

(2)

Creating Shortcuts for Your Game

191

(9)

A Complete Shortcut Script

200

(1)

Summary

201

(2)

Using Procedures to Organize Scripts

203

(28)

Project Preview: The BlackJack Lite Game

203

(2)

Improving Script Design with Procedures

205

(9)

Introducing Subroutines

206

(1)

Creating Custom Functions

207

(1)

Improving Script Manageability

208

(1)

Writing Reusable Code

209

(1)

The Guess a Number Game Revisited

210

(4)

Working with Built-In VBScript Functions

214

(1)

Limiting Variables Scope with Procedures

214

(2)

Back to the BlackJack Lite Game

216

(14)

Designing the Game

216

(9)

The Final Result

225

(5)

Summary

230

(1)

PART III Advanced Topics

231

(200)

Storing and Retrieving Data

233

(44)

Project Preview: The Lucky Lottery Number Picker

233

(2)

Working with the Windows File System

235

(3)

Opening and Closing Files

238

(4)

Writing to Files

242

(3)

Writing Characters

242

(1)

Writing Lines

243

(1)

Adding Blank Lines

244

(1)

Reading from Files

245

(3)

Skipping Lines

246

(1)

Reading Files Character by Character

247

(1)

Reading a File All at Once

247

(1)

Managing Files and Folders

248

(6)

Copying, Moving, and Deleting Files

249

(1)

Copying One or More Files

250

(1)

Moving One or More Files

250

(1)

Deleting One or More Files

251

(1)

Creating a New Folder

251

(1)

Copying Folders

251

(1)

Moving Folders

252

(1)

Deleting Folders

252

(2)

Storing Script Configuration Settings in External Files

254

(3)

INI File Structure

254

(1)

A Working Example

254

(3)

Back to the Lucky Lottery Number Picker

257

(19)

Designing the Game

258

(10)

The Final Result

268

(8)

Summary

276

(1)

Handling Script Errors

277

(42)

Project Preview: The Hangman Game

277

(2)

Understanding VBScript Errors

279

(7)

Understanding Error Messages

280

(1)

Fixing Syntax Errors

281

(2)

Catching Run-Time Errors

283

(2)

Preventing Logical Errors

285

(1)

Dealing with Errors

286

(5)

Letting Errors Happen

286

(1)

Ignoring Errors

287

(1)

Creating Error Handlers

288

(3)

Reporting Errors

291

(2)

Creating a Custom Log File

291

(1)

Recording an Error Message in the Application Event Log

292

(1)

Back to the Hangman Game

293

(24)

Designing the Game

294

(14)

The Final Result

308

(9)

Summary

317

(2)

Using the Windows Registry to Configure Script Settings

319

(32)

Project Preview: Part 2 of the Hangman Game

319

(2)

Introducing the Windows Registry

321

(5)

How Is the Registry Organized?

322

(1)

Understanding How Data Is Stored in the Registry

323

(3)

Accessing Registry Keys and Values

326

(1)

Creating a Key and Value to Store Script Settings

326

(3)

Creating or Modifying Registry Keys and Values

326

(1)

Accessing Information Stored in the Registry

327

(1)

Deleting Keys and Values

327

(1)

Retrieving System Information Stored in the Registry

327

(2)

Back to Part 2 of the Hangman Game

329

(20)

Creating the Setup Script

330

(3)

Updating the Hangman Game

333

(16)

Summary

349

(2)

Working with Built-In Vbscript Objects

351

(46)

Project Preview: The Tic-Tac-Toe Game

351

(2)

Leveraging VBScript's Built-In Collection of Objects

353

(3)

Built-In Object Properties

355

(1)

Built-In Object Methods

355

(1)

Creating Custom Objects

356

(6)

Defining a Custom Object

356

(1)

Defining Object Properties and Methods

357

(1)

Creating Event Procedures

358

(4)

Working with the Err Object

362

(1)

Working with Regular Expressions

362

(6)

Replacing Matching Patterns

363

(3)

Testing for Matching Patterns

366

(1)

Creating Matches Collections

367

(1)

Back to the Tic-Tac-Toe Game

368

(27)

Designing the Game

369

(14)

The Final Result

383

(12)

Summary

395

(2)

Combining Different Scripting Languages

397

(34)

Project Preview: The VBScript Game Console

397

(2)

Introducing Windows Script Files

399

(8)

Examining WSH Supported XML Tags

400

(1)

Using the <?job?> Tag

400

(1)

Using the <?XML?> Tag

401

(1)

The <comment> </comment> Tags

402

(1)

The <job> </job> Tags

402

(2)

The <package> </package> Tags

404

(1)

The <resource> </resource> Tags

405

(1)

The <script> </script> Tags

405

(2)

Executing Your Windows Script Files

407

(1)

Back to the VBScript Game Console

407

(23)

Designing the Game

407

(1)

Using XML to Outline the Script's Structure

408

(1)

Writing the First JScript

409

(2)

Developing the VBScript Game Console

411

(9)

Writing the Second JScript

420

(1)

The Final Result

420

(10)

Summary

430

(1)

PART IV Appendices

431

(2)

Appendix A WSH Administrative Scripting

433

(34)

Desktop Administration

434

(4)

Configuring the Desktop Background

434

(2)

Configuring the Screen Saver

436

(2)

Network Administration

438

(3)

Mapping Network Drives

438

(2)

Disconnecting Mapped Drives

440

(1)

Printer Administration

441

(3)

Connecting to a Network Printer

441

(2)

Disconnecting from a Network Printer

443

(1)

Computer Administration

444

(4)

Managing Services

444

(2)

User Account Administration

446

(2)

Scheduling the Execution of Administrative Scripts

448

(5)

The AT Command

448

(2)

The Windows Scheduler

450

(1)

Creating a Master Scheduling Script

451

(2)

Disk Management

453

(4)

Automating Disk Cleanup

453

(2)

Automating the Disk Defrag Process

455

(2)

Integrating VBScript with Other Applications

457

(10)

Automating Microsoft Word Reports Generation

457

(4)

Automating the Creation of Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets

461

(3)

Automating the Execution of Third-Party Applications

464

(3)

Appendix B Built-In VBScript Functions

467

(6)

VBScript Functions

467

(6)

Appendix C What's on the Companion Web Site?

473

(8)

Script Examples

473

(4)

VBScript Editors

477

(4)

Adersoft VbsEdit

477

(1)

VBSEditor

478

(1)

SitePad Pro

479

(2)

Appendix D What Next?

481

(6)

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Microsoft Wsh And Vbscript Programming For The Absolute Beginner

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials