Amazon.co.uk Review
Windows Script Host explains the latest Windows scripting technology, focusing on VBScript as a tool for developing robust scripting solutions under Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000.
Having established a name with his superb Windows NT Shell Scripting, Tim Hill has written a fine book about the Windows technology that's replacing DOS-like batch files. More than his earlier work (which was largely a collection of ready-to-run administration scripts tailored for particular tasks), this book is a tutorial. It's meant to get you up to speed on several technologies, including the ActiveX-based Windows scripting architecture, the Windows Script Host (WSH) itself, the WSH interpreters (cscript.exe and wscript.exe), the VBScript language, and the WSH object model.
Those readers who are looking for ready solutions to their administration woes will find some manna here. Hill has written and published several useful scripts, including one that generates a list of a machine's users, one that configures a user's environment variables at login, and one that generates a directory listing in XML form. (There's no companion disk, though.)
Programmers who want a solid explanation of the WSH's programming environment (hardly documented until now) will be most pleased. Documentation of the WSH object model, especially the portion that exposes the file system, is excellent (though you may wish for different formatting). There are also a couple of utility files included--they'll make it easier for you to build your own administration scripts. --David Wall
Product Description
Written for system and network administrators, Windows Script Host includes authoritative coverage of the VBScript language essentials, including script structure and statements; detailed discussion of the object-oriented paradigm, how it is used in Windows system scripting, and how to emply COM objects; program guides that provide additional insight for those who are new to programming; and proven, ready-to-use scripting solutions, including sample logon and system management scripts. If you design or administer Windows NT/2000 networks, this is an essential resource to help you implement system scripting across your network. This comprehensive reference will help you: install system scripting components on your network; automate or simplify system management tasks, ranging from copying files to monitoring a set of enterprise servers; create your own COM objects in VBScript through the use of Windows Script Components; and get immediate results by employing proven sample scripts.
