VBScript in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference - Softcover

Lomax, Paul; Childs, Matt; Petrusha, Ron

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0596004885 ISBN 13: 9780596004880

Publisher: O'Reilly Media, 2003

Synopsis

Lightweight yet powerful, VBScript from Microsoft® is used in four main areas: server-side web applications using Active Server Pages (ASP), client-side web scripts using Internet Explorer, code behind Outlook forms, and automating repetitive tasks using Windows Script Host (WSH). VBScript in a Nutshell, Second Edition delivers current and complete documentation for programmers and system administrators who want to develop effective scripts.Completely updated for VBScript 5.6, WSH 5.6 and ASP 3.0, VBScript In a Nutshell, Second Edition includes updated introductory chapters that will help you keep current with the significant changes since the first edition was published. New chapters introduce the Windows Script Component for creating binary COM components, and the Script Encoder.The main part of the book is a comprehensive reference focusing on VBScript essentials with an alphabetical reference to all statements, keywords and objects, and a section of notes and solutions to real-world gotchas--various undocumented behaviors and aspects of the language--to help you avoid potential problems. Each entry in the reference section details the following:

• The keyword's syntax, using standard code conventions
• A list of arguments accepted by the function or procedure, if any exist
• A discussion of how and where the keyword should be used within the scripting environment
• A discussion of the differences between the operation of the keyword in Visual Basic or VBA and in VBScript

Regardless of your level of experience programming with VBScript, VBScript in a Nutshell, Second Edition is the book you'll want by your side--the most complete, up-to-date, and easy-to-use language reference available.

About this title

Review

Because it applies the concise and popular Nutshell format to Microsoft's preferred scripting language, VBScript in a Nutshell is a valuable learning resource and reference. Focusing on the core language rather than on any specific application, this book teaches how to write clear, efficient VBScript code. Whether developing for the Web, automating Windows, or customizing Microsoft Outlook, this book will help the reader do a better job.

Though it caters to new users, VBScript is mainly a reference book. Each piece of the core VBScript specification (plus the Dictionary and FileSystemObject objects that make up the Microsoft Scripting Runtime) is described in an alphabetized entry. For each statement, function, operator, and object, the book gives a quick description of the element's syntax, concise rules of its proper use, information on returned values (if any), and some examples of the language element used correctly in practice. Two additional sections on each language element will be valuable to novices and anyone stumped by errors: a "Rules at a Glance" section that documents correct usage, and a section called "Programming Tips & Gotchas" that highlights common mistakes. --David Wall

Topics covered: Core VBScript and the most important object models on which it operates, including Microsoft Internet Explorer and the Windows Scripting Host. Tutorial material and reference entries explain structure, syntax, and program design.

About the Author

Paul Lomax, author of O'Reilly's VB & VBA in a Nutshell and a coauthor of VBScript in a Nutshell, is an experienced VB programmer with a passion for sharing his knowledge--and his collection of programming tips and techniques gathered from real-world experience.

Matt Childs is a vice president with Integrity Solutions Inc., one of Alaska's leading custom software development companies. Matt is responsible for overseeing all in-house development, and over the past year has worked with the State of Alaska and Alaska's two largest telecommunications companies. Matt has worked in the information technology field for nine years, and has been a VB programmer since Visual Basic 3. During most of his early career, Matt was an information technology manager for a large transportation company, where he developed custom software solutions and systems integration for the company's largest clients. Matt has industry experience with utilities; express transportation; and chemical, petroleum, and retail companies. In the winter, Matt spends his free time with his telescope, and during the long Alaska summer days, he enjoys playing softball and spending time with his family. Matt, his wife LeAndra and their daughter Meghan recently returned to Anchorage, Alaska, after spending some time in the southern United States. Matt is also a fiction writer and a freelance journalist.

Ron Petrusha is an editor for O'Reilly and is the author/coauthor of many books, including VBScript in a Nutshell. Ron has a background in quantitative labor history, specializing in Russian labor history, and holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Columbia University. He began working with computers in the mid 1970s, programming in SPSS (a programmable statistical package) and FORTRAN on the IBM 370 family. Since then, he has been a computer book buyer, an editor of a number of books on Windows and Unix, and a consultant on projects written in dBASE, Clipper, and Visual Basic.

Edition details

• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0596004885
• ISBN 13: 9780596004880
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 512