Microsoft Windows 2000 Scripting Guide

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 1328 pages
• Published by: Microsoft Press January 16, 2003
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0735618674
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0735618671
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 2.4 inches
• Weighs: 2 pounds

Product Description
Discover how to automate system administration tasks for Windows 2000 and maximize your productivity with expertise from those who know Microsoft scripting technologies best. Created specifically for system administrators by the Windows 2000 product development team, this guide explains how to develop and implement scripting solutions using Microsoft Visual Basic #174; Scripting Language (VBScript), Windows Scripting Host (WSH), the Script Runtime Library, ADSI, and WMI. Learn how to create practical and timesaving scripting solutions for managing user accounts, computers, printers, files, logs, processes, services, Registry settings, print functions, and other common tasks. The book provides guidelines and best practices for creating secure and robust scripts in the enterprise environment, along with the latest versions of VBScript and WSH, reusable script snippets, and an eBook, all on CD-ROM.

Reader Reviews
I won't claim this is the only scripting book you should ever buy. I WILL claim that it is the WSH "missing manual" for system administrators. The short story is that it provides comprehensive, in-depth coverage of WSH admin scripting with excellent code examples, and as such is a rare combination of instructional use and long-term reference value. Personally, I haven't thought a book on WSH in the last three years was worth buying; this is the one I've been waiting for. As a comprehensive reference, this book stands alone. System administrators have been historically short-changed when it comes to scripting books; most written for Windows tend to be generically focused on languages rather than on the details of WSH, and usually cover only a handful of the technologies. This one is written by scripters who appear to use it every day, and they cover the breadth of topics: interactions with everything from system logs to ADSI to WMI. Although the code is almost entirely in VBScript, the focus is on application, not language tricks. If you want to any other Active Scripting language as your host, the code is plain vanilla enough to be easily translated. In providing depth, the authors had some special advantages and they used them to the hilt. It was written by Microsoft insiders who know the internals of the technologies such as COM, ADSI, and WMI which well-rounded scripting uses. When covering the range of topics for admin scripters, the authors pushed explaining the why and how in unequaled detail, and made liberal use of charts for explaining difficult concepts where appropriate. Coding quality is a critical factor as far as I am concerned in any book about programming or scripting; after all, good code is the test of a good coder, and in a book on scripting it shows that the author knows more than just the layout of a few random object models. Even judged on this alone, Microsoft's "Windows 2000 Scripting Guide" sparkles. Most topical scripting books have appalling code style; not this one. Code is explained carefully, and with few exceptions is written in the form of well-wrapped procedures which can be dropped into your own scripts and used as-is - variables are declared, input/output is separated from calculations, and most importantly, the procedures appear to be written with the explicit goal of making purpose and technique clear for the reader. There are very few books out there which do an enduring job of teaching a concept, showing useful code, and providing critical reference material. This book does all three; if you get it, it will be your main WSH scripting sourcebook for years to come.