VBScript in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference

Microsoft's Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript), a subset of Visual Basic for Applications, is a powerful language for Internet application development where it can serve as a scripting language for server-side Internet applications (i.e., Active Server Pages), and client-side Web pages. It can also be used for system scripting (i.e., Windows Script Host scripts) and programming Outlook forms. The majority of this book consists of a VBScript language reference, which contains all VBScript statements, keywords and objects. This alphabetical language reference will provide the following details: The syntax, using standard code conventions A list of arguments accepted by the function or procedure, if any exist A description of the data returned by a function A discussion of how and where the keyword should be used within the scripting environment A section of notes and solutions to real-world gotchas, and various undocumented behaviors and aspects of the language that help the reader avoid potential problems A section that focuses on the differences between the language element in VBA and in VBScript A brief example to illustrate the use of the keyword A cross-reference to other keywords This focus on VBScript language essentials is supplemented by a wealth of additional information about VBScript, including: Basic language information on VBScript data types, constants, variables, and arrays The difference between VBScript, on the one hand, and VBA or JavaScript, on the other The use of the MSIE, Active Server, Outlook, and Windows Script Host object models to interface a script with the application it's controlling Tables listing VBScript functions and statements by category The version-specific features of VBScript Regardless of the types of scripts you're using VBScript to create, VBScript in a Nutshell is the only book you'll need by your side as a complete and easy-to-use language reference.

Table of Contents:
Preface Part I. The Basics Chapter 1. Introduction VBScript's History and Uses What VBScript Is Used For: Gluing Together Objects Differences Between VBScript and VBA Chapter 2. Program Structure Functions and Procedures Class Modules The Script Level Reusable Code Libraries Chapter 3. Data Types and Variables VBScript Data Types: The Many Faces of the Variant Variables and Constants Chapter 4. Error Handling and Debugging Debugging Error Handling Common Problems Areas, and How to Avoid Them Chapter 5. VBScript with Active Server Pages How ASP Works Active Server Pages Object Model Chapter 6. Programming Outlook Forms Why Program Outlook Forms? The Form-Based Development Environment Running Your Code Program Flow The Outlook Object Model Accessing Other Object Models Chapter 7. Windows Script Host Why Use WSH? Running WSH Scripts Program Flow The WSH Object Model WSH Language Elements Accessing Other Object Models Chapter 8. VBScript with Internet Explorer The Tag What Can You Do with Client-Side Scripting? Understanding the IE Object Model Part II. Reference Chapter 9. The Language Reference Part III. Appendixes Appendix A. Language Elements by Category Appendix B. VBScript Constants Appendix C. Operators Index

About the Author :
Paul Lomax is the author of Learning VBScript and VB & VBA in a Nutshell (published by O'Reilly & Associates), and technical director of Mentorweb (http://www.mentorweb.net/), a leading web design and hosting company. Over the past two years Paul has created and maintained over 60 commercial web sites for Mentorweb's clients. He is also the driving force behind ShopAssistant, a new NT/ASP based high-end shopping cart/web commerce server (http://www.shopassistant.com/). He has been a programmer for over 12 years and has been a dedicated fan of Visual Basic since version 1. Paul has written systems for financial derivatives forecasting, satellite TV broadcasting, and the life insurance industry; and he's written a major materials tracking system for the Oil and Gas industry. He is also responsible for the concept, design, and programming of the successful "Contact" series of national business databases. Paul has also created a web resource dedicated to VBScript at http://www.vbscripts.com/. When not in front of a keyboard, Paul can usually be found behind the wheel of a racing car competing in events around the UK. Paul and his family--wife Deborah and children Russel and Victoria--have recently returned to their home in England after several years in the Arabian gulf. Matt Childs is currently 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 done work with the State of Alaska and Alaska's two largest telecommunications companies. Matt has worked in the information technology field for the past nine years. He has been a Visual Basic Programmer since Visual Basic 3. Matt spent most of his initial career working for a large transportation company as an Information Technology manager, where he worked on developing 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 began working with computers in the mid '70s, programming in SPSS (a programmable statistical package) and FORTRAN on the IBM 370 family. Since then, he has been a computer book buyer, editor of a number of books on Windows and Unix, and a consultant on projects written in dBASE, Clipper, and Visual Basic. Ron also has a background in quantitative labor history, specializing in Russian labor history, and holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Columbia University.