Vista - VBScript or Powershell ?

Are VBScript and Powershell mostly the same in terms of what they can
do?

If I'm using VBScript now should I switch?

Thanks

<gimme_this_gimme_that@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:38e047de-42cc-4487-ab7b-1a3faecd5d55@xxxxxxShort answer: no.

Long answer: yes.

In one respect they are exactly the same: they provide a scripting interface
to various aspects of Windows. In another respect they are completely
different, both in philosophy and appearance.
That depends. Neither of these scripting languages/environments has any
intrinsic value other than what they bring to the various problem spaces
they are applied to. What are you using vbscript for now? Is it meeting all
of your current and future needs?

If you would change your question from an either/or to "If I'm using
VBScript now should I learn powershell?", now *that* would be an easier
question to answer. And the answer would be "Yes".


/Al

<gimme_this_gimme_that@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:38e047de-42cc-4487-ab7b-1a3faecd5d55@xxxxxxIn my opinion PowerShell is much more powerful but is quite a steep learning
curve if you don't have much experience with the .NET base classes.
VBScript can cope with most tasks, assisted by a slew of COM components, but
moving data between different classes is much easier in PowerShell.
It also depends how the scripts will be run. If you are using them from your
own machine to help with repetitive tasks then PowerShell is fine.
If you are looking to use these scripts on other machines, run by others or
as login scripts or similar, then it's more difficult as you cannot just run
a PowerShell script without some preparatory work.

--

Joe Fawcett (MVP - XML)
http://joe.fawcett.name

<gimme_this_gimme_that@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:38e047de-42cc-4487-ab7b-1a3faecd5d55@xxxxxxPerhaps you could try ActiveX PowerShell (ActiveXPosh), a free tool from
Sapien Technologies which supposedly is:

A COM component that can be used from VBScript, JScript, KiXtart, or any
other COM-compatible language. Allows you to create a direct Powershell host
and use cmdlets and scripts from within your favorite scripting language.
Multiple output options make integration flexible. Samples included.

Hopefully someone who has actually installed and played with this tool will
comment on its usefulness.

-Paul Randall

"Joe Fawcett" <joefawcett@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uuv7zlQLJHA.5232@xxxxxxAs I implied, it depends on what vbscript is being used for.

As for the steep learning curve, that of vbscript can be steep as well,
depending on where you are coming from. I would strongly recommend Bruce
Payette's book, "Powershell in Action".

/Al

gimme_this_gimme_that@xxxxxx wrote:You'll find in the future that a lot of the server based MS applications
will be able (some won't even work without) powershell. It will allow
apps to work together much like in the good old days on the Amiga Arexx
did... (I know, that probably won't mean much to you.. some people will
sigh when reading this though)

Unfortunately; Powershell is nor supported on W2K8 core, and that's
where you'll find future development of VBScript.

Hope this helps.

--

/ ) Regards,
/ /_________
_|__|__) Paul Weterings
/ (O_) http://www.servercare.nl
__/ (O_)
____(O_)

On Oct 12, 12:43*pm, "gimme_this_gimme_t...@xxxxxx"
<gimme_this_gimme_t...@xxxxxx> wrote:One thing we learn from interacting with admins everyday
is that you will need to know and use both.
No language ever gets replaced by anything new and
you have a huge repository of working VBScript samples
on the web to work with and to make your life easier.

PowerShell is important for new versions of products,
like Exchange server, VBScript still is your best
choice for login scripts.

Use our free ActiveXPosh component to start utilizing
powershell cmdlets where appropriate.
Many of them will make your life much easier and
allow you to stay in the comfort of the language
you know.
It will also allow you to prevent a lot of initial frustration
with a new language.

One last thing to consider is that PowerShell is not yet
part of the Windows Core OS and may not be available
on all machines you need to touch.

Just my 2 cents.

Alexander Riedel
SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
www.primalscript.com