Hi,



sorry if my question sounds silly. How come some say this or that
scripting language is powerful on what basis a scripting language is
said to be powerful. If so when compared to other scripting languages
like python, perl, ruby, JS, etc.., how good is vbscript. I feel
vbscript provides a very poor exception handling. Can everybody share
there experiences so that it could be very useful for every one

Thanks,
Prashan
http://www.prog2impress.com/

Prashan;

My name is John and I am proficient in seven database languages
and four Web Development scripting languages. I was also a manager of 105
various programmers and have over 35 years of experience.

In all honesty it depends what suits you best. My advice based
on my experience is asp and php both. In both education and military it is
best to learn some DB languages, Access or DB2 are by far the best. However
I am also an Assembler programmer which is what I like best because that is
where I started.

When interfacing with databases there are a lot of rules you
must learn. Far too many in Microsoft (but they are the leader) and not as
many with IBM. With Microsoft a lot of strange things occur leading to the
corruption of files (and they charge you for their mistakes) . Because of
their registry system it complicates matters for them. I have never seen
this with IBM because their is no registery. We have done a study and found
that after seven years the amount of money the State of Texas spent was
equal. IBM is a big one time hit, but Microsoft gets you over time. The
reason you have less problems with IBM is because they hit you hard up front
financially!

I also wrote an opperating system for the University of
Illinois and an RPG compiler, so I am familiar with the pluses and minuses of
these type of developers..

If you get frustrated easily, go IBM, if you can handle
emergencies and it does not upset you, go Microsoft.

Good Luck!

John

"prashan08@xxxxxx" wrote:

> Hi,
>
> sorry if my question sounds silly. How come some say this or that
> scripting language is powerful on what basis a scripting language is
> said to be powerful. If so when compared to other scripting languages
> like python, perl, ruby, JS, etc.., how good is vbscript. I feel
> vbscript provides a very poor exception handling. Can everybody share
> there experiences so that it could be very useful for every one
>
> Thanks,
> Prashan
> http://www.prog2impress.com/
>

Actually, the phrase "exception handling" doesn't even apply to VBScript.
Much of its core directly derives from VB at the 4.0 version level, and the
language itself retains structure that makes it syntactically and
behaviorally most like a simplified version of VB4 - and furthermore, the
language is virtually unchanged since 1999.

VBScript is in some ways an opportunistically-developed language
specifically intended to be lightweight, easy to learn for people with
possibly some VB background, and it was intended to be used as a
quick-and-dirty alternative to javascript. What actually happened was that
it never got used for web development, but it _did_ get heavily used as the
tool of choice for administrative scripting as WMI and ADSI became de facto
elements of all Windows operating systems.

If you're thinking about why people would "choose" the language as a tool,
the reasons are all opportunistic or contextual, not because of any
fundamental principles or because it's pretty or effective. It's used
because in its particular domain, it generally seems to be the easiest tool
to begin using to solve specific problems. (Even there, it's not the only
choice; you can use JScript anywhere you use VBScript).

If you're trying to figure out who needs VBScript and why, I would say that
it's admin scripters trying to solve standard IT problems. If you're trying
to assess VBScript's weaknesses, I would say that the term "exception
handling" overestimates the language - in general usage, what we really have
is merely the ability to suppress errors at points and then test them
line-by-line. But there are other, more glaring examples of VBScript
deficiencies. If you like, we can talk about them; we're so familiar with
them, we actually take great pride in analyzing just how bad they are! = )





<prashan08@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:b6737894-13a5-4f5b-abe5-e1ca5afa1bd1@xxxxxx

> Hi,
>
> sorry if my question sounds silly. How come some say this or that
> scripting language is powerful on what basis a scripting language is
> said to be powerful. If so when compared to other scripting languages
> like python, perl, ruby, JS, etc.., how good is vbscript. I feel
> vbscript provides a very poor exception handling. Can everybody share
> there experiences so that it could be very useful for every one
>
> Thanks,
> Prashan
> http://www.prog2impress.com/

Alex K. Angelopoulos wrote:

> What actually happened was
> that it never got used for web development,

Actually, in classic ASP, it is the most commonly-used language for
server-side code. Yes, some people do use jscript, but they are in the
minority.

--
HTH,
Bob Barrows

Ack! Sorry, I was thinking about the client-side use that didn't catch on
and blanked out on ASP. But ASP developers don't usually _need_ to ask for
help. = )

"Bob Barrows" <reb01501@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:e$UQncoyJHA.3476@xxxxxx

> Alex K. Angelopoulos wrote:

>> What actually happened was
>> that it never got used for web development,

>
> Actually, in classic ASP, it is the most commonly-used language for
> server-side code. Yes, some people do use jscript, but they are in the
> minority.
>
> --
> HTH,
> Bob Barrows
>
>

> VBScript is in some ways an opportunistically-developed language

> specifically intended to be lightweight, easy to learn for people with
> possibly some VB background, and it was intended to be used as a
> quick-and-dirty alternative to javascript. What actually happened was that
> it never got used for web development, but it _did_ get heavily used as

the

> tool of choice for administrative scripting as WMI and ADSI became de

facto

> elements of all Windows operating systems.
>

It was used a bit for web scripting. I have an early
VBS book that makes clear Microsoft expected to
force their javascript competitor on the world. That
was in '97 and the big project was to put a wrench
in the works of Netscape. The first page of the book,
by Mary Jane Mara, describes VBS as one language for
"ActiveX technology". She describes ActiveX as a
"framework", potentially the "premier architecture for
developing Internet and intranet applications".

That sounds a lot like the sales pitch for .Net.
In that heady time it was assumed that VBS would
become universal (that is, supported by Netscape), and
of course there was a Netscape component in the works
to bring ActiveX to Netscape. Or maybe it'd be more
accurate to say that Microsoft hoped to force their
own standard on Netscape by duping MS customers
into thinking that VBS was a good bet and thereby
creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. ... That also sounds
a bit like .Net, come to think of it.

My sense was that VBS became part of the WSH
because it was convenient and because people at
the time were wanting something to replace the
limited and GUI-less batch scripting. VBS was already
working. They just needed to add CreateObject, throw
in scrrun.dll and a few other odds and ends, and
people could begin automating complex tasks easily.

"mayayana" <mayaXXyana@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:epCSqLryJHA.480@xxxxxx

>> VBScript is in some ways an opportunistically-developed language
>> specifically intended to be lightweight, easy to learn for people with
>> possibly some VB background, and it was intended to be used as a
>> quick-and-dirty alternative to javascript. What actually happened was
>> that
>> it never got used for web development, but it _did_ get heavily used as

> the

>> tool of choice for administrative scripting as WMI and ADSI became de

> facto

>> elements of all Windows operating systems.
>>

>
> It was used a bit for web scripting. I have an early
> VBS book that makes clear Microsoft expected to
> force their javascript competitor on the world. That
> was in '97 and the big project was to put a wrench
> in the works of Netscape. The first page of the book,
> by Mary Jane Mara, describes VBS as one language for
> "ActiveX technology". She describes ActiveX as a
> "framework", potentially the "premier architecture for
> developing Internet and intranet applications".
>
> That sounds a lot like the sales pitch for .Net.
> In that heady time it was assumed that VBS would
> become universal (that is, supported by Netscape), and
> of course there was a Netscape component in the works
> to bring ActiveX to Netscape. Or maybe it'd be more
> accurate to say that Microsoft hoped to force their
> own standard on Netscape by duping MS customers
> into thinking that VBS was a good bet and thereby
> creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. ... That also sounds
> a bit like .Net, come to think of it.
>
> My sense was that VBS became part of the WSH
> because it was convenient and because people at
> the time were wanting something to replace the
> limited and GUI-less batch scripting.

hehehe, too bad powershell was such a long way off back then...

> VBS was already
> working. They just needed to add CreateObject, throw
> in scrrun.dll and a few other odds and ends, and
> people could begin automating complex tasks easily.

/Al

> > My sense was that VBS became part of the WSH

> > because it was convenient and because people at
> > the time were wanting something to replace the
> > limited and GUI-less batch scripting.

>
> hehehe, too bad powershell was such a long way off back then...
>

You seem to have a thing for Power Shell.
Granted, Microsoft has always been brilliant
when it comes to manufacturing abstruseness
combined with crippling dependencies. And
abstruseness is very appealing to people who
want to feel like advanced insiders. (Boys
with secret decoder rings and MDs who say
"micturate" rather than "ur inate" -- simply to
confuse people -- are two good examples.)

One might even describe abstruseness as
a cornerstone of Microsoft's business. Their
partial, semi-literate docs and constantly
changing "technologies" have spawned a whole
industry of classes, books and "certifications".

Now Microsoft has invented "New DOS", which
only runs on XP SP2+ and requires .Net.
Very clever.

So what are you doing hanging around here
when you could be off playing with New DOS?
Before you go, though, could you explain to me
how to write a script block in a HTA with New DOS,
just in case I ever decide to limit my scripting to
what runs on Windows Xtra Problems SP2?
Now that you've pointed out just how pedestrian
VBScript is, I feel a bit silly at the lack of abstruseness
in my HTAs. I think I should add some pipes, switches,
and maybe a few obscure tidbits from the outer edge
of my keyboard.

All kidding aside, though, why not just use what works
for you and appreciate the different strengths/weaknesses?
A man might learn to use chopsticks and feel that he's very
sophisticated for having mastered them. But chopsticks
are designed for eating from a bowl. The chopstick master
who won't use a fork when eating from a plate is just a
silly aesthete with a lot of food in his lap.