Table of Contents

Foreword Preface I. The Basics 1. Introduction VBScript's History and Uses What VBScript Is Used For: Gluing Together Objects Differences Between VBScript and VBA 2. Program Structure Functions and Procedures Classes Global Code Reusable Code Libraries 3. Data Types and Variables VBScript Data Types: The Many Faces of the Variant Variables and Constants 4. Error Handling and Debugging Debugging Error Handling Common Problem Areas and How to Avoid Them 5. VBScript with Active Server Pages How ASP Works Active Server Pages Object Model 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 7. Windows Script Host 5.6 Why Use WSH? Running WSH Scripts Program Flow The WSH Object Model WSH Language Elements Accessing Other Object Models 8. VBScript with Internet Explorer The Tag What Can You Do with Client-Side Scripting? Understanding the IE Object Model 9. Windows Script Components The Script Component Wizard Writing Component Code Using the Component WSC Programming Topics II. Reference 10. The Language Reference III. Appendixes A. Language Elements by Category B. VBScript Constants C. Operators D. Locale IDs E. The Script Encoder Index

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.