Good reference, but not that usefull
I purchased this book just to add to my scripting knowledge. What I found is that the information provided is really at a very basic level, with poor examples, and a lot of omissions.
Although the author hit all of the major topics, the examples given, and explanantion of what was being done in the examples would have left me without a solid understanding of how to use them in the real world if I did not already know 90% of it. In addition, entire chapters on how to work with specific items skip the most obvious and simple methods of scripting how to work with those items.
On a positive note, the index is accurate and makes it easy to look up a specific sytax when needed.
In summary, it is decent as reference material, but don't rely on this book to teach scripting. You will be left with a lot of questions, overly complex methods of accomplishing goals, and no idea that many of these things can be scripted in ways never even mentioned.
Could be much better
This thick book has ended up to be fairly worthless for me. There are other books, even those half the size, that I use more often. Scripting in Windows really isn't that complicated, and most of what I need to know can be found on the web in minutes. A waste.
I use this book almost everyday
I am a Sr. Sys Admin on a large Microsoft network and find this book very useful. This is a fine book to learn VBScript with an emphasis on Windows 2000 and domain administration. As a VBScript rookie at the time of purchase this book was and still is essential for me as a reference. It clearly describes the basics of VBScript which is a big help to me since I tend to go back and forth between several languages and screw up syntax a lot. A quick glance in the book and I can get my VBScript code straight in no time. It also introduced me to ADSI. Its not so broad on the subject of ADSI (since really thats a book in itself) but it clearly defines how to manipulate ADSI objects. Although it doesn't explictly list examples for each and every method it did help me out quite a bit. From here I was able to purchase some more advanced books on ADSI and already have a basic understanding of how to weild it.
A good book, worth every bit of 30 bucks.
Excellent scripting book especially for Sys Admins
If you are a Sys Admin and are new to scripting this is a great book. I have bought several computer books over the past few years this one is certainly one of the better ones.The first thing I noticed about this book was the fact that all the examples are illustrated in both VB Script and JScript - take your pick! If you know some C++ you will easily pick up JScript.
The book was easy to follow and was well structured. Within a week or so from being a scripting novice I was able to write useful and productive scripts such as automating FTP jobs and working with the registry - the book also serves as an excellent reference as well as a tutorial.
One thing to note about this book is that you don't need Windows 2000 to run all of the examples on but it does go into ADSI and LDAP in later chapters.
There are not that many books out there that cover the Windows Script Host for both JScript and VB Script - this one does, and does it well.
Excellent!
The best scripting book I've found anywhere! Extremely thorough and detailed. Part 1 features a fast-paced introduction to Windows scripting and core functionality of VBScript/JScript. All the essentials were covered well.
Part 2 is very detailed on creating scripts and scripting files. The best coverage of creating script jobs that I've found anywhere. Good material on managing files, I/O, drives, printers, application startup, Windows registery and event logging. I wish there was a bit more on event logs but the coverage was good in all on this subject.
Part 3 zeroes in on Active Directory & ADSI programming. Really good! Side-by-side scripting examples in both JScript and VBScript are phenominal. I learned a lot. Covers task scheduling, managing computers, managing logon logoff startup shutdown, schema, services, shared directories, groups, users, more!
Part IV has networking libraries that you can actually use to perform advanced tasks quickly. I have used these in my work now everday.
Over all a really good book that deserves 5 stars for solid technical coverage.
(11 reviews)
