Absolute Beginner's Guide to Programming, Third Edition

Chapter 15. Macro, Batch, and Scripting Languages

In This Chapter

• Batch: The One That Started Everything

• Macro Languages

• Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)

• Scripting in Windows

Some programming languages exist not to write applications in, but to control the operating system and other applications. You can automate common operating system tasks so that with a single keystroke you can trigger a series of operating system commands that execute as though they resided in a program. In addition, Windows programs such as Excel and Word offer macro languages that enable you to collect a series of program commands in a single module, not unlike a program, and when you issue the command to start that module, the commands automatically execute as if you ...