VBScript Programmer's Reference, Third Edition

Chapter 2. What VBScript Is — and Isn't!

VBScript (or Microsoft's Visual Basic Scripting Edition) is a powerful interpreted scripting language that brings active scripting to a variety of environments, both client and server side. But VBScript is part of a bigger programming world — the world of Visual Basic.

This chapter gives you a peek into this bigger programming world and shows you how VBScript fits in with the bigger picture. As the chapter name suggests, you'll look at what VBScript is and also what it isn't (this, hopefully, will dispel any myths that you might have read about VBScript).

Before you go any further, you should spend a little time clearing up a few points and getting the terminology, not just that of VBScript, but also that of related terminology, clear.

Windows Script

Windows Script is the technology that provides the backbone for scripting on the Windows platform. Windows Script itself has two separate script engines for use in the Windows operating system:

• Visual Basic Scripting Edition

• Microsoft JScript

Both of these scripting languages can be embedded and used side by side if you want — there is no restriction on using only one language within your project, although this does make for more complex code and we don't recommend that you do this.

Windows Script also provides an array of supporting technologies. These include tools such as debuggers and script encoders (see Chapter 17).

Version Information

The latest version of Windows Script is version 5.7. This is ...