VBScript in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference 2nd Edition

Since I had never used VBScript before I bought this book to get a quick start on the syntax and functions available in VBScript. It brought me up to speed very quickly. I now use it as a quick reference. Very well put together book. I would highly recommend it to others.VBScript in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

I've had my copy of "VBScript in a Nutshell" for months now, and it's made my programming life a lot easier. Forget the syntax for something? Can't remember if that function is named InStr( ) or Substr( )? In no time, this neatly organized volume will yield your answer with a minimum of fuss, especially for those of us who switch languages between (or even within) projects and tend not to remember language elements at the margins.Perhaps the only failing of this book is that it is occasionally light on code examples. Especially when I'm in a hurry, a few lines of code make more sense than mentally parsing the complex array of options that might be presented in "definition form." But in most cases, in the places you most yearn for an example of source code, one is provided.One of the more valuable aspects of the reference material presented here are the numerous hints and kinks... The little traps that you can fall into with a given statement or function that ordinarily can only be gleaned from lots of hands-on experience. Sure, some of the tips are more valuable than others, but an attempt is made to cover the bases for both newbies and seasoned VBScripters.As is typical of most O'Reilly books, a very solid index makes a big difference, especially in a book like any of those from the Nutshell series where you're using it mostly for reference and not for front-to-back reading. In addition to the index, in the back of the book, you'll find language elements grouped by type. Want a refresher on all of VBScript's string handling? A complete list is right there waiting (and quite a boon to multi-language programmers).While Microsoft makes available a complete documentation system for their scripting languages available for free download in the form of a Windows help file (indexed, searchable, and full of code examples), I've found that neither this book nor the help file can replace the other. Rather, both are tools I refer to throughout virtually every VBScript project of any import than I tackle.Perhaps in their next edition of this book, the authors will choose to add more code examples -- something that would make an already very good book, even better.

Probably THE best programming language book I've ever used. My original copy is practically worn out from referencing it.

I've been a big fan of the 1st edition for years and found it very helpful. I use Regular Expressions a lot in Perl and found VBScript's support for RE's a bit lacking (could not extract the submatches). I was pleasantly surprised to find that this capability was added in VBScript 5.5. I bought the 2nd edition of this book because it claimed to cover VBScript 5.6. Imagine my surprise when the SubMatches collection isn't documented at all.Overall I'm quite disappointed in the 2nd edition.

I was in a scripting class and this book has made it a lot easier to understand scripting. I recommend this to anyone seriously thinking about scripting.

The first part introduces Vbscript concepts which may already be known by the intermediate level target audience. The sections on error handling and Active Server Pages will be useful to me. A value of reading this book is to be introduced to topics you didn't previously know existed. For example, learning about programming Outlook forms and Windows Script Host were useful though I have no immediate need for them.The real meat is the 260 pages of the reference. Before jumping into that section, I would recommend reading Appendix A for a categorical listing of the elements. For example, if you are interested in doing string manipulation refer to the section on "String Manipulation" then look up the specific function alphabetically in the reference. I would also recommend browsing through the complete reference - you are sure to find some new useful function such as the dictionary, filtering, regular expression matches and complete set of string functions. In a few cases, I wish the examples were available on CD or from the web, but none are that long that re-typing is a major problem.

Haven't had it that long, but I can look up the parameters to function calls quickly in this book. If I just had to have one VBScript book, this would be it.

Good for syntax lookup

Questo linguaggio è secondo me l'asse portante del futuro informatico e tutti gli altri linguaggi si sono ispirati a questo emulandolo e certe volte copiandolo per intero... ma vbscript rimane ed è il linguaggio adatto a tutte le applicazioni e soprattutto adatto alla comprensione del programmatore ... Il libro anche se usato racchiude tutte le peculiarita di questo incredibile strumento che è il VBSCRIPT...

Bien qu'en anglais, ce livre est très accessible, et renseigne immédiatement sur la quasi totalité des fonctions et procédures les plus utilisées . je ne regrette pas mon achat.

I mainly use VB Script for ASP applications and this book has been invaluable to me. It details every language element and function (syntax, arguments etc.) together with programming tips & examples. It lists everything alphabetically and by category so it is very easy to find what you are looking for. If you program in VB Script then get this book - you won't be disappointed...

J'ai acheté au début 2 livres français, mais le contenu sont Light...

Good Book