Learning VBScript [Paperback]

Paul Lomax (Author)

Book Description

Series: Nutshell Handbooks | Publication Date: July 8, 1997

With the advent of client-side scripting, it is possible to create programs that run on a user's browser in response to particular user actions, like passing the mouse over a hyperlink or clicking a standard HTML command button. By taking advantage of client-side scripts, web pages can be made more interactive, and programs that ran as (usually CGI) applications on the server before client-side scripting can now execute on the browser, in the process improving the performance of a web site's web pages.

In Learning VBScript, Paul Lomax shows how to take full advantage of client-side scripting using Microsoft's own scripting language, Visual Basic Scripting Edition, or VBScript. Learning VBScript consists of three distinct sections that quickly teach the reader how take advantage of client-side scripting to enhance a web site's pages:

• A fast-paced introduction to VBScript that covers the basic features of the language and their syntax. Although these tutorial chapters are written primarily for web content providers, they also explore the difference between VBScript and Visual Basic for Applications, the programming language used both in Visual Basic and in the individual components of Microsoft Office, making them of interest to the millions of VBA programmers who are fairly new to the Web and to developing web pages.
• An introduction to the Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) object model. By accessing the events, properties, and methods exposed by the browser's object model, VBScript is transformed from a fairly powerless programming language into a powerful development tool that can be used to control the browser, allowing the creation of complex interactive web pages.
• A series of chapters, each of which examines a set of techniques that use client-side scripting to enhance the interactivity and attractiveness of a web site.

In focusing on techniques for creating professional, scripted web pages, Learning VBScript includes chapters on the following: Creating documents "on the fly" from a script running on the browser Fully describing hyperlinks when the user's mouse passes over them Performing validation on data entered by the user before it is submitted to the server Incorporating ActiveX controls in a web page >Using VBScript's error handling feature to anticipate and handle user errors Handling different browsers, particularly MSIE, Netscape Navigator, and the older browsers that don't support scripting

The CD-ROM accompanying Learning VBScript includes over 170 code samples, and allows you to retrieve examples by category; you can, for instance, retrieve hyperlinks to all the web pages that include ActiveX controls. In addition, the CD-ROM includes a complete shopping cart application that can be easily customized for your own needs.

Whether you're a content provider who wants to add client-side scripts to web pages or a Visual Basic programmer who wants to begin creating web applications, Learning VBScript is the definitive guide that takes you through the rudiments of the language and covers the techniques needed to develop professional web pages.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This book's focus is on client-side scripting using VBScript 1.0 and 2.0.

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media (July 8, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565922476
• ISBN-13: 978-1565922471
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,038,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Bury, England. Educated at the Derby School, Bury.

Started programming in Basic for DOS on an Amstrad PC (those were the days!.. thank you Lord Sugar).

The launch of the IE3 beta in 1996 was a life changing moment, the start of a career of programming for the web, combining VB, VBScript and ASP.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing my books for O'Reilly, and certainly in VB & VBA in a Nutshell I think this comes across. Myself and my editor Ron Petrusha had a great deal of fun with that book, but my apologies to Tim O'Rielly for creating such a huge nutshell book.. we just didn't know when to stop!

Currently residing in Southern Spain and President/CTO of Freeparking Domain Registrars Inc. an ICANN Accredited domain name registrar.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall a good tutorial on VBScript, even tho' it's outdated, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning VBScript (Paperback)

Don't buy this book in the yera 2000... buy VBScript Programmer's Reference instead, by Wrox Press. It covers the latest and greatest, VBScript 5.0, instead of Lomax's rinky-dink 1.0 and a bit of 2.0 coverage. I gave this book 3 stars, though, because the quality of Lomax's "lessons" and explanations are great if you are new to VB or a scripting language. Indeed, Lomax demonstrates how VBScript is much easier to learn than JavaScript.

Overall, it is better to buy a book that is more updated. This is a dinosaur in today's lightning-speed techno market, and it needs to be put in the museum (c'mon, 1997? )

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The author could not make up his mind about the readership, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning VBScript (Paperback)

I was given this book to read for a course I am taking in an educational institution. I found the book a big pain to read. The author wants to write for beginners and at the same time appeal to those with programming experience. If you are a virtual beginner like me, this book will confuse you. Chapters 1 and 2 are enlightening to the beginner, but beyond that, the author's attempts to pander to those who are experienced in VB programming leaves a beginner confused. Without any prior warning, the author suddenly introduces new programming techniques, with the assumption that the reader was familiar with the subject. Then the author, with the same suddenness, remembers the beginner reader and then attempts to please him/her too. Sometimes, it is the reverse: the authors starts out by addressing the beginner, and suddenly off he goes addressing the experienced programmer. This makes the book disorganized and verbose and difficult to read. I have read books on introduction to other programming languages and I found Chapter 3 of this book the worst I have read so far on variables, declaration of variables, constants, etc. This book is certainly not the best for a beginner or those who, in addition to learning a programming language, would want the aesthetic pleasure of a well organized and succint book. Sometimes I wished I could 'cut and re-paste' the paragraphs or simply 'cut!'

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for "intermediates", January 24, 2000

By 

David Roberts (Potomac, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning VBScript (Paperback)

This book is NOT for complete novices like me! Terms like "OCX", "32-bit", and "server-side includes" are used but not explained at all. With some help from other books, some of the material made sense. That said, there is a lot of good content in this book. I'd recommend a more introductory book (is there one?) for true rookies.