Customer Reviews

Microsoft Windows Shell Script Programming for the Absolute Beginner (For the Absolute Beginner (Series))

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This book is suitable only for those who are complete newcomers to shell scripting in general and Microsoft systems in general.

Shell scripting is a useful skill to learn if you are a systems administrator or simply want to automate tasks. Most operating systems provide a scripting language and it is preferred in many ways to those scripting languages that have to have interpreters installed before you can use them (Python, Perl, Rebol, Tcl/tk etc) because the operating system is primed for its use.

Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000 and later MS operating systems offer a simple scripting language that expands on the .BAT and >CMD files language of MS-DOS, Windows 95 and 98. That language was far too limited to be of any real use, but the latest incarnation provides a powerful tool.

This book will provide a gentle introduction to Windows shell scripting at a level that is probably sufficient for the power user, but too low for the sysadmin. You can learn the elements of programming from this book, although its much easier if you already have experience.

The examples chosen are something of a compromise, but that's to be expected in any text. My real criticism comes from the presentation of the example scripts. There is too much white space and every ECHO used to produce a blank line on screen is reproduced. This makes the scripts very hard to comprehend and makes the book longer than it needs to be. All the text examples are provided on CD-ROM, so there is no need to type it in. The book is very weak in not providing useful examples for the type of user it tries to target - power users and sysadmins. They will learn very little from this.

If you want a thorough grounding in Windows shell scripting then read William Stanek's "Microsoft Windows Command-Line" published by Microsoft Press ISBN 0-7356-2038-5 and learn the full capabilities of this mode.

Contrary to what some may say, windows shell scripting is far from dead. In fact, with each new operating system that Microsoft unleashes on the world, Microsoft continues to develop and expand Windows Shell Scripting's capabilities.

As the title says, this book is designed for 1st time programmers who are interesting in getting started with Windows Shell Scripting. However, the book can also be used by more experienced readers with previous programming experience who want to quickly ramp up on Windows Shell Scripting. The author teaches his subject and makes things interesting by demonstrating how to create computer games. This book is definately not for hardcore System Administrators.... but everybody else should benefit from it.

Some of this book is helpful but for the most part I felt like it was a waste of time. There are numerous type-Os that are sometimes confusing and misleading. Some major concepts are not explained at all. The chapter ending projects are pretty much all the same. Most only use one or two of the new functions covered and ignore the rest. The code is written in double-spaced sections broken up by paragraphs of explanation. Then the whole example is written out again double-spaced. The material could have been presented in a way that is just as understandable in 100 less pages. It seems like a written assignment done over the weekend by a lazy student with an assignment of X-pages due on Monday.

Thus far I have found the book to be very easy to understand and follow. As a beginner to script writting it makes the understanding of concepts and the flow of syntax easy to follow.

While .BAT files still have uses, especially if you're still using older technology, Jscripts and VBscripts are a better starting point for absolute beginners now. But what you learn here will not go to waste if you move up. All the examples are on the accompanying CD, so you won't spend a lot of time typing.