Customer Reviews

Windows NT Shell Scripting

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tim Hill's "Windows NT Shell Scripting" is a useful guide to NT shell scripts, even for those who have extensive experience with UNIX scripts or DOS batch files. It explains in detail the operations of NT's cmd.exe console and how it differs from the MS-DOS command.com shell. It also contains several scripts for user management and other administrative tasks, and an alphabetical list of Resource Kit commands as well as standard shell commands.

Only one minor caveat: in the section detailing the SLEEP command, there is a :WAITLOOP technique that can be more elegantly effected by the use of a /WAIT switch during the START command (which the book also documents).

I recommend this book highly.

If you have a bit of programming experience, this book together with access to the NT Resource Kit tools will provide you with the foundation for doing almost anything you could imagine within Windows NT Shell Scripting.

The book can be used both as a tutorial and a reference for Windows NT scripting and gives good examples of the commands, tools and concepts covered. For Windows NT, this book does the job as your Shell Scripting Bible in less than 400 pages.

Since Windows NT 4.0, a lot has happened in the Windows scripting field though. With the release of Windows 2000 and the subsequent Windows XP and .NET Server, shell scripting has become much more powerful. A second edition of this book covering the new commands and tools would be most welcome. Until one exists, you might also want to look at newer books covering shell scripting for operating systems based on the Windows NT kernel.

You might also want to look at other, often more powerful ways to script your Windows NT-based environment. For that matter I recommend looking at other books covering WSH (Windows Script Host), ADSI and WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

I am new to NT (Windows 2000) and use the system at home, not at work. I made good use of the DOS command line before Windows 3.0 was introduced and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Windows 2000 command shell includes all of the features DOS had, and more, some of which Windows 95 eliminated, and which Windows 98 eliminated more of.

This book gave me insight into the aditional abilities of the NT command shell. Since I use Windows 2000, which was released after the publication of this book, I also make frequent reference to online help. I have found that Windows 2000 has command shell enhancements not found in Windows NT 4.

This book's strength is that it shows you how to create libraries of routines for use in batch files and that it gathers in one place a wealth of information about command-line scripting with batch files. It revealed to me that batch files can do much more than I thought previously.

I was a bit dismayed, however, when the author stated that there was no way to echo a blank line to the console. A feature introduced in DOS 5.0, and well documented, is the use of the echo. command (echo followed by a dot with no space). This works just as well with cmd.exe as with command.com.

Other than that this is a great book.

If you want a complete reference for scripting in Windows NT and Windows 2000, get this book and "Windows Scripting Secrets". Together with the online reference they provide all the information you could want about scripting using the command line and Windows Script Host.

I come to NT shell scripting from a UNIX background. This book gave me the information I needed to know to write effective NT shell scripts.

At first I tried to use my old DOS manuals but the scripts I wrote didn't work since things have changed. This book gave me the updated information I needed to accomplish my tasks.

It is clearly written and extremely well organized. The book serves as both tutorial and reference.

This is an excellent, excellent book. As other reviews noted it is one of the few places this information is available conveniently and concisely. Do not be put off by the references to UNIX users or system administrators. Although the book is indispensable for those categories of users it is also highly useful for the programmer, power user, or really anyone who wants to grab Windows, pull off its GUI, and shake it until it DWIM (Does What I Mean!). Two minor criticisms: Although well worth it, the book is more expensive than comparable ones, such as the extraordinary O'Reilly Nutshell series... I would also like to see more, and more comprehensive, command syntax examples. I would be less likely to make these criticisms if a CD was included with the example scripts and additional examples or if the promised Web site was available with this information. IMHO the concept of a book/CD combined with an update-and-download Web site is a "killer app" that will really propel on-line sales. A great example is the "Windows Annoyances" combo. The convenience of a book with the immediacy of the Internet! Now, if they could just figure out a way to download the second edition into my hard copy ;-)

On of the few books that cover Windows NT shell scripting, or more commonly known as DOS batch files. This book will certaining remove any notion that the CMD shell is just another variation of the DOS shell. The books describes the CMD shell as more similar to a UNIX shell than a DOS shell, enabling you to preform some advanced administration tasks through Command Line scripts. The book also provides a detailed reference for standard Windows NT commands, and Windows NT Resource Kit commands.

Although this book was authored in 1998, it is still as relavent today with Windows Server 2003 as it was when Windows NT 4.0 was first released. The fact is that the Command Shell hasn't changed all that much over the years and Timothy Hill's book remains the best guide to using and writing command scripts that I could ever recommend. And with Windows Server 2003's push to be able to do everything from the command line that one can do from the GUI, it's even more important to fully understand how the Windows Command Shell works.

Windows NT Shell Scripting is less about Windows NT than it is about how to write shell scripts. It covers the details of using the Command Shell in interactive mode, its configuration and how the 32-bit Command Shell differs from the 16-bit DOS box. Then it delves into the structure and syntax of the Command Shell language, providing a clear understanding of how the program control features such as IF and FOR work. Finally, it shows you how to create sophisticated shell scripts using the internal commands and external command-line utilities included with Windows and their Resource Kits.

Not everything in this book has survived the test of time. The old task scheduler using the AT command, though still supported in current version of Windows, has been mostly replaced by more powerful Scheduled Tasks of Windows 2000 and later. And you will want to supplement this book with a modern reference of the utility programs available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (such as OReilly's "Windows Server 2003 In A Nutshell"). Yet this represents only a small part of the book and majority of material stands up very well. Certainly there is no better and more in-depth tutorial for building command scripts than Timothy Hill's book.

This is a very easy to read book which also serves as an equally good reference. Tim has an eye for teaching what you need to know. This book is so packed full of usefull info you wont remember half of it if you just read it straight through. My advice: If you want to learn scripts read enough to get started, then write your own, use the book as a reference and get your hands on scripts written by others. After you've learned a bit go back and read the book cover to cover adding to what you've learned.

A well thought and well written book. The first 2/3's contain examples and descriptions of the commands and how to build basic and complex scripts. The last 1/3 contains an alphabetical listing and indepth explanation/options for each command.

This is also an excellent book for someone who is just getting into scripting. A prior knowledge of DOS or NT command shell functionality would be helpful, but not absolutely necessary.

This book will be referenced frequently!

Mr. Hill has finally documented what IT types need, a comprehensive (if there is more, I probably don't need it) guide to using the command line in Windows NT. This is a MUST HAVE for anyone who wants, needs or just likes to use the command line to automate tasks. It shows that MS did not forget about DOS and have spent time enhancing it for NT.

Thank you VERY MUCH, Mr. Hill, for your in-depth coverage. I've put this book to good use on many ocassions and will expect to do so again. I also bought copies for my integration engineers for when we deployed NT apps.

If you use NT more than just casually, DO NOT PASS ON THIS BOOK! A must have for your library.