Windows NT Shell Scripting (Paperback)

~ Timothy Hill (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The command line isn't dead--far from it. Administrators of big Windows NT networks know that the best way to accomplish a difficult task frequently involves using the console interface rather than the graphical user interface. By writing batch routines, it's relatively easy to perform fancy tasks on local computers and distant ones. In Windows NT Shell Scripting, Tim Hill has done a service by explaining how to write and use scripts under Windows NT.

He begins at the beginning, explaining what scripting is and how command lines come to exist under Windows NT. The reader gets full information on virtual DOS machines and how programs started by scripts are instantiated. There's also some useful information on redirecting script output--handy when using batch files to create HTML documents, for example.

If you think the way batch files handle subroutines, variables, and pretty much everything else involves some weird syntax, you're right. Hill decrypts it all, explaining the mechanics of the Windows NT batch-scripting language very clearly. After he explains how to script academically, he provides some examples. There's a script that automates the creation of user accounts, another script that monitors print activity, another that keeps an eye on disk usage, and one that does backups. A few more scripts round out the selection. Many of the scripts refer to a library of functions that's also listed and explained. Unfortunately, there's no companion disk, so readers have to get the samples from the Macmillan Web site.

It would be nice if this book contained some coverage of the new Windows Scripting Host, which you can use to write scripts in VBScript, JavaScript, and (in the future) other languages like Perl and Python. But that's cutting-edge stuff that hasn't yet been fully figured out, and what this book contains is great. All harried sysadmins, particularly those who came on line after the age of DOS had begun to wane, will be grateful for the guidance Hill provides. --David Wall

Product Description

Windows NT Shell Scripting is a comprehensive reference for network professionals. It is the only book available on the practical use of the Windows NT shell scripting language. The book begins with a high-level introduction to the shell language itself, then describes the shell commands that are useful for controlling or managing different components of a network, i.e. file management, etc. The second part of the book is a comprehensive reference of all the commands, organized by function, for easy reference by the reader.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Sams (April 27, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578700477
• ISBN-13: 978-1578700479
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #353,407 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is an extremely useful guide to shell scripting., July 13, 1998

By A Customer

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't get better than this. Now we need a 2nd edition., April 8, 2002

By	Jakob Hussfelt (Sweden) - See all my reviews

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).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for NT Professionals, September 17, 2000

By	Scott Bicknell (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

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.