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This book is written by Microsoft's "Windows Resource Kit Scripting Team" This is a well done 1200 page book. It is also available online. Part 1 of this book starts with a respectable VBScript Primer to jump start those who haven't used it yet. This is followed by WSH and Script Runtime Primers which help you understand all the built-in functions you can access without needing additional custom controls. This first section is completed by primers on ADSI and WMI - arguably two of the most powerful scripting APIs available to Windows Script Host.
Part 2 is focused on task oriented items with practical guidance and scripts organized in chapters like "Active Directory Users", "Computer Assets", "Files and Folders", "Processes" and "Logs". This section is full of practical information.
Part 3 is focused on best practices for ensuring that script code is solid and maintainable in an enterprise environment.
One thing I particularily like about this book is the "Scripting Steps" These sections preceed a sample script. They are a numbered list plain english steps that explain exactly what the script needs to do - then you see this functional description put to life in the sample code. And it does this all the way through Part 2. Many getting started books do this well for the first chapter and then plunge into samples left and right that not only assume the reader understands the objectives of the sample, but they are not a truely complete sample - and doing so they compound the complete defeat of any useful learning.
Very few books can successfully cover beginning topics, solid practical examples and methodology issues in one volume. Keeping clean section breaks has let this 1200 page tomb do just that.
The book comes with a CD that contains the sample code in the chapters as a help file (although I usually like it as files so that I can search for samples with my favorite script respository search tool). It also comes with a help file version of the entire book - very handy when you don't want to lug 1200 pages everywhere you need to reference the book!
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