The Start to Finish Guide to Scripting With... for Windows

The description of The Start to Finish Guide to Scripting With... - Play With New Friends

The ultimate guide to KiXtart - tech-edited by the creator of KiXtarthimself, Ruud van Velsen! As the first book available on the subject,this book is intended to satisfy the needs of both the advanced andnovice KiXtart user. Though it is a scripting language used particularlyby administrators, those with a development background will be impressedwith the capabilities of KiXtart as well. While the book starts offquite basic, the examples and descriptions of the functions and commandsof KiXtart should prove a valuable reference for even the moreexperienced KiXtart user. Where possible, the examples in this book aredesigned for "cut and paste" use in solving real-world problems, whilestill providing insight as to the use of the various commands andfeatures of KiXtart. This incredible book is very in-depth with 11 Chapters and 5 Appendixes.Chapter BreakoutThe only documentation available to date has been the alphabeticalcommand and function reference that was provided with KiXtart. Thisdocumentation has been reproduced in several formats, but typically inthis same fashion (actually the exact same text). To take a differentapproach, this book breaks up the functions and commands into functionalgroups by chapter.Chapter 1: Introduction to KiXtartThis first chapter provides a little history on KiXtart and reasons whyyou might want to choose KiXtart as your scripting language. It tellsyou where to download the latest version of KiXtart and the availableKiXtart editors, and it discusses installing and upgrading KiXtart. Thischapter closes with some methods for executing your scripts and steps totake for configuring logon scripts for Windows NT, 2000, and 2003 Serverwith user profiles or Group Policy. Chapter 2: KiXtart Scripting BasicsThis second chapter focuses on the basics of scripting with KiXtart. Itdiscusses script structure, basic syntax, and the SetOption function, aswell as the many supported variable types. Operators, arrays, variabledeclaration, environment variables, and program flow round out thischapter. Chapter 3: Macro VariablesChapter Three provides information and real-world examples of allKiXtart macro variables. The macros in this chapter have been broken upinto the following categories: user, system, path variables, date/time,and others.Chapter 4: String and Value ControlThis chapter covers the various functions provided for the conversionand manipulation of numbers and strings within KiXtart. Typically, whenreading data from a file or even the registry, you often end up withextraneous, unneeded characters or spaces. The functions discussed hereprovide the ability to get the data you want.Chapter 5: DOS CommandsChapter Five discusses many KiXtart commands that are familiar to thosewho have spent time working with DOS batch files. When discussingcommands such as Copy, RD, and Use, we also cover alternate means ofperforming these tasks-above and beyond the native capabilities ofKiXtart.Chapter 6: Scripts In, Script OutThis chapter documents methods for specifying console display propertiesas well as commands that let you display and position output in theconsole display. Here, we discuss functions provided for collectinginput and presenting output to users. The use of external text and .INIfiles is also discussed in detail.Chapter 7: System ManagementIn Chapter Seven, we discuss printer management with KiXtart functionsand through other command line methods. We also cover program groupmanagement and shortcut creation, including built-in KiXtart functionsand other available options. Functions for working with the WindowsEvent Log are explained with real-world examples. Finally, we discussKiXtart functions and other methods for logging off, locking, shuttingdown, and placing systems in standby for all 32-bit Windowsenvironments. Chapter 8: Registry FunctionsThis chapter starts with an overview of the Windows registry and thencovers KiXtart's functions for reading and modifying the registry. Here,we look at each of the registry commands, with helpful examples. Severalother command line tools available for working with the registry arealso discussed. Finally, this chapter provides information and toolsrelating to registry security.Chapter 9: COM AutomationChapter Nine covers KiXtart COM automation support, as well as severalcommon objects used in scripts. The CreateObject and GetObject functionsand their uses are explained along with several examples. This chapteralso discusses Windows Management Interface (WMI), Active DirectoryServices Interface (ADSI), ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), InternetExplorer, the File System Object, and other objects, with real-worldexamples and links to additional resources.Chapter 10: Other FunctionsIn this chapter, we cover the functions that did not fit into thecategories that organized the earlier chapters. These remainingfunctions include file checking, user identification, and system checks.The InGroup function is discussed in this chapter, including anexplanation of the group token cache.Chapter 11: TroubleshootingThis last chapter covers error handling, creating your own log file, andusing KiXtart's log file. It explains KiXtart's debugging capabilitiesand identifies other tools for debugging KiXtart scripts. This chapterlists common problems with suggestions for avoiding them. It discussesthe limitations imposed by Windows security, along with third partytools available to help deal with security issues you may encounter.Finally, it identifies a handful of documented problems.Appendix A: KiXtart Quick ReferenceThis appendix provides a more traditional list of macros, commands, andfunctions in alphabetical order. A quick description and syntax areprovided for each, as well as where to find more information throughoutthis book.Appendix B: KiXtart Language CodesThe @SYSLANG and @USERLANG macro variables identify the currentlyselected language by its local ID (LCID) and English name. This appendixprovides a reference for the many values that may be returned by KiXtartfor these macros.Appendix C: KiXtart Version ReferenceThis appendix provides a chart illustrating the macros, commands, andfunctions provided by KiXtart and indicates with which versions ofKiXtart they are available.Appendix D: ASCII and Hex Value ReferenceAn ASCII and Hexadecimal chart, as displayed by included KiXtartscripts, are provided for reference in this appendix.Appendix E: Environment Variable ReferenceThis appendix provides a list of the default Windows environmentvariables with a short description of each. It also provides a chart toshow where each environment variable exists across all versions ofWindows.Appendix F: Error Code ReferenceWhen a non-KiXtart error code is returned, it does so in the form of astandard Win32 error code. A Win32 Error code reference is providedalong with the script used to generate this appendix.Dear Customer: If you need more information on this amazing book pleasevisit: http://www.kixscripts.com/book/