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40-724: VBScript was popular with system administrators for managing computers ; automating many aspects of computing environment. VBScript running environments include: Windows Script Host (WSH), Internet Explorer (IE), and Internet Information Services (IIS). The running environment is embeddable in other programs via the Microsoft Script Control ( msscript.ocx ). VBScript has been installed by default in every desktop release of Microsoft Windows since Windows 98 ; in Windows Server since Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack ; and optionally with Windows CE (depending on

80-586: A "fully trusted" application. The usual file extension of an HTA is .hta . The ability to execute HTAs was introduced to Microsoft Windows in 1999, along with the release of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 . On December 9, 2003, this technology was patented . HTAs give the developer the features of HTML together with the advantages of scripting languages. They are popular with Microsoft system administrators who use them for system administration from prototypes to "full-scale" applications, especially where flexibility and speed of development are critical. An HTA

120-486: A Windows Script Component, an ActiveX-enabled script class that can be invoked by other COM-enabled applications. These files have extension .wsc . The VBScript language is modeled on classic Visual Basic. Notable features include: A "procedure" is the main construct in VBScript for separating code into smaller modules. VBScript distinguishes between a function, which can return a result in an assignment statement, and

160-784: A dedicated individual(s) may apply all system upgrades, a Quality Assurance (QA) team may perform testing and validation, and one or more technical writers may be responsible for all technical documentation written for a company. System administrators, in larger organizations, tend not to be systems architects , systems engineers , or systems designers . In smaller organizations, the system administrator might also act as technical support, database administrator , network administrator, storage (SAN) administrator or application analyst . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from Occupational Outlook Handbook (2010-11 ed.). Bureau of Labor Statistics . HTML Application An HTML Application ( HTA )

200-502: A larger company, these may all be separate positions within a computer support or Information Services (IS) department. In a smaller group they may be shared by a few sysadmins, or even a single person. Most employers require a bachelor's degree in a related field, such as computer science , information technology , electronics engineering , or computer engineering . Some schools also offer undergraduate degrees and graduate programs in system administration. In addition, because of

240-491: A normal HTML file; for example, an HTA can create, edit and remove files and registry entries. Although HTAs run in this 'trusted' environment, querying Active Directory can be subject to Internet Explorer Zone logic and associated error messages. To customize the appearance of an HTA, an optional tag hta:application was introduced to the HEAD section. This tag exposes a set of attributes that enable control of border style,

280-407: A regular HTML file is executed, the execution is confined to the security model of the web browser . This means it is confined to communicating with the server, manipulating the page's object model (usually to validate forms and/or create interesting visual effects) and reading or writing cookies . On the other hand, an HTA runs as a fully trusted application and therefore has more privileges than

320-529: A subroutine, which cannot. Parameters are positional, and can be passed by value or by reference. Control structures include the usual iterative and conditional Do Loops, If-Then-Else statements, and Case statements, with some more complex variants, such as ElseIf and nested control structures. As a memory aid in coding, and certainly for readability, there are a large number of constants, such as True and False for logical values, vbOKCancel and vbYesNo for MsgBox codes, vbBlack and vbYellow for color values, vbCR for

360-400: Is a Microsoft Windows program whose source code consists of HTML , Dynamic HTML , and one or more scripting languages supported by Internet Explorer , such as VBScript or JScript . The HTML is used to generate the user interface, and the scripting language is used for the program logic. An HTA executes without the constraints of the internet browser security model; in fact, it executes as

400-421: Is a separate role responsible for overall security and the upkeep of firewalls and intrusion detection systems , but all sysadmins are generally responsible for the security of computer systems. A system administrator's responsibilities might include: In larger organizations, some of the tasks above may be divided among different system administrators or members of different organizational groups. For example,

440-546: Is allowed to redistribute the full VBA code-writing and debugging environment with its product. VBScript is used in place of VBA as the macro language of Outlook 97. VBScript can be effectively used for automating day to day office tasks as well as monitoring in the Windows-based environment. It can also be used in collaboration with ADODB ActiveX Data Objects (ADODB) for effective database connectivity. VBScript can also be used to create malware and viruses, such as

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480-543: Is executed using the program mshta.exe , or, alternatively, double-clicking on the file. This program is typically installed along with Internet Explorer. mshta.exe executes the HTA by instantiating the Internet Explorer rendering engine (mshtml) as well as any required language engines (such as vbscript.dll). An HTA is treated like any executable file with extension .exe . When executed via mshta.exe (or if

520-502: Is the scripting language for Micro Focus Unified Functional Testing , a test automation tool. A third area to note is the adoption of VBScript as the internal scripting language for some embedded applications, such as industrial operator interfaces and human machine interfaces. The hierarchical DBMS InterSystems Caché (which has its roots in the language MUMPS ) also supports an implementation of VBScript, Cache BASIC, for programming stored code. VBScript omits several useful features of

560-489: Is therefore a library of VBScript code that can be reused in a modular way. The files have extension .wsf and can be executed using wscript.exe or cscript.exe , as with a .vbs file. An HTML Application (HTA) is styled after HTML. The HTML in the file is used to generate the user interface, and a scripting language such as VBScript is used for the program logic. The files have extension .hta and can be executed using mshta.exe . VBScript can also be used in

600-749: Is used for server-side web page functionality via Active Server Pages (ASP). The ASP engine, asp.dll , invokes vbscript.dll to run VBScript scripts. VBScript that is embedded in an ASP page is contained within <% and %> context switches. The following example displays the current time in 24-hour format. VBScript can run directly in the operating system via the Windows Script Host (WSH). A script file, usually with extension .vbs can be run either via Wscript.exe for graphical user interface (GUI) or Cscript.exe for command line interface (CLI). A Windows Script File (WSF), styled after XML, can include multiple VBS files and

640-525: The ILOVEYOU worm that spread through email attachment in Outlook 97 that cost billions of dollars. System administrator An IT administrator , system administrator , sysadmin , or admin is a person who is responsible for the upkeep, configuration, and reliable operation of computer systems , especially multi-user computers, such as servers . The system administrator seeks to ensure that

680-625: The Microsoft Script Editor has been bundled with certain versions of Microsoft Office. For debugging purposes the Microsoft Script Debugger can still be used in current Windows versions, even though the tool has not been updated in years. It allows the user to set break points in the VBScript code but the user interface is more than clumsy. There are VBScript debuggers available from third-party sources, and many text editors offer syntax highlighting for

720-665: The Microsoft XML Library Application Programming Interfaces ( msxml6.dll , msxml3.dll ), which also can be used to retrieve content from the World Wide Web via the XMLHTTP and ServerXMLHTTP objects (class strings "MSXML2.XMLHTTP.6.0" and "MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP.6.0", respectively). Functionality can also be added through ActiveX technologies. Security concerns have led to many ActiveX controls being blacklisted in

760-532: The Windows Script Host , VBScript provides numerous features which are common to scripting languages, but not available from Visual Basic 6.0 . These features include: CScript, the command line runner, provides options for: File system management, file modification, and streaming text operations are implemented with the Scripting Runtime Library scrrun.dll . This provides objects such as FileSystemObject, File, and TextStream, which expose

800-499: The batch language first developed in the early 1980s. On August 1, 1996, Internet Explorer was released with features that included VBScript. In version 5.0, the functionality of VBScript was increased with new features including regular expressions ; classes ; the With statement; the Eval , Execute , and ExecuteGlobal functions to evaluate and execute script commands built during

840-497: The uptime , performance , resources , and security of the computers they manage meet the needs of the users , without exceeding a set budget when doing so. To meet these needs, a system administrator may acquire, install, or upgrade computer components and software ; provide routine automation; maintain security policies; troubleshoot ; train or supervise staff; or offer technical support for projects. Many organizations staff offer jobs related to system administration. In

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880-533: The HTML is logic that interacts with the Document Object Model (DOM) of the page – allowing for functionality not possible in HTML alone. However, other web browsers such as Chrome , Firefox and Opera do not support VBScript. Therefore, when client-side scripting and cross-browser compatibility are required, developers usually choose JavaScript due to its wide cross-browser compatibility. VBScript

920-610: The Internet Explorer process by Microsoft, which deploys the killbit via monthly Windows security updates to disable vulnerable Microsoft and third party code. Programmers can utilize the extensibility via COM (ActiveX) modules to specifically equip the Script Host and VBScript with required or desired functions. The "VTool" component, for instance, adds a number of dialog windows, binary file access, and other functionality. Microsoft does not routinely make available an IDE ( Integrated Development Environment ) for VBScript, although

960-732: The Trident (MSHTML) browser engine, used by Internet Explorer , but are not dependent on the Internet Explorer application itself. If a user removes Internet Explorer from Windows, via the Control Panel, the MSHTML engine remains and HTAs continue to work. HTAs continue to work in Windows 11 as well. HTAs are fully supported running in modes equivalent to Internet Explorer versions 5 to 9. Further versions, such as 10 and 11, still support HTAs though with some minor features turned off. When

1000-456: The VBScript engine would be developed. It would henceforth be supported by Microsoft's Sustaining Engineering Team , who are responsible for bug fixes and security enhancements. For Windows system administrators, Microsoft suggests migrating to Windows PowerShell , as VBScript is deprecated and will eventually be removed from Windows. In a web page loaded by Internet Explorer , VBScript is similar in function to JavaScript . The VBScript code in

1040-668: The Windows file system to the programmer. Binary file and memory I/O are provided by the "ADODB.Stream" class, which can also be used for string builders (to avoid excessive string concatenation, which can be costly), and to interconvert byte arrays and strings. Database access is made possible through ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and the IIS Metabase can be manipulated using the GetObject() function with sufficient permissions (useful for creating and destroying sites and virtual directories). XML files and schemas can be manipulated with

1080-421: The behavior of software in order to deploy it and to troubleshoot problems, and generally know several programming languages used for scripting or automation of routine tasks. A typical sysadmin's role is not to design or write new application software but when they are responsible for automating system or application configuration with various configuration management tools, the lines somewhat blur. Depending on

1120-431: The carriage return character, and many others. Variables have " Variant " type by default, but it is possible (and sometimes necessary) to force a particular type (integer, date, etc.) using conversion functions (CInt, CDate, etc.) User interaction is provided through the functions MsgBox and InputBox which provide a simple dialogue box format for messages and input. Both functions display prompting messages, with

1160-679: The device it is installed on). In October 2023, Microsoft announced that VBScript was deprecated. In May 2024, a multi-phase deprecation schedule was announced with removal planned for 2027 or later. VBScript began as part of the Microsoft Windows Script Technologies, launched in 1996. This technology (which also included JScript ) was initially targeted at web developers. During a period of just over two years, VBScript advanced from version 1.0 to 2.0, and over that time it gained support from Windows system administrators seeking an automation tool more powerful than

1200-621: The execution of another script; a function-pointer system via GetRef, and Distributed COM (DCOM) support. In version 5.5, SubMatches were added to the regular expression class in VBScript, to finally allow script authors to capture the text within the expression's groups. That capability had already been available in JScript. With the advent of the .NET Framework , the scripting team decided to implement future support for VBScript within ASP.NET for web development, and therefore no new versions of

1240-420: The extension to .hta . HTA have been used to deliver malware. One particular HTA, named 4chan .hta (detected by antiviruses as JS/Chafpin.gen), was widely distributed by the users of the imageboard as a steganographic image in which the user were instructed to download the picture as an HTA file, which when executed, would cause the computer to automatically spam the website (evading 4chan's CAPTCHA in

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1280-577: The file icon is double-clicked), it runs immediately. When executed remotely via the browser, the user is asked once, before the HTA is downloaded, whether or not to save or run the application; if saved, it can simply be run on demand after that. By default, HTAs are rendered as per "standards-mode content in IE7 Standards mode and quirks mode content in IE5 (Quirks) mode", but this can be altered using X-UA-Compatible headers. HTAs are dependent on

1320-553: The former returning a standard response, and the latter returning one user-supplied text or numeric value. For more elaborate GUI interaction with controls, VBScript can be used in combination with HTML, for example, in an HTML Application . Event-driven forms are not supported as in Visual Basic or Visual Basic for Applications . Names are not case-sensitive. However, it is considered a best practice of VBScript style to be consistent and to capitalize judiciously. When hosted by

1360-563: The full Visual Basic, such as strong typing, extended error trapping and the ability to pass a variable number of parameters to a subroutine. However, its use is relatively widespread because it is easy to learn and because those who implement code in the language need not pay royalties to Microsoft as long as the VBScript trade mark is acknowledged. When an organization licenses Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) from Microsoft, as companies such as Autodesk, StatSoft, Great Plains Accounting and Visio (subsequently acquired by Microsoft) have done, it

1400-482: The language. During execution, when an error occurs, the script host issues a message stating the type of error and the number of the offending line. Although VBScript is a general-purpose scripting language, several particular areas of use are noteworthy. First, it used to be widely used among system administrators in the Microsoft environment, but it has since been vastly surpassed by PowerShell . Second, VBScript

1440-499: The organization use the computers. Perhaps the most important skill for a system administrator is problem solving —frequently under various sorts of constraints and stress. The sysadmin is on call when a computer system goes down or malfunctions, and must be able to quickly and correctly diagnose what is wrong and how best to fix it. They may also need to have teamwork and communication skills; as well as being able to install and configure hardware and software. Sysadmins must understand

1480-769: The practical nature of system administration and the easy availability of open-source server software, many system administrators enter the field self-taught. Generally, a prospective employee will be required to have experience with the computer systems they are expected to manage. In most cases, candidates are expected to possess industry certifications such as the Microsoft MCSA , MCSE , MCITP , Red Hat RHCE , Novell CNA , CNE , Cisco CCNA or CompTIA 's A+ or Network+ , Sun Certified SCNA , Linux Professional Institute , Linux Foundation Certified Engineer or Linux Foundation Certified System Administrator, among others. Sometimes, almost exclusively in smaller sites,

1520-461: The program icon, etc., and provide information such as the argument (command line) used to launch the HTA. Otherwise, an HTA has the same format as an HTML page. Any text editor can be used to create an HTA. Editors with special features for developing HTML applications may be obtained from Microsoft or from third-party sources. An existing HTML file (with file extension .htm or .html , for example) can be changed to an HTA by simply changing

1560-411: The role of system administrator may be given to a skilled user in addition to or in replacement of their duties. The subject matter of system administration includes computer systems and the ways people use them in an organization. This entails a knowledge of operating systems and applications , as well as hardware and software troubleshooting , but also knowledge of the purposes for which people in

1600-566: The sysadmin's role and skillset they may be expected to understand equivalent key/core concepts a software engineer understands. That said, system administrators are not software engineers or developers , in the job title sense. Particularly when dealing with Internet -facing or business-critical systems, a sysadmin must have a strong grasp of computer security . This includes not merely deploying software patches, but also preventing break-ins and other security problems with preventive measures. In some organizations, computer security administration

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