An0n0m0us

I'm a wintel engineer but have never scripted a single thing, always do everything gui based with only the very rare occasion using cmd line stuff such as diskpart etc.

There are one or two members in the team who are excellent at scripting but way over the top in explaining what they have done making it seem a foreign language so can't ask them for help.

I really need to start learning this area as it is becoming more of a requirment for wintel work (i'm project only as BAU stuff is done by an off shore team).

Can anyone recomend a book/website for someone who really has absolutely no idea about scripting so needs to start right from the beginning? Things like scripting to pull stuff out of AD even do my head in so that may be a good place to start and practice on - I have my own test environment at home.

I really need to be able to start on the most basic of basic explanations as I almost have a mental blockage with scripting.

jonc

What are you scripting with? DOS batch files, VBScript, PowerShell? You can try
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../bb902776.aspx

Also Google is your friend!

An0n0m0us

Thanks, I know I can Google (and already am) but I was after recommendations! From the 3 you've listed I would imagine just starting in DOS and then vb and powershell. Pulling info from AD is something I need to be able to do but the switches/commands seem extensive!

jonc

If your scripting requires you to do things in AD, then forget DOS. I manly script using VBScript and is a very good tool for AD management. There is an excellent Microsoft blog by "HeyScriptingGuy" though Microsoft are now pushing hard on Powershell scripts, though you can still search for the old VBScripts from this blog. (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scriptcenter/ and http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/t0aew7h6.aspx)

There was a .CHM file which contained a huge amount of sample vbscripts and help and I used this heavily when I first started using VBScript. Try googling "Hey_Scripting_Guy.chm" to find a download for it. I can email it to you if you can't find it.

I found that rather than reading reams and reams of reference material, I learnt more quickly by applying scripts and tweaking it for my work. I use VBSEdit (www.vbsedit.com) and it contains very good built in samples and help files.

An0n0m0us

That's great, thanks for your help. I'll start reading up and seeing what ones I can run on my test environment. Things like creating lists of user accounts is something I needed to do previously but instead of scripting I created them all manually

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

I find myself returning to this site as a first port of call any time I get stuck or forget the syntax of a command. It rarely lets me down.


http://www.ss64.com

hodgy0_2

if you manage wintell servers, you just need to concentrate on powershell

An0n0m0us

Thanks Hodgy. We still work in the dark ages with mainly w2k3 and the occasional w2k8 sp2 but no r2s as of yet.

Saint AAI

I do a little scripting at work sometimes and use Strawberry Perl, is VBScript better or is it more personal preference?

hodgy0_2

you can still use powershell with 2003

it is just that native support (in the OS) is not included

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/...rshell/6160138