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Perspectives
- Answers to 10 Commonly Asked Questions About Windows Shell Scripting
Scripting Toolkit
- Script Gives Managers an Easy Way to Obtain Custom AD Reports
Info to Go
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:: **** Perspectives ****
by Karen Bemowski, kbemowski@windowsitpro.com
Answers to 10 Commonly Asked Questions About Windows Shell Scripting
Whether or not you're new to writing Windows shell (i.e., .bat and .cmd)
scripts, you'll likely learn something from a Q&A by Dick Lewis. In it,
Dick answers the following commonly asked questions:
- I'd like to learn how to write Windows scripts, but I'm not sure which
language to use (e.g., command shell scripting, VBScript, Perl). Is there a
preferable language?
- I've heard that .bat files' functionality is limited. Is this statement
accurate?
- How do I know which commands to use for particular tasks?
- I installed the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools, but when I enter
a command at a command prompt, I receive the message, "'Command' is not
recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch
file." What am I doing wrong?
- I've tried running several commands that I've seen in command shell
scripting articles, but I receive error messages. What could be causing the
problem?
- I'm interested in command shell scripting because I've heard it can help
me monitor security in my environment. How can I use shell scripts to enhance
security?
- Which Windows command shell scripting books are useful?
- I want to set up one machine on which to develop and test scripts and
set up another machine in my production environment to run the scripts. What
hardware and software are necessary?
- Do I need to obtain or purchase a script editor to edit my scripts?
- I have several Windows OSs in my environment. How can I easily test my
newly developed scripts across all the OSs?
To find out the answers to these 10 questions, read Dick's article "The
FAQs About Setting Up Your Shell Scripting Environment"
( http://pentonmedia.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=68F35:6B7D3383C3CE94443751B71ACD056FF7 ).
I've opened up this article for public viewing through November 1. If you
enjoy reading this article, you can get more of this type of content by
subscribing to Scripting Pro VIP
( http://pentonmedia.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=68F3B:6B7D3383C3CE94443751B71ACD056FF7 ).
:: **** Scripting Toolkit ****
Script Gives Managers an Easy Way to Obtain Custom AD Reports
Windows systems administrators often get requests from managers for
information about users, computers, and groups in Active Directory (AD).
Fulfilling these requests can take administrators away from the other
systems administration tasks they need to perform. However, that doesn't have
to be the case. Chris Scoggins has developed a solution that gives managers
an easy way to create their own custom AD reports without them having to
directly access AD or learn how to write scripts. The solution,
PopulateDB.vbs, exports relevant AD data into a Microsoft Access database,
which managers can run queries against.
To find out more about this solution and download PopulateDB.vbs, go to
the Windows IT Pro article "Export AD Data Into Access So Users Can Run Their
Own AD Reports" at
http://pentonmedia.whatcounts.com/t?ctl=68F38:6B7D3383C3CE94443751B71ACD056FF7 .
This article is open for public viewing.
:: **** Info to Go ****
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