Windows Script Host 5.6

Windows Script Host (WSH) is designed to eliminate one of the major limitations of theWin32 platform: it has no real batch or macro language that allows common processes (such as creating shortcuts, writing to and reading from the registry, or getting information on the filesystem) to be automated. Windows' predecessor, the character-based DOS operating system, for instance, included the DOS batch language. And Windows 3.0 included the idiosyncratic and unsuccessful Recorder, which allowed the user to "record" keystrokes and mouse clicks and later repeat them.

When you execute a WSH script, WSH usesWScript.exe as the runtime engine for scripts that run within the Windows environment andCScript.exe as the runtime engine for scripts that execute within a Command Prompt window. WSH is language-independent; it can be used with any language with a Windows Script-compatible script engine. The language most commonly used to write WSH scripts, however, is VBScript.