Contents

Introduction ............................................................................... xvii

1
CHAPTER Introducing
Windows Shell Scripting
Project Preview: The Knock Knock Joke ..................................... 2
Overview of Windows Shell Scripting ........................................ 4
1

What Can Shell Scripts Do? ..................................................... 6

Supported Microsoft Operating Systems ............................... 7
Alternatives to Windows Shell Scripting .................................... 7
The Windows Script Host ......................................................... 7
Third-Party Scripting Languages ........................................... 10
Understanding the Windows Shell ............................................ 10
Assembling Your First Windows Shell Script ........................... 13
Creating a Scripting Environment ............................................. 15
Back to the Knock Knock Joke ................................................... 17
Designing the Game ............................................................... 17
The Final Result ....................................................................... 22
Summary ..................................................................................... 24

2
CHAPTER Interacting with
the Windows Shell
Project Preview: The Unpredictable Command Prompt .......... 26
Command Shell Command Syntax ........................................... 27
25

Starting Windows Shell Sessions .............................................. 29

Working with the CMD Command ......................................... 30
Working with the START Command ..................................... 32