Windows Script Host

The Microsoft Windows Script Host (WSH) (formerly named Windows Scripting Host) is an automation technology for Microsoft Windows operating systems that provides scripting abilities comparable to batch files, but with a wider range of supported features. This tool was first provided on Windows 95 after Build 950a on the installation discs as an optional installation configurable and installable by means of the Control Panel, and then a standard component of Windows 98 (Build 1111) and subsequent and Windows NT 4.0 Build 1381 and by means of Service Pack 4. WSH is also a means of automation for Internet Explorer via the installed WSH engines from IE Version 3.0 onwards; at this, time VBScript became a means of automation for Microsoft Outlook 97. WSH is also an optional install provided with a VBScript and JScript engine for Windows CE 3.0 and following; some third-party engines, including Rexx and other forms of BASIC, are also available.

It is language-independent in that it can make use of different Active Scripting language engines. By default, it interprets and runs plain-text JScript (.JS and .JSE files) and VBScript (.VBS and .VBE files).

Users can install different scripting engines to enable them to script in other languages, for instance PerlScript. The language-independent filename extension WSF can also be used. The advantage of the Windows Script File (.WSF) is that it allows multiple scripts ("jobs") as well as a combination of scripting languages within a single file.

WSH engines include various implementations for the Rexx, ooRexx (up to version 4.0.0), BASIC, Perl, Ruby, Tcl, PHP, JavaScript, Delphi, Python, XSLT, and other languages.

Windows Script Host is distributed and installed by default on Windows 98 and later versions of Windows. It is also installed if Internet Explorer 5 (or a later version) is installed. Beginning with Windows 2000, the Windows Script Host became available for use with user login scripts.

Windows Script Host may be used for a variety of purposes, including logon scripts, administration and general automation. Microsoft describes it as an administration tool. WSH provides an environment for scripts to run – it invokes the appropriate script engine and provides a set of services and objects for the script to work with. These scripts may be run in GUI mode (WScript.exe) or command line mode (CScript.exe), or from a COM object (wshom.ocx), offering flexibility to the user for interactive or non-interactive scripts. Windows Management Instrumentation is also scriptable by this means.

WSH, the engines, and related functionality are also listed as objects which can be accessed and scripted and queried by means of the VBA and Visual Studio object explorers and those for similar tools like the various script debuggers, e.g. Microsoft Script Debugger, and editors.

WSH implements an object model which exposes a set of Component Object Model (COM) interfaces. So in addition to ASP, IIS, Internet Explorer, CScript and WScript, WSH can be used to automate and communicate with any Windows application with COM and other exposed objects, such as using PerlScript to query Microsoft Access by various means including various ODBC engines and SQL, ooRexxScript to create what are in effect Rexx macros in Microsoft Excel, Quattro Pro, Microsoft Word, Lotus Notes and any of the like, the XLNT script to get environment variables and print them in a new TextPad document, and so on.