Script Spy 3.0
Tobias Weltner
the main hassle while otherwise I am a script fanatic. So I finally decided
to do something about it.
Just wanted to let German visitors know that www.scriptinternals.de is
online. You can download for free the new scripting spy 3.0, it's a complete
vbscript script development environment. Also, the site has a large
reference section where com and wmi is covered. In contrast to the wmi sdk,
the wmi methods are documented correctly, i.e. *all* the required arguments
are listed instead of only some. This was the most annoying obstacle when
trying to use wmi methods that accept arguments, i.e. changeownership and
ntfs permissions.
The site will grow gradually, and since it is for free and I do it as a
hobby, please dont put pressure on me. Instead, jump right into it and help
filling it with content. By the way, the site uses old-fashioned
retro-design. I am not much of a web designer, and so the whole stuff is
html without any javascript or flash or whatever else.
The script spy has online help build-in. Right-click a command, and you will
be directed to the appropriate reference page on www.scriptinternals.de. So
in the long run, we will all find all the available info for a specific
command at one place instead of developing around on our own.
The main reason why this site is in German only is obviously a lack of time.
My time. However, if there's anybody out there who'd like to team up, be my
guest. We could easily set up a US mirror site. However, I'd only like to
team up with people who know their scripting stuff and are pretty much
experts on this field because of synergy effects.
The scripting spy will soon also be available in English.
And for those who still have some bucks left in their budget, there's also a
prof version which enables browsing through WMI, COM, DLLs and ADSI even
remotely over the net, auto-scripting functions that generate scripts for
you, DB Spys to automatically generate script code for accessing and even
creating databases, automatic scriptlet converter to convert a regular
script into a fully registerable scriptlet, normalization of script code,
and much more. All the features of both versions are documented on the site,
however so far everything is in German.
Oh, the prof version also autodocuments com and wmi using html, html help
workshop, winword and visio (if you happen to need a com wire outline).
Best,
tob
jim_w
German, I decided (perhaps too boldly and irrationally) to try Dr. Weltner's
Scripting Spy Utility, in spite of his warning (this product is for
German-Speakers only!).
Summarizing my experience, I would have to say: Dr. Weltner was right.
Anglophones should avoid the product (as it is, for now).
If you do download and install the product, here is what you get. A "so-so"
editor for script, with primitive syntax-highlighting (I expected a RichEdit
control, but found CodeMax, an edit control oriented towards code). Dr.
Weltner also takes a run through your registry, and appears to be tapping
into all the (scriptable?) typelibs he can find. So when the editor comes
up, you get some "hinting". Rather than "tooltip-type" hinting (positioned
near the cursor), Dr. Weltner's "hinting" appears in a little window at the
bottom of your screen. Also, in spite of Dr. Weltner's extensive search of
the registry for typelib info, he seems to have missed (or ignored?) _MY_
scriptable objects (wshLWF et al). Ouch! What an insult!!! Also, Dr.
Weltner is storing all the typelib info that he gathers somewhere, but I
couldn't figure out where. I do hope it's not in my registry.
The syntax colorization colors are "fixed". Dr. Weltner takes the "Henry
Ford approach", you can get any colors you want, so long as they are black
on white (with green highlighting). Call me a member of the "WordPerfect
Generation", but I prefer white text on a dark background. Black on white
seems too "glarey" for me. Since CodeMax is fully customizable as far as
colors, I suppose I could arrange to sent it some messages to get the
colorization I want, but a built-in option for color selection in a code
editor is almost standard these days.
And, while my few words of German are generally sufficient to order a good
meal (mit ein Mass, bitte) in the Ratskeller, my German was not enough to
get me through Dr. Weltner's documentation. One suggestion: there are only
a few menu items, why not include a button for every one on the toolbar?
The toolbar does have buttons for New/Open/Save, but why not all? The point
here is that the toolbar buttons (with their "universally understood"
bitmaps) would have made it easier for non-Deutschophones, to understand the
menu selections. For example, why not buttons for cut/copy/paste, rather
than have you use menu selections (Ausschneiden/Kopieren/Einfügen), and
further, these menu items don't even include the standard speed-keys? OTOH,
there is a somewhat amusing mixture of Deutsch/Englisch. The speed-key for
"Beenden" (Quit) is Ctrl-Q, instead of Ctrl-B.
My final concern is the "installation package". The installer will
"install" a number of system dll's and vb6 runtime controls (ocx's) along
with the "Scripting Spy" utility. However, I am not sure whether there is
any checking as to whether your current controls are newer or older than
what Dr. Weltner is installing. It would have been more reassuring if Dr.
Weltner had used an installer that asks you whether you want a newer/older
version of some dll/ocx that you already have installed on your pc.
For those who don't care to spend $100 for PrimalScript, in my opinion your
best bet for a "hinting" editor for vbs is (good ole reliable) vb5cce,
Microsoft's "Gift to Scripters". Just don't bother to type-cast your
variables (vb will default to "variant", or use "DefVar A-Z" if you prefer),
and away you go...
cheers, jw
"Tobias Weltner" <tobwe...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:OgjSqqDRBHA.1904@tkmsftngp05...