A Windows script (*.wsf) file is a text document containing Extensible Markup Language (XML) code. It incorporates several features that offer you increased scripting flexibility. Because Windows script files are not engine-specific, they can contain script from any Windows Script compatible scripting engine. They act as a container.
Additional Features
| .wsf files support | You can |
|---|---|
|
Include statements |
Incorporate functions from VBScript or JScript files into your Windows Script Host project. |
|
Multiple engines |
Use more than one scripting language per file. |
|
Type libraries |
Add constants to your code. |
|
Tools |
Edit files with any XML editor. |
|
Multiple jobs in one file |
Store all of your code in a single location. |
Include Statements
If you have .js and .vbs files from previous Windows Script Host projects, a .wsf file enables you to use them with Windows Script Host. A .wsf file encapsulates a library of functions that can in turn be used by multiple .wsf files.
The following example shows a .wsf file that includes a JScript file (fso.js), plus a VBScript function that calls a function (GetFreeSpace) in the included file. The contents of fso.js are also shown.
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|---|---|
<job id="IncludeExample">
<script language="JScript" src="FSO.JS"/>
<script language="VBScript">
' Get the free space for drive C.
s = GetFreeSpace("c:")
WScript.Echo s
</script>
</job> | |
The fso.js file contains the following:
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|---|---|
function GetFreeSpace(drvPath) {
var fs, d, s;
fs = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
d = fs.GetDrive(fs.GetDriveName(drvPath));
s = "Drive " + drvPath + " - " ;
s += d.VolumeName;
s += " Free Space: " + d.FreeSpace/1024 + " Kbytes";
return s;
} | |
Multiple-Engine Support
Since one scripting language may not have all the functionality you need, Windows Script Host allows you to combine multiple languages in a single .wsf file. The following example shows a .wsf file that includes both VBScript and PerlScript code:
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|---|---|
<job id="PERLandVBS">
<script language="PerlScript">
sub PerlHello {
my $str = @_[0];
$WScript->Echo($str);
}
</script>
<script language="VBScript">
WScript.Echo "Hello from VBScript"
PerlHello "Hello from PERLScript"
</script>
</job> | |
Type Library Support
In the following example, "MyComponent" was developed with Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0. "MyComponent" defines the constant MyError with the following statement.
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|---|---|
Public Const MyError = "You are not using MyComponent correctly" | |
The type library is contained in mycomponent.lib, which is installed in C:\MyComponent.
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|---|---|
<job id="IncludeExample">
<reference progid="MyComponent.MyClass">
<script language="VBScript">
Dim MyVar
Set MyVar = CreateObject("MyComponent.MyClass")
Currentreturn = MyVar.MyMethod
If Currentreturn = False then
WScript.Echo MyError
End If
</script>
</job> | |
Tools Support
Since the .wsf file is in XML format, you can use any editor that supports XML to edit .wsf files. This includes text editors, such as Notepad.
Multiple Jobs in One File
Instead of keeping all your scripts in separate files, you can incorporate them all into one .wsf file and break them into several different jobs. You can then run each job separately using syntax similar to the following example, where "MyFirstJob" is the name of the job contained in the MyScripts.wsf file.
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|---|---|
CScript //Job:MyFirstJob MyScripts.wsf | |
