Introduction to VB Script

Presenter:
Duration: 50 min
Aim: To give an overview of the
features in VB Script.
 What is VBScript?
•VBScript is a scripting language
•A scripting language is a lightweight programming language
•VBScript is a light version of Microsoft's programming language Visual Basic

How Does it Work?

When a VBScript is inserted into a HTML document, the Internet browser will read
the HTML
and interpret the VBScript. The VBScript can be executed immediately, or at a later
event.
 VBScript Features
Data Types
VBScript has only one data type called a Variant. A Variant
is a special kind of data type that can contain different
kinds of information, depending on how it is used.
Variant Subtypes
Empty, Null, Boolean, Byte, Integer, Currency,
Long, Single, Double, Date (Time), String,
Object, Error.
Statements
Statements in VBS are delimited by new line character. VBScript is
case insensitive.
Eg. A = A + 10
Comments
The Single Quote(‘) character comments the rest of the line
following it. Or we can use the Rem statement.
Eg. ‘This is a comment
Constants:
User Defined constants are created using Const statement.
Eg. Const MyString = "This is my string."
Literals:
• String literal is enclosed in quotation marks (" ").
Eg A = “123”
• Date literals and time literals are represented by enclosing
them in number signs (#)
Eg. Const CutoffDate = #6-1-97#
What is a Variable?
A variable is a "container" for information you want to store.
A variable's value can change during the script. You can
refer to a variable by name to see its value or to change
its value. In VBScript, all variables are of type variant,
that can store different types of data. 
Declare variables explicitly in your script using the Dim statement.
Eg. Dim DegreesFahrenheit
You can also declare a variable implicitly by simply using its name in your
script.
The Option Explicit statement is available to require explicit declaration of
all variables. The Option Explicit statement should be the first
statement in your script.
Variable names follow the standard rules for naming anything in VBScript. A
variable name:
• Must begin with an alphabetic character.
• Cannot contain an embedded period.
• Must not exceed 255 characters.
• Must be unique in the scope in which it is declared

Scope and Lifetime of Variables

A variable's scope is determined by where it is declared. Variable
declared within a procedure, can be accessed only within that
procedure. It has local scope and is a procedure-level variable.
Variables declared outside a procedure, are visible to all the
procedures in your script. This is a script-level variable, and it
has script-level scope.
Arrays
Array variables are declared in the same way as scalars,
except that the declaration of an array variable uses
parentheses ( ) following the variable name.
Eg. Dim A(10)
This means that A is an array containing 11 elements.
The array index starts from 0.
 Multi Dimensional Arrays:
You can have as many as 60 dimensions.
Eg. Dim MyTable(5, 10) 

Dynamic Arrays:
An array whose size changes during the time your script is
running. For a dynamic array, no size or number of
dimensions is placed inside the parentheses.
Eg. Dim MyArray()
ReDim AnotherArray()
To use a dynamic array, you must subsequently use ReDim
to determine the number of dimensions and the size of
each dimension.
Eg. ReDim MyArray(25)
The Preserve keyword preserves the contents of the array
during resizing.
Eg. ReDim Preserve MyArray(30)
There is no limit to the no. of times you can resize a dynamic
Operators & Precedence
Arithmetic:
– Exponentiation(^), Unary Negation(-)
– Multiplication(*), Division(/), Integer Division(\), Modulus(Mod)
– Addition(+), Subtraction(-)
– String Concatenation(&)
Comparison:
– Equlity(=), Inequality(<>)
– Less Than(<) , Less Than or Equal To(<=),
– Greater Than(>), Greater Than or Equal To(>=)
– Object Equivalence(Is)
Logical:
– Logical negation(Not)
– Logical conjunction(And)
– Logical disjunction(Or)
– Logical exclusion(Xor),
– Logical equivalence(Eqv), Logical implication(Imp)
*Each operation is evaluated as it occurs from left to right.
*The Is operator is an object reference comparison operator. It does not compare
objects or their values but only determines if two object references refer to
the same object.
Conditional Statements
If...Then...Else
To run only one statement for a True condition, use the
single-line syntax.
Eg. If myDate < Now Then myDate = Now  

To run more than one line of code, you must use the
multiple-line (or block) syntax. This syntax includes the
End If statement
Eg. If value = 0 Then
AlertLabel.Font.Italic = True
End If  

Deciding Between Several Alternatives

Using ElseIf and Else clauses, you can control program flow
based on different possibilities.
Eg. If value = 0 Then
MsgBox value
ElseIf value = 1 Then
MsgBox value
Else
Msgbox "Value out of range!“
Select Case
A Select Case structure works with a single test expression that is evaluated once, at
the top of the structure. The result of the expression is then compared with the values
for each Case in the structure. If there is a match, the block of statements associated
with that Case is executed.

Select Case payment

Case "Cash"
MsgBox "You are going to pay cash"
Case "Visa"
MsgBox "You are going to pay with visa"
Case "Master"
MsgBox "You are going to pay with Master"
Case Else
MsgBox "Unknown method of payment"
End Select

Case Else is similar to default and is optional.

Looping Through Code

Do Loops
The statements are repeated either while a condition is True
or until a condition becomes True.
Eg. Do While myNum > 10
myNum = myNum – 1
counter = counter + 1
Loop
Eg. Do Until myNum = 10
myNum = myNum – 1
counter = counter + 1
Loop
While...Wend
Eg. while myNum <> 10
myNum = myNum – 1
counter = counter + 1
wend
*Because of the lack of flexibility in While...Wend, it is recommended that
you use Do...Loop instead.
For...Next
For loops, use a counter variable whose value increases or
decreases with each repetition of the loop.
You can use a For...Next statement to run a block of code, when
you know how many repetitions you want.
You can use a counter variable that increases or decreases with
each repetition of the loop, like this:
For i=1 to 10
some code
Next
Using the Step keyword, you can increase or decrease the counter
variable by the value you specify.
Eg . For j = 2 To 10 Step 2
total = total + j
Next
Step can be any integer. Default step is 1.
For Each…Next
This statement is used to iterate over a collection.
Dim names(2)
names(0) = "Tove"
names(1) = "Jani"
names(2) = "Hege"
For Each x In names
MsgBox x
You can exit a Do or a For loop by using the Exit
statement.
Eg. Do until i < 100
If i = a Then Exit Do
Loop
Eg. For I = 1 to 100
If i = a Then Exit For
Next
 Introduction to Regular Expressions
A regular expression is a pattern of text that consists of
ordinary characters (for example, letters a through z) and
special characters, known as metacharacters. The
pattern describes one or more strings to match when
searching a body of text. The regular expression serves
as a template for matching a character pattern to the
string being searched.
Metacharacters in Regular
Expressions:
Quantifiers
* Matches the preceding subexpression zero or more times.
Eg. 'zo*' matches "z" and "zoo"
+ Matches the preceding subexpression one or more times.
Eg. 'zo+' matches "zo" and "zoo", but not "z".
? Matches the preceding subexpression zero or one time.
Eg. 'do(es)?' matches the "do" in "do" or "does".
 Regular Expression (RegExp) Object
Provides simple regular expression support in VBScript.

Properties of RegExp Object:

• Global Property
Sets or returns a Boolean value indicating if a pattern should
match all occurrences in an search string or just the first.

•  IgnoreCase Property
Sets or returns a Boolean value that indicates if a pattern
search is case-sensitive or not.

•  Pattern Property
Sets or returns the regular expression pattern being searched
for. The pattern is delimited by double quotes(“).
 Built in Functions

1.Date/Time functions eg:Date,DateAdd,DateDiff,IsDate

2.Conversion functions eg:CBool,CByte,CInt,CStrt
3.Format functions eg:FormatCurrency,FormatNumber
4.Math functions eg:Int,Log,Sin
5.Array functions eg:Array,IsArray,Spilt,LBound
6.String function eg:LTrim,Rtrim,Replace,StrComp,InStr,Mid
7.Other function
eg:CreateObject,GetObject,Msgbox,Inputbox,IsEmpty,IsNull,I
sNumeric
 Inbuilt features:
Inbuilt Functions:
*The functions described below are only few of among an
exhaustive list. For the full list of functions refer to VBScript
Language Reference.

Array Function
Returns a Variant containing an array.
Eg. A = Array(10,20,30) ‘returns an array

InputBox Function
Displays a prompt in a dialog box, waits for the user
to input text or click a button, and returns the
contents of the text box.
Eg. Input = InputBox("Enter your name")  
Join Function
Returns a string created by joining a number of substrings
contained in an array.
Join(list[, delimiter])
The default delimiter is space.
Eg. Join(myArray, “,”) ‘Returns a concantenated string of all the elements in the
array delimited by a comma .

Left Function
Returns a specified number of characters from the left side
of a string.
Left(string, length)
Eg. MyString = Left(“abcd”, 3) returns abc

Right Function
Returns a specified number of characters from the right side
of a string.
Right(string, length)
Eg. MyString = Left(“abcd”, 3) returns abc
 
Replace Function
Returns a string in which a specified substring has
been replaced with another substring a specified
number of times.
 Eg. MyString = Replace("XXpXXPXXp", "p", "Y") ' A binary
comparison starting at the beginning ‘of the string.
Returns "XXYXXPXXY".

String Function
Returns a repeating character string of the length
specified.
Eg. MyString = String(5, "*") ' Returns "*****".

UCase Function
Returns a string that has been converted to
uppercase.
Eg. MyWord = UCase("Hello World") ' Returns "HELLO WORLD".
1.InStr--Returns the position of the first occurrence of one
string within another. The search begins at the first
character of the string.
Eg: Dim SearchString, SearchChar, MyPos
SearchString ="XXpXXpXXPXXP" ' String to search in.
SearchChar = "P" ' Search for "P".
MyPos = Instr(4, SearchString, SearchChar, 1) ' A
textual comparison starting at position 4. Returns 6.
2.Mid-Returns a specified number of characters from a string
Dim MyString
MyString = "The dog jumps" ' Initialize string.
Mid(MyString, 5, 3) = "fox" ' MyString = "The fox jumps".
Mid(MyString, 5) = "cow" ' MyString = "The cow jumps".

3.StrComp-Compares two strings and returns a value that

represents the result of the comparison
Dim MyStr1, MyStr2, MyComp
MyStr1 = "ABCD": MyStr2 = "abcd" ' Define variables.
MyComp = StrComp(MyStr1, MyStr2, 1) ' Returns 0.if both
equal
MyComp = StrComp(MyStr1, MyStr2, 0) ' Returns -1.
MyStr2> MyStr1
MyComp = StrComp(MyStr2, MyStr1) ' Returns 1. MyStr1>
 5.LTrim-Removes spaces on the left side of
a string

6.RTrim-Removes spaces on the right side

of a string

VBScript Keywords
Empty : The Empty keyword is used to indicate an
uninitialized variable
LTrim-Removes value.
spaces on the left side of a string
False: Boolean false.
True: Boolean true.
Nothing : The Nothing keyword in VBScript is used to
disassociate an object variable from any actual object.
Eg. Set MyObject = Nothing
Null: The Null keyword is used to indicate that a variable
contains no valid data.