Getting Started with Windows Script Host and VBScript

Operating System:

Windows Script Host is entirely dependent on (32 bits) Windows, so you'll need Windows 98 or later.

Interpreter:

For WSH, the interpreter or engine is installed by default in Windows 2000 and later versions.
For the sake of compatibility, however, it is still recommended to download and use only the latest WSH version (5.7 for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003, 5.6 for older Windows versions):

• WSH 5.7 for Windows XP
  
• WSH 5.7 for Windows 2000
  
• WSH 5.7 for Windows Server 2003
  

(WSH 5.7 is native in Windows Vista)

Development software:

Several editors, IDEs and query and code generators are available for WSH based languages.
I also recommend downloading the script debugger:

• for Windows NT 4 & later
• for Windows 98/Me

And last but not least, once you get to know the language(s), you may want to explore this list of add-ons and components.

Help files:

Download the WSH 5.6 Documentation in .CHM format, Jean's WSH 5.6 Quick-Reference HTA, and Microsoft's VBScript Quick Reference in Word format.
More online documentation can be found on the MSDN Scripting page.

Books:

I compiled a short list of books on WSH and VBScript.

Samples:

Start by examining sample scripts and exploring other WSH and VBScript related sites.

Newsgroups:

• microsoft.public.scripting.vbscript
• microsoft.public.scripting.wsh
• microsoft.public.scripting.jscript