Professional Windows® PowerShell

2.3. Previous Attempted Solutions

Microsoft has made several previous attempts to address the kinds of issues mentioned earlier in this chapter. Each attempt has, not surprisingly, taken some steps forward, but each has had limitations. Not least of the limitations for the Windows user in an increasingly .NET Framework–orientated world is that the existing technologies don't use the .NET Framework nor do they generate or execute managed code.

2.3.1. Windows Script Host

Windows Script Host (WSH) was introduced in 1998. One important aim of Windows Script Host was to enable various scripting languages to support a range of Windows administration tasks.

Windows Script Host didn't prove to be popular. One reason, I suspect, was that documentation of how best to use Windows Script Host wasn't easy to find in the early years of its life. Naturally, administrators were reluctant to use a tool that they couldn't easily locate information for.

Another factor in the relatively poor uptake of Windows Script Host was the occurrence of several security exploits. Of course, WSH was by no means the only Microsoft product that exhibited worrying security vulnerabilities, but a questionable reputation for security isn't an encouragement to the rapid uptake of a scripting environment.

Having made those negative comments, it's fair to say that WSH allows the scripter who uses VBScript, JScript, or other scripting language to carry out many useful administration tasks. One of the major parts of ...