# Visual Basic Script

> script programming language

**Wikidata**: [Q13743](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q13743)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VBScript)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/visual-basic-script

## Summary
Visual Basic Script, commonly known as VBScript, is an interpreted scripting language developed by Microsoft as a subset of the Visual Basic programming language. First released in 1996, it is primarily used for Windows system automation via the Windows Script Host and as the default server-side engine for Active Server Pages (ASP).

## Key Facts
- **Developer:** Microsoft (founded April 4, 1975).
- **Inception:** 1996.
- **Stable Version:** 5.8, released in 2008.
- **Language Class:** Scripting language and interpreted language.
- **File Extension:** .vbs.
- **Based on:** Visual Basic (legacy language released in 1991).
- **MIME Types:** text/vbscript and text/vbs.
- **Primary Environments:** Windows Script Host and Active Server Pages (ASP).

## FAQs
### Q: What is the primary purpose of VBScript?
A: VBScript is designed for run-time events and system automation within the Windows ecosystem. It is frequently used for administrative tasks through the Windows Script Host and for server-side web development within the Active Server Pages (ASP) framework.

### Q: Is VBScript still used in modern web browsers?
A: No, VBScript is no longer supported in Internet Explorer 11 edge mode. While it was historically used for client-side scripting, modern web standards have moved away from it in favor of other technologies.

### Q: How does VBScript relate to Visual Basic and VBA?
A: VBScript is a dialect of the legacy Visual Basic language. While Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is used for automation within specific Microsoft applications, VBScript is a more general-purpose scripting tool for Windows automation and web servers.

### Q: What are the common file formats for VBScript?
A: VBScript code is typically stored in files with the .vbs extension. These are readable and writable as plain text files.

## Why It Matters
VBScript was a foundational tool in the late 1990s and early 2000s for both system administrators and web developers. By providing a lightweight, interpreted version of Visual Basic, Microsoft enabled users to automate complex Windows tasks without the need for full application development. Its role as the primary engine for Active Server Pages (ASP) was critical in the early days of dynamic web content, allowing developers to write server-side logic that could interact with databases and generate HTML on the fly. Although it has been largely superseded by more modern frameworks like Visual Basic .NET and PowerShell, VBScript remains significant for its historical impact on the Windows scripting environment and its continued presence in legacy enterprise systems.

## Notable For
- **ASP Integration:** It serves as the primary scripting language for the Active Server Pages (ASP) server-side framework.
- **Windows Script Host:** It is a core component of the Windows Script Host, used for automating operating system tasks.
- **Visual Basic Dialect:** It maintains a high degree of syntax compatibility with the legacy Visual Basic language, making it accessible to a large base of developers.
- **URI Scheme:** It features a dedicated uniform resource identifier scheme (`vbscript:`), which was historically used to execute scripts directly in compatible environments.

## Body

### Origins and Development
VBScript was introduced by Microsoft in 1996. It was developed as a "Scripting Edition" of the Visual Basic programming language, which Microsoft had originally launched in 1991. As an interpreted language, VBScript does not require compilation; instead, its instructions are executed directly by a script engine at run-time.

### Technical Specifications and Versions
The language reached its stable version, 5.8, in 2008. It is formally identified in various knowledge bases by identifiers such as GND ID 4434796-0 and Freebase ID /m/080l1. 
- **Media Types:** The language is associated with the MIME types `text/vbscript` and `text/vbs`.
- **File Handling:** It uses the `.vbs` file extension and is categorized as both a readable and writable file format.

### Execution Environments
VBScript is designed to function within specific host environments:
- **Windows Script Host (WSH):** Used for local administrative scripts and system automation.
- **Active Server Pages (ASP):** Used for server-side web scripting to create dynamic web pages.
- **Internet Explorer:** Historically used for client-side scripting, though this support was deprecated in later versions of the browser (IE11).

### Competitive Landscape
VBScript exists within a broader ecosystem of Microsoft languages and external competitors:
- **Visual Basic .NET:** A modern successor introduced in 2001 for general-purpose application development.
- **Visual Basic for Applications (VBA):** A proprietary version of Visual Basic released in 1993, used primarily for internal application automation.
- **Tcl:** A competing interpreted scripting language used for system automation and glue code since 1988.

## Schema Markup
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## References

1. [Source](https://github.com/JohnMarkOckerbloom/ftl/blob/master/data/wikimap)
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
3. [VBScript is no longer supported in IE11 edge mode](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/internet-explorer/ie-developer/compatibility/dn384057(v=vs.85))
4. HTML 4.01
5. YSO-Wikidata mapping project
6. [INTERNET_SCHEME enumeration (Windows)](https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa385149(v=vs.85).aspx)
7. [163648 - URL with "vbscript:" protocol launches MS Internet Explorer. 2002](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=163648)
8. National Library of Israel
9. [OpenAlex](https://docs.openalex.org/download-snapshot/snapshot-data-format)