VBScripting Solutions: Capture a Script’s Output

In any piece of interpreted or compiled software, the output is all that really matters. Some programs return output on the command line, whereas others condense output into a disk file in a certain directory. Other programs let the user grab and process results when necessary. For the most part, the application model and platform determine a program's behavior. Traditional GUI programs (e.g., Windows programs) display their output through windows and controls.

Scripts fall into another category of applications that mostly concern administrators and power users. Although scripts are powerful, they follow a simple, basic schema. Rather than relying on visual tools such as windows, dialog boxes, and controls, scripts are usually limited to the set of features that the language in use provides. For example, certain OS scripts, even in a GUI-centric OS such as Windows, are limited in their UI options. Windows Script Host (WSH) and VBScript are significant exceptions because they let you plug into many COM components to accomplish a variety of otherwise impossible tasks. . . .