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See answers below your questions.
Regards,
Ton Maas
ms-irb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dismiss the ".nospam" bit (including the dot) when replying.
----- Original Message -----
From: Glynn Chamberlain
To: A.J. Maas
Sent: maandag 17 mei 1999 18:47
Subject: Scripting programs
> Dear Ton
>
> I joined the Metastock Forum about 2 months ago and was fortunate to see most
> of your informative posts referring to Scripting programs.
Thanks for this compliment, but it is Equis that gives its users the opportunity through
their MetaStock-list for their worlwide users of their programs, to get more advanced
in MetaStock, and in "MetaStock plus the PC"-combined programs.
Myselve, and many many others, only provide the technical means (with pleasure).
> I however am still in a quandary as to which program to chose. Could you please
> give me a recommendation as to which (in your opinion) is the better program.
Depends on your preferences (eg see your DOS-section below).
The following list shows the programs (usable in the Windows 9.x User-environment),
in a qualify-ing ranking manner (eg 1=simpler , 5=tougher):
1. DOS batch, 2. ScriptIt and 3. AutoIt (eg 2+3 are equal), 4. WSH's VBScript, 5.VBA
(where #1,2,4+5 are all Microsoft products and all the # given are available for free).
> I know my way around Windows 95 & 98, however my programming skills are
> a bit short, if non existent. Although I did write some Dos batch programs, they
> were incredibly simple, even though I "understood?" Dos fairly well.
Best is to start with ScriptIt and when finished writing a few scripts, to then compare
notes(the scripts) with AutoIt, as both programs are somewhat equal, differences
are in the details only.
Also ScriptIt is the DOS batch's successor and also most of the DOS batch stuff is
implemented in it, and also full in VBScript.
> I would like a Scripting program much like those in MS Word, where you start
> a "Recorder", do the necessary mouse clicks and actions and the actions are
> saved to be used over and over again. Is there such a scripting program that
> will watch what keystrokes I do so that I can automate it next time. I think these
> were called Makro's?
Makro is a retail company overhere, but you are right here, there are quite a few
macro programs around. At first, I have also been macroing my way around
Windows. However, the macro utility that is build-in in Word, works for and within
the Word-program only.
A macro utility (as an Add-In) is also available in Excel.
VBA is also available in Excel.
What these type of macro utilities and VBA have in common is that both will only
operate from and within that single main program only (Word or Excel or others).
Within these programs, the display of windows is always a repetative task,
whereas running a macro program in the Windows 9.x OS is not of a repetative
nature. In Word, the Word-program controlls the display settings for each window.
These settings are in an OS-environment like Windows 9.x always later over-ruled
by the Registry settings for Folders (eg in Win-Explorer click "View|Folder
Options|View|Folder views"). And this is also the main bottleneck when choosing
for a macro-recording program. The display of windows or folder's windows is
never certain to be always the same window-position on screen and all of the
times, eg be it due to that certain program's way of working under the Windows 9.x
OS or from the OS itselves or from your own settings (see above).
Any "mouse moves" or "sending keystrokes"-actions that are live recordered, will
then also not be able to follow up on these new window's display-positions on screen.
Best way would be to have a program that can also write down (eg convert) your
recordings into a written source code, so that you can manipulate it to suite any
un-expected new window's display positions.
But to save you a lot of hastles (and any consequencive data loss following from
these miss-actions), apart from the DOS batch, any of the other programs that
are mentioned above are capable to catch the windows, normal displayed or
mis-placed displayed, with "mouse moves" or "sending keystrokes" as the source
code also being available (but not from recording it first). You will have to use
your imagination here, as to the appropiate actions that need to be in the source
code.
> I have been reading your write up on WSH, Scriptit and others, and although
> they all sound excellent, I do not know which one to go for. Please could you
> recommend a suitable program that is Idiot proof and simple for me yet once
> I learn how it works will be incredibly powerful. So far I will only be using it to
> automate some system tests etc in Metastock. However, if these programs
> work the way I have read, I could be doing a lot more later. I doubt very much
> that I will be using dos based programs, so any program you recommend
> only needs to be for Win 9.x and NT systems.
Like mentioned above, start with ScriptIt (or AutoIt). Though WSH, as the host
for so many scripting languages doesn't directly support this, indirectly it will
always do so when calling on the host itself (eg calling the WSH either in the
form of (host) Wscript.exe or (host) Cscript.exe) by registering the
script file ('s extension) with the particular host.
And then you can also easy switch between ScriptIt(or AutoIt) and any of the
other (scripting) languages standard supported in WSH (eg VBScript, Jscript,
Perl etc.). Not required but it is always available to you. And where WSH can be
seen as the (WSH) shell-environment, with own source code for the run-environment
as base, put in a seperate wsh-file.
Another thing about ScriptIt (or AutoIt) is that it is so realy easy to use. Much easier
then the MetaStock formula language for example, which is a solid language too, and
that gets many of its stuff from VB/VBA. The only requirement is that you MUST read
the White Paper document first, as it is as well, at the same time the only
Help-file available for the program. More support :
- In one of the microsoft's news-groups
( news.microsoft.com microsoft.public.scripting.vbs )
sometimes questions related to ScriptIt will get answered by many odd pro's
from around the world.
- Naturaly, you can also ask on the MetaStock-List.
(This asking will help others, eg first starters, in using the program as well).
- Another suggestion to other List-members is to send their (Metastock) scripts
to the List, and also I could add a special section on my homepage for these
scripts, so that they are always (24 hours) available (to others and newcomers).
Also remember that the programs mentioned are all available for FREE ,
exception ofcourse is the VBA, as this naturaly comes with the particular
programs that are including the VBA - (for Equis/MetaStock an idea????).
> I thank you for your assistance and hope to hear from you soon.
> Many regards
>
> Glynn
>
> Glynn & Lindsay Chamberlain.
> Cape Town
> South Africa
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