Connecting to Objects

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Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Scripting Guide

Before you can do anything with the data in a database, you must first make a connection of some kind to that database. Likewise, before you can do anything with the methods or properties of an Automation object, you must first make a connection to that object, a process known as binding.

Binding to objects can be confusing, because VBScript and WSH both provide a GetObject and a CreateObject method for accessing objects. Furthermore, although the implementations are similar, there are some subtle differences that grow in importance as you become more proficient in scripting. These differences are discussed in more detail later in this chapter. For now, use the following rules-of-thumb without worrying about whether you are using the VBScript or the WSH method (although in most cases you will use the VBScript implementation):

  • Use GetObject to bind to either WMI or ADSI. Both WMI and ADSI allow you to use a moniker when binding from VBScript. A moniker (discussed later in this chapter) is an intermediary object that makes it easy to bind to objects that do not exist in the file system namespace. ADSI exists in the Active Directory namespace, while WMI exists in its own namespace.

    Although it is possible (and sometimes required) to bind to WMI or ADSI using CreateObject, using GetObject and a moniker is typically faster and easier.

  • Use CreateObject to bind to all objects other than WMI or ADSI. In general, CreateObject will be required to create new instances of such elements as the FileSystem object, the Dictionary object, and Internet Explorer. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however. For example, you will often need to use CreateObject to create WMI objects other than SWbemServices (such as SWbemLocator).

Connecting to WSH

In line 1 of the script in Listing 2.2, the script binds to WMI by using the following code statement:

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:")

This connects the script to the WMI SWbemServices object.

No similar binding string is used to connect to WSH. Instead, the Echo method is called without first binding to WSH. You are already connected to WSH because WSH is required to run a script written in VBScript.