Visual Basic Scripting Edition, or VBScript, by Microsoft Corporation is a scripting computer language that allows active scripting to an extensive array of environments. This includes web server scripting and web client scripting. The code is placed on web pages with hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML) tags.
The proprietary language was designed by Microsoft to work in co-ordination with Internet Explorer® (IE) and browsers that are based on IE’s engine. It does not work in other web browsers. This language is not popular among some users, because of its proprietary nature, and many people prefer to learn a non-proprietary language that can work on all browsers.
VBScript allows the web page to interact with the guest. The code can ask the guest for his or her name and print customized and personalized messages on the web page. VBScript also can validate data entered by the user. For example, on a particular web page where certain fields are filled out, it can detect whether all data has been filled in. VBScript also can be used to perform a variety of mathematical calculations, from simple equations to complex arithmetic formulas.
The language is a division of Visual Basic and is used on the web as a client-side scripting language and server-side processing in active server pages (ASPs). VBScript is considered to be easy for those who have a prior knowledge of Visual Basic or Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). This is because the language inherited much functionality from the two. Some of this functionality includes string manipulation, support for math operation, flow control, arrays, data conversion and date/time functions. VBScript does not offer the same functionality as Visual Basic, but it provides an easy-to-learn tool that can be used to add interaction to web pages.
VBScript was designed for use with web applications, so it does not support file input/output and user interface functions. Local files and folders can be manipulated, however. VBScript also does not support explicitly declared data types, and this helps speed up the runtime performance of the VBScript Scripting Engine.