Platinum Edition Using HTML 4, XML, and Java 1.2
(Publisher: Macmillan Computer Publishing)
Author(s): Eric Ladd
ISBN: 078971759x
Publication Date: 11/01/98

When Microsoft announced it was getting into the Web server business, no one was terribly surprised to learn that they intended to incorporate a variant of VB or that they wanted everyone else to incorporate VB, too. VBScript, similar to a subset of VBA, has been useful on the client side, especially with ActiveX controls, and it should become even more useful with the Document Object Model’s expansion of HTML’s programmability. Server-side, VBScript has shone in Microsoft’s Active Server Page (ASP) technology built in to Internet Information Server. Fans of ASP, which is a powerful alternative to Perl and C CGI programs, are glad that third-party ASP capability is now available for other Web servers through Chili!soft. So far, Chili!ASP versions of ASP are available for Netscape’s FastTrack and Enterprise Servers on Windows 95, NT 3.51 and NT 4.0, the Lotus Go Web Server on Windows 95, NT 3.51 and NT 4.0, IBM’s ICS for Windows NT, and O’Reilly’s WebSite for Windows 95 and NT. Versions for Netscape Enterprise for Solaris 2.5 and Apache for Solaris 2.5 are in alpha and coming soon, and more are planned. For more information on Chili!ASP and some excellent ASP links and content in general, see http://www.chilisoft.net/. You can read more about Active Server Pages in Chapter 33, “Active Server Pages and VBScript.”

You can get the latest technical specifications and other VBScript information from http://www.microsoft.com/vbscript/. VBScript, when Active Server Pages are available on even more servers and when server-side VBScript gets implemented more widely, should remove many of the arcane aspects from CGI programming. No more fussing with Perl arcana, C++ constructors, or worrying about stray pointers. Distribution should be a snap; Microsoft even currently provides code on its Web site for developers to include with their HTML, which will take the (willing) user straight to the scripting engine download area should an update be needed. Debugging can be done on-the-fly, with plain-English messages and help as far away as the F1 key. Code runs both server side and client side, whichever makes the most sense for your application. Versions of the runtimes may soon be available for Sun, HP, Digital, and IBM flavors of UNIX and are already available to developers for Windows 95, Windows 3.1, Windows NT for Intel-based computers, Windows NT for DEC Alpha-based computers, and the Macintosh. Also, Microsoft is licensing VBScript for free to browser developers and application developers. They want VBScript to become a standard. It may well do so, when combined with ASP and other powerful tools from third-party vendors and Microsoft.

	VBScript On the CD-ROM accompanying this book, you’ll find Aclist.exe and Vbsdoc.exe. Aclist.exe is a self-extracting archive file containing all the runtime DLLs, source code examples, and ActiveX controls currently available for VBScript. Vbsdoc.exe is a self-extracting archive containing all the documentation for VBScript.

So where’s the rub? All that, if true, sounds pretty good—even wonderful. Well, yes; it is, but VB applications of whatever flavor have a two-fold hidden cost: RAM and disk space. With each release, GUI-based products tend to become more powerful and more friendly but also take up more disk space and more runtime memory. And don’t forget that managing those resources in a GUI environment also racks up computing cycles, mandating a fast processor. Linux users with a 286 clone and 640KB of RAM won’t see the benefits of VBScript for a long, long time.

Although text-only UNIX machines don’t comprise a large share of the paying market, they do nevertheless make up a large percentage of Internet servers. Historically, the Internet community has favored large, powerful servers rather than large, powerful desktops. In part, this is due to the prevalence of UNIX on those desktops. In a text-based environment where the most demanding thing you do all day is the occasional grep, processing power and RAM aren’t constant worries. Although early DOS machines were considered “loaded” if they had 640KB RAM, UNIX machines in use today often use that amount—or even less—for most applications. Usually, only high-end workstations for CAD-CAM or large LAN servers come equipped with substantial RAM and fast processors.

In the long run, of course, such an objection is moot. Already, except in third-world areas, worries about those with 286s are becoming only memories. But in the meantime, developers need to keep current users in mind and try to keep from disenfranchising them. The Internet thrives on its egalitarianism. Just as a considerate Webmaster produces pages that can be read by Lynx or Netscape Navigator, developers using Microsoft’s fancy—and fascinating—new tools must keep in mind that many visitors won’t see their work…for now.