The Internet is home to many free utilities that are helpful to scripters. However, finding such tools can be difficult because the Internet is so vast. So, we ran a contest in the September and October issues of Scripting Central to learn about the utilities that you often use and that other scripters might want to know about. What follows is a list of the free tools used and recommended by Scripting Central readers. (Note that Microsoft utilities aren't included in this list because most people are already familiar with those tools.)
AutoIt v3 and SciTE (http://www.autoitscript.com/autoit3)
Eric F. uses AutoIt, freeware designed for general scripting and for
automating the Windows GUI. Eric likes the utility because "It's the middle
ground between batch and VBS/WSH/ADSI/MSH." The latest version includes the
new AutoIt v3 language. According to the Web site, "Unlike AutoIt2, the new
AutoIt v3 language has a much more standard syntax--similar to VBScript and
BASIC--and now supports complex expressions, user functions, looping and
everything else that veteran scripters would expect." So, if you tried but
didn't like this utility in the past, you might want to give it another try.
Adrian R. recommends the SciTE, an editor that's part of AutoIT v3. You can also download SciTE separately. Besides offering syntax highlighting, SciTE offers auto-completion and auto-indentation. Adrian notes that this editor will work with other scripting languages besides the AutoIt v3 language.
Blat (http://www.blat.net)
Blat is a Win32 command-line utility that uses SMTP to send email or
uses Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) to post to Usenet. "Blat is
probably the defacto standard for sending email messages, such as
status reports, from batch files," notes David G.
CodeKeep Add-In (http://www.codekeep.net)
CodeKeep is an online repository of code snippets written in a
variety of scripting and programming languages, including VBScript,
HTML, and Visual Basic .NET. This Web site offers a free utility that
Eric P. uses often: the CodeKeep Add-In for Visual Studio (VS). This
add-in is a code snippet manager. "You can insert code from the snippet
manager right into your script, and it is just as easy to save a
snippet," says Eric.
DumpSec (http://www.somarsoft.com)
"DumpSec is my all-time favorite freeware utility," notes Jim T.
DumpSec, a Windows security auditing program from SomarSoft, can
produce reports on NTFS permissions for file systems, printers, shared
folders, and even registry hives. It can also provide valuable
information about groups, users, rights, policies, and services. "I've
been using this utility for many years now, and I can't tell you how
much time it's saved me," says Jim. "But more important, it's
dependable and accurate."
Joeware (http://www.joeware.net/index2.htm)
Next to the Sysinternal utilities (e.g., PsTools), Chris L. finds
that Joeware utilities are next best bet for scripting. (Note that
Sysinternal utilities aren't included in this list because Microsoft
acquired the company late last year.) Among the tools you'll find on the
Joeware site are AdFind and AdMod (tools to query and modify Active
Directory--AD) and ExchMbx (command-line tool for working with Microsoft
Exchange mailboxes). New to the Joeware site is a "Perl Stuff" page.
Although there currently aren't any utilities listed, you might want to
check the page in the future.
MD5WIN (http://www.p6c.com/FREEBIES/MD5WIN.html)
Message-Digest algorithm 5 (MD5) provides a way to verify data
integrity. (For more information about MD5, go to
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~mabzug1/cs/md5/md5.html.) MD5WIN is
graphical-mode Windows program for computing and comparing MD5 digest
strings for files and text strings. "If a script needs to generate MD5
digests, this is the program to use for the job," says David G.
NirSoft (http://www.nirsoft.net)
NirSoft is a Web site that offers a collection of free utilities,
all of them created by Nir Sofer. You'll find "lots of fun stuff by
this guy," says Chris L. There are a variety of tools available, such as
MessenPass and NirCmd. MessenPass is a password recovery tool that
reveals the passwords of IM applications. NirCmd is a command-line
utility that lets you perform many different types of tasks (e.g.,
write and delete registry values and keys, change a file's
created/modified date, open the door of a CD-ROM drive) without going
through a UI.
Notepad++ (http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm)
Johan P.'s all-time favorite utility is a simple but useful editor
named Notepad++. Notepad++ supports a wide variety of scripting and
programming languages, including batch (.bat), VBScript, KiXtart, Perl,
XML, HTML, Active Server Pages (ASP), and Visual Basic (VB). It offers
features such as syntax highlighting and auto-completion.
PSPad (http://www.pspad.com/en)
The PSPad editor is on the recommendation list of John S. "I
like it for Perl and use it daily." Besides Perl, PSPad supports many
other scripting and programming languages. The features include syntax
highlighting, code templates, a macro recorder, a full hex editor, a
spell-checker, and the ability to handle plain text.
Python (http://www.python.org)
Although not a utility per se, Matt has found the Python language to
be a valuable tool. "As a database admin, a language to easily automate
tasks has been my most important tool," notes Matt. "I can develop
scripts quickly and easily, and given the nature of Python code to be
easily readable, I can understand my own code months after it was
written. (This is not always a given!)"
Regular Expression Laboratory (http://www.silveragesoftware.com/rxl.html)
John S. regularly uses Regular Expression Laboratory to create
regular expressions. This utility also lets you test regular
expressions by applying them to arbitrary text.
Vim http://www.vim.org/about.php)
If you write scripts in a cross-platform environment, you might want
to check out the Vim editor. Michael V., who does scripting for both Linux
and Windows systems, recommends Vim because, "Vim has the best of both
worlds, with a command-line interface (just like UNIX) and a GUI for those
who like menus and clicking. With a little effort, the editor can be tweaked
to your personal likings with line numbers, fonts, and more for a seamless
cross-platform workspace."
WinZip Command Line Support Add-On (http://www.winzip.com)
WinZip offers a free WinZip Command Line Support Add-On that lets you use
WinZip directly from the command line and from batch files and other types of
scripts. "I suspect that many people are unaware of the Command Line Add-On
for WinBatch," says David G. "I use the Command Line Add-On to zip and unzip
things in shell scripts (.cmd files)."
In response to the favorite utilities contest, one reader shared a noteworthy observation about utilities in general. Initially, Courtney J. relied heavily on utilities because of the limitations in the command-line world. "Then I found VBScript and Perl, and realized that my utility usage went from 35-60 percent down to 0 percent. Reason being: The more advanced you get with your languages, the less reliant you become on utilities. Today I find myself either creating subroutines/functions for extracting information, or rely heavily on WMI, then parsing that information in my scripts." Plus, Courtney also notes that, "I like to have control over my environment, and external utilities don't provide for that control."
Courtney and all the other readers who responded to the favorite utility contest were entered in drawing for $100. Chris L. was the lucky winner of that drawing. Congratulations to Chris and thanks to all the readers who took the time to share their favorite utilities!
