CybaCity

Automating simple & complex Windows® tasks with WinBatch super-glue (part 1)

CybaCity will publish two articles on WinBatch. This first article is a general description of WinBatch capabilities and the second article will provide specific examples of WinBatch applications and the views of users.

Many people who used the DOS operating system made use of batch files which were little scripts whose name ended in *.bat and which could be fired off from the DOS command line and run a sequence of tasks. Batch files are a simple form of automation. With the introduction of the Windows operating system one hears less and less about batch files and automation. Indeed, Microsoft® have introduced some forms of automation for free such as hot keys and macros in most of their dedicated programs.

The quest for a systems super-glue

However, with the complexity of Windows® programs, the proliferation of networks, local and wide area networks, intranets and the Internet where different computers, programs and files need to relate there has been an increasing interest in ways to automate tasks. Automation is needed for many things from managing thousands of PCs across a network or automatically filling in forms on the Internet and many other tasks. There is a need for a sort of batch super-glue to get things working together in a disciplined, stable and predictable manner.

Introducing WinBatch

One of the most versatile tools for this purpose is WinBatch by Wilson WindowWare.

WinBatch uses a language called Windows Interface Language (WIL) somewhat like Basic and C and designed to address automation tasks in a Windows environment by providing everything necesssary to manipulate Windows and mouse and keyboard actions. Hundreds of common tasks are pre-coded with some tasks being implemented using just a single WIL function. Three basic modules are installed on a user's computer, these are WinBatch Studio for preparing and editing scripts and the WinBatch interpreter to run scripts. Also there is an optional WinBatch Compiler to create standalone applications (*.exe) for royalty free distribution.

Windows orientated design utilities

Editing environment

WinBatch Studio, the editing application, is for preparing scripts. Windows Interface Language code can be typed in without assistance if the person using the system is an expert. On the other hand most users take full advantage of the many editing resources within WinBatch Studio. For example, by just clicking on the right mouse button a comprehensive information source is at the designer's fingertips. An example is shown below as to how the user would access a specialised extender code, in this case from the WinInet Extender.

Coding productivity boosting utilities

Because WinBatch, in contrast to DOS batch files, has to contend with the Windows environment, coding has to address things like the manipulation of windows and mouse operations.

Robo Scripter

To facilitate the coding of mouse and keyboard operations on some Windows program, WinBatch has a utility called RoboScripter which memorises keyboard inputs and mouse movements on, for example, filling in a form or clicking on a sequence of buttons. RoboScripter then generates a first draft of the necessary code to automate that sequence. This can be pasted in to the WinBatch Studio script.

Dialog Editor

Another Windows-related utility is a program called Dialog Editor which provides a graphic interface upon which to design Windows dialogs. For example with input field, buttons, radio buttons and tick boxes. The Dialog Editor, like the RoboScripter, will generate the appropriate code which can be pasted in to a script in WinBatch Studio.

Dedicated applications domains through language extenders

Besides a comprehensive set of general Windows-related codes, Windows Interface Language has a large number of specialised code extensions. These are called Extenders and they are grouped according to their application domain.

Computer related Extenders

Extenders provide compact code to control Windows dialog boxes (Control Manager), to check CPU details (CpuInfo), explorer style file operations (Shell Operations), process & module information retrieval (Process Information), registry searcher manager (Registry Search) and to find files and data across directories (File Search) and printer manager (Printer Control).

Terminal emulations & services

The GPIB Extender provides the ability to monitor and control instrumentation

Other Extenders can emulate terminals (EHLLAPI Terminal Emulator), enumerate, interrogate and manipulate terminal services on WinNT/2K/XP/2003 with terminal services, Citrix Meta Frame and MetaFrame/XP software (Terminal Server).

Control interface for instrumentation

The GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) Extender provides a means of controlling and working with equipment which uses this now almost universal standard interface (usually through a PC board).

Data access and processing

Large number maths processing is handled by the Hugh Math Extender and there is a data base operations Extender for large flat files(LAFFDB) and there is an ODBC manager (ODBC).

Networks & communications

Win32 networking control (Networking Win32), Netware management (Networking NetwareX) as well as older machine DS Client networking (Networking ADSI). Communications Extenders include MAPI operations (MAPI), managing dialup networking (RAS Connectoid) and serial port communication including USB Com, dialer (Serial Port).

WinBatch Internet Extenders enable automatic filling of online forms...

Internet

Extenders exist to grab IPs (IP Address Grabber), Internet email supporting SMTP, ESMTP, POP3 and IMAP4 (Postie), Internet operations such as grabbing web pages, FTP & dialup networking (WinInet) and Internet session automation (WinSock).

And.....

There are also Extenders for image manipulation (Pixie Image), several utility functions such as drive management, ejecting CDs, calculating elapsed time and even sending command messages to windows (WILX Utility) and there is an Extender providing zip capabilities (Zipper).