VBScript and JavaScript are interpreted programming languages most commonly used to manipulate and display HTML and DHTML content. That is not to say that these languages are a one trick pony. They both can be used in many other applications. JavaScript for example can be embedded in Shockwave Flash and Adobe PDF documents. VBScript is commonly used as a scripting client for network administrators in the Microsoft Windows environment. The differences between the two languages are very subtle, but there has been a fierce battle between the two since there inception. .
Both of these languages allow a developer to complete complex task in a relatively short period of time. This ability allows developers to add dynamic qualities to static HTML and allows for more robust web pages. Today's web sites are dependent on VBScript and JavaScript. The DHTML (Dynamic HTML) model released a few years ago, allows a developer to manipulate and access various properties of elements on a web page. VBScript and JavaScript are the technologies used to access this information. Both languages have a strong following, although each seems to have a niche area. .
VBScript.
VBScript is a simplified version of Visual Basic. Visual Basic is the most popular enterprise development language in the world today. What makes VBScript popular is that all the Visual Basic developers in the world automatically understand VBScript, which is a big plus. VBScript is supported by Internet Explorer (recently Netscape Gecko added support for VBScript) and other Microsoft applications that have implemented the scripting engine, such as Excel, Word, Outlook, Visio, and Access. Although Internet Explorer is the most popular web browser, the web development community does not like to limit itself to one technology; as such VBScript is not a very popular language for client-side web development. However on the server side, VBScript is commonly used to help develop ASP pages.
