Developing Scripts

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The following are some advanced techniques that you can use to develop scripts:

  • Browse current instances (using CIM Studio, for example) to see what the data should look like, what methods are available, and what class associations might be important.

  • If the script is going to be complex, and especially if you do not have a close sample to start with, start the script development in Visual Basic to work out the details and the bugs. You can translate the script to VBScript later, if desired. In Visual Basic, you do not have to switch between your editor, run-time environment, and debugger, because Visual Basic serves all of these roles.,

  • Use CIM Studio to see the details of the objects that you create or manipulate.

  • If objects that you create or change in a script cannot be seen in the SMS Administrator console, but you can find them in WMI by using a tool like CIM Studio, your script might be missing details that the SMS Administrator console requires. For example, collections require a pointer to the collections. For more information, see the "Collection Creation Example" section later in this appendix.

  • Review relevant documentation, such as the Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Software Development Kit, for detailed information about subtle concepts related to SMS scripting. For a list of SMS resources, see the "Learning More" section later in this appendix.

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