Re: execute vbscript code inline in Perl script

[NetWallah]

In addition to the options Vinoth mentions, you can use "open", and various "Capture" modules.

The simplest is probably the "qx" function, AKA backticks.

The important thing is to figure out how to get data out of the VB script.

One option is to use the exit code:

 WScript.Quit(returnValue)

Another is to print data to STDOUT:

Wscript.Echo "Return-Value"

In the perl script, you would get the information as $?<<8 (For exit code) or the return value of "qx".

THere are sever other, more complicated options as well .. pipes, sockets, and other IPC mechanisms.

[slick.user]

Thanks all for the input. How can I tell my Perl to run VB Script via inline directly command?

my $vb_cmd = q(
    Dim num1, num2, final, str
    num1 = 30
    num2 = 50
    str = "Final Value: "
    final = num1*num2
    'MSGBOX str & final
    WScript.Quit(final)
);

my $final = qx($vb_cmd);

print STDOUT "$final\n";

[haukex]

To pick up on what NetWallah wrote, personally I usually recommend using a module instead of Perl's builtins like qx// because modules will give you more features and better error handling. In this case, I might suggest IPC::System::Simple's systemx and capturex (the only downside in this case is that STDERR can't be captured, but it doesn't look to me like you need that, although I could be wrong). If you are worried about where the script files might be written, or that they might get overwritten, you could use temporary files (which will have unique names) via the core module File::Temp, like this:

use warnings;
use strict;
use File::Temp qw/tempfile/;
use IPC::System::Simple qw/capturex/;

my ($tfh,$tfn) = tempfile( SUFFIX=>'.vbs', UNLINK=>1 );
print $tfh <<'END_VBS';
    Dim num1, num2, final
    num1 = 30
    num2 = 50
    final = num1*num2
    WScript.Echo(final)
END_VBS
close $tfh;
print "running $tfn\n"; # Debug
my $final = capturex('cscript','//nologo',$tfn);
chomp($final);
print "final: '$final'\n";

(not fully tested because I'm not on Windows at the moment)

To have the scripts created in a specific directory, you can use tempfile( ..., DIR=>"C:\\Some\\Path" ). The UNLINK option causes the temporary file to be deleted when the script ends.

[NetWallah]

"qx" requires a shell command.

Typically, to run vbscript (Non GUI), you would use "cscript.exe" , (with "//B" for "Batch") and then pass in a file name containing vbscript commands.

THis article claims you can do it without a vbscript file, but I do not nderstand it:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9074476/is-it-possible-to-embed-and-execute-vbscript-within-a-batch-file-without-using-a?noredirect=1&lq=1.

My recommendation is to use perl to create a file, then invoke via qx -> cscript.ext -> File you created.