Microsoft says VBScript will be ripped from Windows in future release
(2023/10/11)
- Reference: 1696976996
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/10/10/microsoft_says_vbscript_will_be/
- Source link:
Microsoft has stopped developing VBScript after a 27-year relationship and plans to remove the scripting language entirely in a future Windows release.
The IT giant said on Monday that [1]VBScript , short for Visual Basic Scripting Edition, has been deprecated in an [2]update to its list of "Deprecated features for Windows client."
"VBScript is being deprecated," Microsoft said. "In future releases of Windows, VBScript will be available as a feature on demand before its removal from the operating system."
[3]
Only a month ago, Microsoft announced the pending retirement of another software elder, [4]WordPad .
[5]
[6]
VBScript debuted in 1996 and its most recent release, version 5.8, dates back [7]to 2010 . It is a scripting language, and was for a while widely used among system administrators to automate tasks until it was eclipsed by PowerShell, which debuted in 2006.
"Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition brings active scripting to a wide variety of environments, including Web client scripting in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Web server scripting in Microsoft Internet Information Service," Redmond explains in its help documentation.
[8]
Unfortunately, Microsoft never managed to get other browser makers to support VBScript, so outside of Microsoft-exclusive environments, web developers tended to favor JavaScript for client-side tasks.
[9]Farewell WordPad, we hardly knew ye
[10]Microsoft does not want ValueLicensing CEO anywhere near its confidentiality ring
[11]Microsoft drops official support for Python 3.7 in Visual Studio Code
[12]Microsoft Cortana's farewell tour comes to the Windows Insider program
It's not as if anyone didn't see this coming. At least as far back as 2016, Microsoft said VBScript was [13]deprecated in Internet Explorer.
In 2017, Zhihua Lai, a Microsoft software engineer based in the UK, launched a website called [14]IsVBScriptDead.com that argues all's well with the scripting language. VBScript, he [15]says , "My favorite programming language…"
The claim that VBScript is alive and well became harder to sustain two years later when, in August 2019, Microsoft disabled VBScript in Internet Explorer, before [16]retiring Internet Explorer in June 2022.
Nonetheless, the VBScript website, last updated December 31, 2020, insists, "VBScript may seem outdated, and the support for VBScript is discontinued, but it is still being used in many places. Windows administrators may find it easier to learn/write than Powershell scripts."
[17]
VBScript's pending demise also means the end for Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, which depends on VBScript. MDT is already on notice now that it's [18]not supported with Windows 11.
Microsoft's planned discontinuation of VBScript may be in part motivated by security concerns, given that VBScript can be [19]a malware vector . ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/t0aew7h6(v=vs.85)
[2] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/04/microsoft_deprecates_wordpad/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/topic/ms10-022-description-of-the-security-update-for-visual-basic-scripting-vbscript-5-8-april-13-2010-f612b95c-7681-98db-f1fd-9862084f861e
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/04/microsoft_deprecates_wordpad/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/microsoft_valuelicensing_update/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/09/python_37_visual_studio_code/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/06/microsoft_cortana_leaves_insider_builds/
[13] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/internet-explorer/ie-developer/compatibility/dn384057%28v=vs.85%29
[14] https://isvbscriptdead.com/
[15] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/zhihualai/
[16] https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2022/06/15/internet-explorer-11-has-retired-and-is-officially-out-of-support-what-you-need-to-know/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/configmgr/mdt/known-issues
[19] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=TrojanDropper:VBS/RevengeRAT&threatId=0
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The IT giant said on Monday that [1]VBScript , short for Visual Basic Scripting Edition, has been deprecated in an [2]update to its list of "Deprecated features for Windows client."
"VBScript is being deprecated," Microsoft said. "In future releases of Windows, VBScript will be available as a feature on demand before its removal from the operating system."
[3]
Only a month ago, Microsoft announced the pending retirement of another software elder, [4]WordPad .
[5]
[6]
VBScript debuted in 1996 and its most recent release, version 5.8, dates back [7]to 2010 . It is a scripting language, and was for a while widely used among system administrators to automate tasks until it was eclipsed by PowerShell, which debuted in 2006.
"Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition brings active scripting to a wide variety of environments, including Web client scripting in Microsoft Internet Explorer and Web server scripting in Microsoft Internet Information Service," Redmond explains in its help documentation.
[8]
Unfortunately, Microsoft never managed to get other browser makers to support VBScript, so outside of Microsoft-exclusive environments, web developers tended to favor JavaScript for client-side tasks.
[9]Farewell WordPad, we hardly knew ye
[10]Microsoft does not want ValueLicensing CEO anywhere near its confidentiality ring
[11]Microsoft drops official support for Python 3.7 in Visual Studio Code
[12]Microsoft Cortana's farewell tour comes to the Windows Insider program
It's not as if anyone didn't see this coming. At least as far back as 2016, Microsoft said VBScript was [13]deprecated in Internet Explorer.
In 2017, Zhihua Lai, a Microsoft software engineer based in the UK, launched a website called [14]IsVBScriptDead.com that argues all's well with the scripting language. VBScript, he [15]says , "My favorite programming language…"
The claim that VBScript is alive and well became harder to sustain two years later when, in August 2019, Microsoft disabled VBScript in Internet Explorer, before [16]retiring Internet Explorer in June 2022.
Nonetheless, the VBScript website, last updated December 31, 2020, insists, "VBScript may seem outdated, and the support for VBScript is discontinued, but it is still being used in many places. Windows administrators may find it easier to learn/write than Powershell scripts."
[17]
VBScript's pending demise also means the end for Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, which depends on VBScript. MDT is already on notice now that it's [18]not supported with Windows 11.
Microsoft's planned discontinuation of VBScript may be in part motivated by security concerns, given that VBScript can be [19]a malware vector . ®
Get our [20]Tech Resources
[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/t0aew7h6(v=vs.85)
[2] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/04/microsoft_deprecates_wordpad/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/topic/ms10-022-description-of-the-security-update-for-visual-basic-scripting-vbscript-5-8-april-13-2010-f612b95c-7681-98db-f1fd-9862084f861e
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/04/microsoft_deprecates_wordpad/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/microsoft_valuelicensing_update/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/09/python_37_visual_studio_code/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/06/microsoft_cortana_leaves_insider_builds/
[13] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/internet-explorer/ie-developer/compatibility/dn384057%28v=vs.85%29
[14] https://isvbscriptdead.com/
[15] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/zhihualai/
[16] https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2022/06/15/internet-explorer-11-has-retired-and-is-officially-out-of-support-what-you-need-to-know/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZSYd4giCY3jXn@ldYbPS4QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/configmgr/mdt/known-issues
[19] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/threats/malware-encyclopedia-description?Name=TrojanDropper:VBS/RevengeRAT&threatId=0
[20] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
That brings back bad memories.
thames
I used it once, 20 years ago, to hack together some scripts for manipulating and reporting on the text file output of something else. If I had been using a Linux system instead of Windows system I would have used awk, but it was Windows and I wasn't allowed to install anything that wasn't already there.
My memories of it are vague, but I do recall that it was ... horrible. I had no desire to repeat the experience.
I suspect that it won't be missed except by a small number of people who have inherited some ancient scripts that will have to be reverse engineered and rewritten in something else less obscure.
It's an abomination, but...
sarusa
VBScript is an abomination, but... what's going to replace it for say, Excel scripting?
Well the answer seems to be you need to pay MS to python in the cloud, how convenient.
Re: It's an abomination, but...
Mostly Irrelevant
That's not VBScript. Microsoft Office uses VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), an equally outdated and insecure scripting language that needs to die. They have not announced its discontinuance... yet.
Mostly Irrelevant
I graduated University in 2009 and I've been working software development the whole time. I have never, ever needed VBScript. Powershell existed back when I was in school and it has done anything I needed scripted. VBScript is a security hole that should have been removed 10 years ago or more.
Thin end of wedge.
Microsoft's view will be that given that it's not in the browser it can't be tolerated elsewhere because from Microsoft's PoV everything has to be run in the browser using Microsoft's cloud. Of course that applies to any other programming language too. The logical consequence is that all the other programming languages available to Windows will have to follow it. Elementary when you think about it.