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helps you to start working there immediately. However, some command line information might
not make as much sense if you don't already have at least some Windows experience.
Starting with Chapter 6 and moving on to Chapter 17, this book is targeted toward the needs of
developers and administrators. The average user will never require the commands listed in Chap-
ter 6. In fact, developers and administrators will use them only on occasion. These powerful com-
mands help you perform tasks that you generally can't perform using the GUI. In fact, you'll even
find a section that describes a technique for accessing Microsoft's secret functions within the Win-
dows DLLs. See the "Accessing Functions within DLLs" section of Chapter 6 for details.
Developers and administrators also need to automate tasks in today's hectic IT environment.
Chapters 7 through 11 help you get the most out of Windows automation features, which are actu-
ally quite formidable once you know how to use them. Should Windows fail to provide some func-
tionality, Chapters 12 through 14 provide tips and hints on third party applications you might want
to use. Chapters 15 through 17 provide an all-important view of the .NET Framework. Did you
know that you can compile JScript using the .NET Framework? Most people don't know about this
feature because Microsoft hasn't advertised it. Without spending a single penny, you can create
your own JScript executable that can take full advantage of the .NET Framework. Check out this
technique in the "Understanding the JSC Compiler Supplied with .NET" section of Chapter 14.
Everyone who wants to know the future will want to take a look at Chapters 18 and 19. These
two chapters provide a preview of what Vista will look like at the command line. All I can say after
working with Vista and Monad for a while is wow! What you'll see in this chapter is going to amaze
you. Vista and Monad represent a significant and long anticipated departure from the command
line of the past. Yes, you can still use all of the older techniques in this operating system, but the new
features are going to amaze you with their ability to get work done quickly, efficiently, and with
fewer potential security issues. You get all this and better documentation besides. Monad is a fully
extensible command line shell, very much in the same vein as Unix shells, only a lot more powerful.

Conventions Used in This Book

It always helps to know what the special text means in a book. The following table provides a list
of standard usage conventions. These conventions make it easier for you to understand what a par-
ticular text element means.

Table 1.1:

Standard Usage Conventions

Convention
Explanation

Inline Code

Some code will appear in the text of the book to help explain application
functionality. The code appears in a special font that makes it easy to see. This
monospaced font also makes the code easier to read.

Inline Variable

As with source code, variable source code information that appears inline will also
appear in a special font that makes it stand out from the rest of the text. When you
see monospaced text in an italic typeface, you can be sure it's a variable of some type.
Replace this variable with a specific value. The text will always provide examples of
specific values that you might use.