Seeking advice on scripting languages.

[garvey]

I know there are a lot of good IT types out here.
I'm trying to upgrade my skills.
I work in software testing. I have a background - long ago - in programming so I'm drawn to that side of things. I like projects that involve working with shells, xml, sql, etc. I want very much to get into test automation. From what I've seen, there are at least two good automation tools that use a very VB like scripting language. I also consistently find myself wishing that I was proficient in VBA when confronted with different tasks in Excel.
I'm assuming that learning VBscript and VBA would be the best investment of my time.

Does this sound wise?
How about Javascript?


Thanks

[Katja]

I'm working in a Unix environment, so I'm not qualified to say anything about VBA, but we use Ruby, Python and Perl a great deal here for scripting on both Windows and Unix.

[Steven Edwards]

Javascript is a great language that has matured considerably over its lifetime. I use it locally to write spiders (when necessary) and it works well. (In Firefox, you can build in-memory XMLDocuments and perform XPath queries on them with Javascript--very nice.)

It all depends on the project, which I'm sure you understand. If you're going to be working mostly with Excel projects, VBA would probably be your best bet.

[sharky]

I know there are a lot of good IT types out here.
I'm trying to upgrade my skills.
I work in software testing. I have a background - long ago - in programming so I'm drawn to that side of things. I like projects that involve working with shells, xml, sql, etc. I want very much to get into test automation. From what I've seen, there are at least two good automation tools that use a very VB like scripting language. I also consistently find myself wishing that I was proficient in VBA when confronted with different tasks in Excel.
I'm assuming that learning VBscript and VBA would be the best investment of my time.

Does this sound wise?
How about Javascript?


Thanks
-------------------------------------

If you really want to get into automation.....then you need to learn Skill, Perl, or Shell. Skill and Perl are the most popular these days, but due to the similiarity of the syntax, you will be ok with knowing atleast one or the other.

Hope this helps....

[cypresss]

javascript is for web use. If you consider learning javascript take a look over jQuery(or Prototype, Dojo, YUI or any framework). This will bring you more power. I consider that the future is about web applications(don't read as web sites).

I think that w3schoo.com (http://www.w3schools.com/js/default.asp) is the best place to start learning javascript. Also try Core JavaScript 1.5 Guide from mozilla (https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Core_JavaScript_1.5_Guide) or sitepoint.com reference (http://reference.sitepoint.com/javascript)(beta version for javascript but a very promising tool)

Regarding programming and excel files, I have no suggestion.

good luck:)

[garvey]

Thanks.
That's a lot of good info.
I think, at this point, Perl is the best bang for my bucks when it comes to a general tool as it can be used in most environments. I know I tried to get up to speed on this two years back when I was working on telecom project and the backend was Solaris. Since then I've been working in a .NET environment and lost touch with unix world.

I'm going to work at VBscript and VBA right now while I have down time until start of next project.
Then Perl again.
My mental toolbox doesn't hold a whole lot so I have to choose wisely.:)

Thanks