Scripting and the .NET Framework

Not all scripts will be able to run under the first release of the .NET Framework. Developers use scripts for many purposes: writing dynamic Web pages, adding custom features to applications (e.g., writing Office macros), and creating scripts to automate operating system administrative tasks. Initially, developers will be able to use the .NET Framework for two scripting tasks. For server-side code in dynamic Web pages, developers can use the new ASP.NET environment. For customizing server-side applications, developers will be able to use a new scripting environment called Visual Studio for Applications (VSA). VSA is analogous to the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) environment built into Office (including the recently shipped Office XP) and many third-party desktop applications. However, VBA is limited to scripting desktop applications, while VSA will enable scripting of server-side applications only. VSA should ship at the same time as the .NET Framework in the fourth quarter of 2001. However, even after that, VBA will remain the scripting environment for Office for the foreseeable future; Microsoft has not indicated how or when it will move the Office code base to the .NET Framework, which VSA requires, nor whether VSA will become a client-side script engine..