Question

I have the following VBScript:

Dim strFile, strXPath, strNewText, xmlDoc, xmlNodes, xmlNode

strFile = "C:\folder\cats.xml"
strXPath = "/list/cat/@LAST_BATH"
strNewText = Now

Set xmlDoc =  CreateObject("Microsoft.XMLDOM")

xmlDoc.Async = "False"
xmlDoc.Load(strFile)

Set xmlNodes = xmlDoc.selectNodes(strXPath)

For Each xmlNode in xmlNodes
  xmlNode.Text = strNewText
Next

xmlDoc.Save strFile

XML file:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<list>
  <cat NAME="Monkey" LAST_BATH="9/30/2010  3:02:02 PM" />
</list>

The above script is only 1KB. I also have a small C#.NET console app (.exe) that does exactly the same thing, but it is 11KB, and the App.config is 1KB (config file so the path and field name is not hard-coded).

What I intend to do is create a Scheduled Task to run the above process at some interval.

Which is better to use, the .vbs or the .exe? And why?

Does the difference in memory affect performance? I assume the .exe is faster because it is pre-compiled, but since the .vbs is so small, I’m guessing it’s about as fast as you could ever want anyway.

(I realize this is a moot point, but I’m just curious. Thanks for you patience.)

Answer 1

I’m definitely a fan of using scripting languages wherever possible for small tools and apps – this example is a perfect candidate:

• Its not too complicated
• As a script you can easily modify and tweak the script without needing to recompile
• You can easily see what the script does without needing to hunt down the source code

Of course scripting languages are (probably) always going to be slower than compiled code, but usually I find this isn’t really an issue.

If you write a lot of small tools like this in vbs then you might want to consider switching to a more capable scripting language – as a .Net developer I strongly recommend Iron Python (which works really well even for relatively large / GUI utilities)