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Microsoft Scripting Run-time Library Features


Collections		Drivers, Files, Folders

Data Storage		Dictionary

Dictionary		Add, Exists, Items, Keys, Remove, RemoveAll, Count, 
 			Item, Key

File System	     	Drive, File, FileSystemObject, Folder, TextStream,
 			FileSystemObject, BuildPath, CopyFile, CopyFolder, 
			CreateFolder, CreateTextFile, DeleteFile, DeleteFolder, 
			DriveExists, FileExists, FolderExists, GetAbsolutePathName, 
			GetBaseName, GetDrive, GetDriveName, GetFile,
			GetExtensionNameGetFileName, GetFolder, GetParentFolderName, 
			GetSpecialFolder,  GetTempName, MoveFile, MoveFolder, OpenTextFile
 			Drivers, Drive, Drives, AvailableSpace, Count, 
 			DriveLetter, DriveType, FileSystem, FreeSpace, 
 			IsReady, Item, RootFolder, SerialNumber, TotalSize,  
 			VolumeName

File, Files		Add, Attributes, Copy, Delete, Move, Count, 
Folder, Folders		OpenAsTextStream, DateCreated, DateLastAccessed, 
 			DateLastModified, Drive, Item, ParentFolder, Name, 
 			Path, Size, ShortName, ShortPath

TextStream		Close, Skip, SkipLine, Read, ReadAll, ReadLine
			Write, WriteBlankLines, WriteLine, AtEndOfLine,  
			AtEndOfStream, Column, Line


VBScript Features


Array handling    	Array Dim, Private, Public, ReDim
                           	IsArray, Erase, Lbound, Ubound

Assignments	Set

Comments	Comments Using ’ or Rem

Constants/Literal   	Empty, Nothing, Null, True, False


Control Flow     	Do..Loop, For..Next, For Each..Next
			If..Then..Else, Select Case
			While..Wend, With

Conversions		Abs, Asc, AscB, AscW, Chr, ChrB, ChrW
 			Cbool, Cbyte, CCur, Cdate, 
			CDbl, Cint,  CLng, CSng, CStr
			DateSerial, DateValue, Hex, Oct , Fix, Int.
 			Sgn, TimeSerial, TimeValue 

Date/Times		Date, Time, DateAdd, DateDiff, DatePart
			DateSerial, DateValue, Day, Month, MonthName
			Weekday, WeekdayName, Year
			Hour, Minute, Second, Now, TimeSerial, TimeValue

Declarations		Class, Const, Dim, Private, Public, ReDim
			Function, Sub, Property Get, Property Let,
 			Property Set

Error Handling		OnError, Err

Expressions		Eval, Execute, RegExp, Replace, Test

Formatting String	FormatCurrency, FormatDateTime
			FormatNumber, FormatPercent

Input/Output		InputBox, LoadPicture, MsgBox, Literals, Empty
			False, Nothing, Null, True

Math			Atn, Cos, Sin, Tan, Exp, Log, Sqr, Randomize, Rnd

Miscellaneous		Eval Function,  Execute Statement, RGB Function

Objects			CreateObject, Err Object, GetObject, RegExp

Operators		+, -, ^, Mod, *, /, \, Negation (-), Str Concat (&)
			=, <>, <, <=, >, >=, Is, And, Or, Xor, Eqy, Imp

Options			Option Explicit

Procedures		Call, Function, Sub, Property Get, Property Let, 
 			Property Set

Rounding		Abs, Int, Fix, Round, Sgn

Script Engine		ScriptEngine, ScriptEngineBuildVersion,  
 			ScriptEngineMajorVersion, ScriptEngineMinorVersion


Strings			Asc, AscB, AscW,  Chr, ChrB, ChrW
			Filter, InStr, InStrB,  InStrRev, Join
			Len, LenB, Lcase, Ucase, Left, LeftB, Mid, MidB
			Right, RightB, Replace, Space, Split, StrComp, String
			StrReverse, Ltrim, Rtrim, Trim

Varients		IsArray, IsDate, IsEmpty, IsNull, IsNumeric, VarType
			IsObject, TypeName

Visual Basic for Applications Features Not In VBScript

Category 		Omitted Feature/Keyword 

Array 			Handling Option Base
 			Declaring arr. with lower bound <> 0 

Collection 		Add, Count, Item, Remove
Access to collections using ! character  
(e.g., MyCollection!Foo) 

Conditional 		#Const
Compilation 		#If...Then&#8230;#Else

Control Flow 		DoEvents, GoSub...Return, GoTo
			On Error GoTo, 	On...GoSub, On...GoTo
			Line numbers, Line labels 

Conversion 		CVar, CVDate, Str, Val 

Data Types 		All intrinsic data types except Variant
			Type...End Type 

Date/Time 		Date statement, Time statement 

DDE 			LinkExecute, LinkPoke, LinkRequest, LinkSend

Debugging 		Debug.Print, End, Stop 

Declaration 		Declare (for declaring DLLs), Optional, ParamArray, Static 

Error Handling 		Erl, Error, Resume, Resume Next 

File Input/Output 	All traditional Basic file I/O 

Financial 		All financial functions 

Object Manipulation 	TypeOf 

Objects 		Clipboard,  Collection 

Operators 		Like 

Options 		Deftype, Option Base, 
 			Option Compare, Option Private Module 

Select Case 		Expressions containing Is keyword or  any comparison 
	 		operators
			Expressions containing a range of  values using the To 
			keyword. 

Strings 		Fixed-length strings, LSet, Rset, Mid Statement, StrConv 

Using Objects 		Collection access using ! 


VBScript Features not in Visual Basic for Applications


Category 		Feature/Keyword 

Declarations 		Class 

Miscellaneous 		Eval, Execute  

Objects 		RegExp 

Script Engine 		ScriptEngine, IdentificationScriptEngineBuildVersion
			ScriptEngineMajorVersion, ScriptEngineMinorVersion

VBScript Language Reference 
---------------------------

Language Element 	Description 

Abs Function 		Returns the absolute value of a no.

Addition Operator (+) 	Sums two numbers. 

And Operator 		Performs a logical conjunction on two  expressions. 

Array Function 		Returns a Variant containing an array.  

Asc Function 		Returns the ANSI character code 
corresponding to the first letter in a string. 
Assignment Operator (=) Assigns a value to a variable or  property. 

Atn Function 		Returns the arctangent of a number. 

Call Statement 		Transfers control to a Sub or Function procedure. 

CBool Function 		Returns an expression that has been converted to a 
 		Variant of subtype Boolean. 

CByte Function 		Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of 
 			subtype Byte. 

CCur Function 		Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of 
 		subtype Currency. 

CDate Function 	Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of subtype Date. 

CDbl Function 		Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of 
 		subtype Double. 

Chr Function 	Returns the character associated with the specified ANSI character code. 

CInt Function 	Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of subtype Integer. 

Class Object 		Provides access to the events of a created class. 

Class Statement 	Declares the name of a class. 

Clear Method 		Clears all property settings of the Err object.  

CLng Function 		Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of 
 		subtype Long. 

Color Constants 	List of color constants. 

Comparison Constants	 List of constants used in comparison operations. 

Concatenation Operator (&)  	Forces string concatenation of two expressions.  

Const Statement 	Declares constants for use in place of literal values.  

Cos Function 		Returns the cosine of an angle. 

CreateObject 	Function Creates and returns a reference to an Automation object. 

CSng Function 	Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of subtype Single. 

CStr Function 	Returns an expression that has been converted to a Variant of subtype String. 

Date and Time 	Constants List of constants defining days of week and other constants used in Date and Time operations. 

Date Format Constants 	List of constants used to format dates and times. 

Date Function 		Returns the current system date. 

DateAdd Function 	Returns a date to which a specified time interval has been added.  

DateDiff Function 	Returns the number of intervals between two dates.  

DatePart Function 	Returns the specified part of a given date. 

DateSerial Function 	Returns a Variant of subtype Date for a 
specified year, month, and day. 

DateValue Function 	Returns a Variant of subtype Date. 

Day Function 	Returns a whole number between 1 and 31, inclusive, representing the day of the month. 

Description Property 	Returns or sets a descriptive string associated with an error. 

Dictionary Object 	Object that stores data key, item pairs. 

Dim Statement 		Declares variables and allocates storage space. 

Division Operator (/) 	Divides two numbers and returns a floating-point result. 

Do...Loop Statement 	Repeats a block of statements while a 
condition is True or until a condition becomes True. 

Empty 			Indicates an uninitialized variable value. 

Eqv Operator 		Performs a logical equivalence on two expressions. 

Erase Statement 	Reinitializes the elements of fixed-size arrays and deallocates dynamic-array storage space. 

Err Object 		Contains information about run-time errors. 

Eval Function 		Evaluates an expression and returns the result. 

Execute Method 	Executes a regular expression search against a specified 
 		string. 

Execute Statement 	Executes one or more specified statements. 

ExecuteGlobal Statement  Executes one or more specified  statements in the global namespace of a script. 

Exit Statement 	Exits a block of Do...Loop, For...Next, Function, or Sub  code.  

Exp Function 	Returns e (the base of natural logarithms) raised to a  power. 

Exponentiation Operator (^) Raises a number to the power of an exponent. 

False 			Keyword that has a value equal to zero. 

FileSystemObject 	Object Provides access to a computer's file system.  

Filter Function 	Returns a zero-based array containing a subset of a string array based on a specified filter criteria.  

FirstIndex Property 	Returns the position in a search string where a match 
 		occurs. 

Fix Function 		Returns the integer portion of a number. 

For...Next Statement 	Repeats a group of statements a specified number of times. 

For Each...Next 	Statement Repeats a group of statements for each element in an array or collection. 

FormatCurrency 	Function Returns an expression formatted as a currency value 
 			using the currency symbol defined in the system control panel.  

FormatDateTime 	Function Returns an expression formatted as a date or time.  

FormatNumber 		Function Returns an expression formatted as a number.  

FormatPercent 		Function Returns an expression formatted as a percentage 
 			(multiplied by 100) with a trailing % character.  Function 
Statement Declares the name, arguments, and 
code that form the body of a Function procedure. 

GetLocale Function 	Returns the current locale ID value. 

GetObject Function 	Returns a reference to an Automation object from a file. 

GetRef Function 	Rn. a reference to a procedure that can be bound to an event. 

Global Property 	Sets or returns a Boolean value. 

Hex Function 		Returns a string representing the hexadecimal value of a no. 

HelpContext 		Property Sets or returns a context ID for a topic in a Help File.  

HelpFile Property 	Sets or returns a fully qualified path to a Help File 

Hour Function 		Returns a whole number between 0 and 23, inclusive, 
 		representing the hour of the day.  

If...Then...Else 	Statement Conditionally executes a group of statements, depending on the value of an expression. 

IgnoreCase 		Property Sets or returns a Boolean value that 
indicates if a pattern search is case-sensitive or not. 

Imp Operator 		Performs a logical implication on two expressions. 

Initialize Event		Occurs when an instance of the associated class is created. 

InputBox Function 	Displays a prompt in a dialog box, waits for the user to input text or click a button, and returns the contents of the text box. 
InStr Function 	Returns the position of the first occurrence of one string within another. 

InStrRev Function 	Returns the position of an occurrence of one string within another, from the end of string.  

Int Function 		Returns the integer portion of a number. 
Integer Division Operator (\) Divides two numbers and returns an integer result. 

Is Operator 		Compares two object reference variables. 

IsArray Function 	Returns a Boolean value indicating whether a variable is an 
 			array. 

IsDate Function 	Returns a Boolean value indicating whether an expression can be converted to a date. 

IsEmpty Function 	Returns a Boolean value indicating whether a variable has been initialized. 

IsNull Function 		Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether an expression 
 			contains no valid data (Null). 

IsNumeric Function 	Returns a Boolean value indicating whether an expression can    
  			be evaluated as a number. 

IsObject Function 	Returns a Boolean value indicating whether an expression 
 			references a valid Automation object. 

Join Function 	Returns a string created by joining a number of substrings contained in an array.  

LBound Function 	Returns the smallest available subscript for the indicated dimension of an array. 

LCase Function 	Returns a string that has been converted to lowercase. 

Locale ID (LCID) 	Chart List of Locale ID's and their associated values. 

Left Function 		Returns a specified number of characters from the left side of  
 			a string. 

Len Function 		Returns the number of characters in a string or the number of bytes required to store a variable.  

Length Property 	Returns the length of a match found in a search string. 

LoadPicture Function 	Returns a picture object. Available only on 32-bit platforms. 

Log Function 		Returns the natural logarithm of a number. 

LTrim Function 		Returns a copy of a string without leading spaces. 

Match Object 		Provides access to the read-only properties of a regular     
 			expression match. 

Matches Collection 	Collection of regular expression Match objects. 

Mid Function 		Returns a specified number of characters from a string. 

Minute Function 	Returns a whole number between 0 and 59, inclusive, 
representing the minute of the hour. 

Miscellaneous Constants  List of constants that don't fit into any other category. 

Mod Operator 		Divides two numbers and returns only the remainder. 

Month Function 		Returns a whole number between 1 and 12, inclusive, 
 			representing the month of the year. 

MonthName Function 	Returns a string indicating the specified month. 

MsgBox Constants 	List of constants used with the MsgBox Function. 
MsgBox Function 	Displays a message in a dialog box, waits for the user to click a button, and returns a value indicating which button the user clicked.  

Multiplication Operator (*) Multiplies two numbers.  

Negation Operator (-) 	Indicates the negative value of a numeric expression. 

Not Operator Performs 	logical negation on an expression. 

Now Function 		Returns the current date and time according to the setting of your computer's system date and time.  

Nothing 		Disassociates an object variable from any actual object.  

Null 			Indicates that a variable contains no valid data.  

Number Property 	Returns or sets a numeric value specifying an error. 

Oct Function 		Returns a string representing the octal value of a number. 

On Error Statement 	Enables error-handling. 

Operator Precedence 	List showing the order of precedence for various operators 
  			used in VBScript. 

Option Explicit Statement Forces explicit declaration of all variables in a script.  

Or Operator 		Performs a logical disjunction on two expressions. 

Pattern Property      Sets or returns the regular expression pattern being searched for. 

Private Statement 	Declares private variables and allocates storage space. 

PropertyGet Statement  Declares the name, arguments, and code that form the body 
 			of a Property procedure that gets (returns) the value of a 
 			property. 

PropertyLet Statement  Declares the name, arguments, and code that form the body of 
 			a Property procedure that assigns the value of a property. 

PropertySet Statement  Declares the name, arguments, and code that form the body of 
 			a Property procedure that sets a reference to an object. 

Public Statement 	Declares public variables and allocates storage space. 

Raise Method 		Generates a run-time error. 

Randomize Statement 	Initializes the random-number generator. 

ReDim Statement 	Declares dynamic-array variables, and allocates or reallocates storage space at procedure level. 

RegExp Object 		Provides simple regular expression support. 

Rem Statement 	Includes explanatory remarks in a program. 
Replace Function 	Returns a string in which a specified substring has been replaced with another substring a specified number of times. 

Replace Method 	Replaces text found in a regular expression search. 

RGB Function 		Returns a whole number representing an RGB color value. 

Right Function 		Returns a specified number of characters from the right side of 
 		a string. 

Rnd Function 		Returns a random number. 

Round Function 	Returns a number rounded to a specified number of decimal 
 		places. 

Run-time 		Errors 	List VBScript run-time errors. 

RTrim Function 		Returns a copy of a string without trailing spaces.  

ScriptEngine Function 	Returns a string representing the scripting language in use. 

ScriptEngineBuildVersion Function Returns the build version number of the scripting 
  			engine in use. 

ScriptEngineMajorVersion Function Returns the major version number of the scripting 
 			engine in use. 

ScriptEngineMinorVersion Function Returns the minor version number of the scripting 
engine in use.  

Second Function Returns a whole number between 0 and 59, inclusive, representing 
the second of the minute. 

Select Case Statement Executes one of several groups of statements, depending on 
the value of an expression. 

Set Statement 		Assigns an object reference to a variable or property. 

SetLocale Function 	Sets the global locale and returns the previous locale. 

Sgn Function 		Returns an integer indicating the sign of a number. 

Sin Function 		Returns the sine of an angle. 

Source Property 	Returns or sets the name of the object or application that 
 			originally generated the error. 

Space Function 	Returns a string consisting of the specified number of spaces. 

Split Function 		Returns a zero-based, one-dimensional array containing a 
 		specified number of substrings. 

Sqr Function 		Returns the square root of a number.  

StrComp Function 	Returns a value indicating the result of a string comparison.  

String Constants 	List of string constants. 

String Function 		Returns a repeating character string of the length specified. 

StrReverse Function 	Returns a string in which the character order of a specified 
 			string is reversed. 

Sub Statement 		Declares the name, arguments, and code that form the body 
 		of a Sub procedure. 

Subtraction Operator (-) Finds the difference between two numbers or indicates the 
 			negative value of a numeric expression. 

Syntax Errors 		List VBScript syntax errors. 

Tan Function 		Returns the tangent of an angle. 

Terminate Event	Occurs when an instance of the associated class is 
 		terminated. 

Test Method 		Executes a regular expression search against a specified 
 		string. 

Time Function 		Returns a Variant of subtype Date indicating the current 
 		system time. 

Timer Function 		Returns the number of seconds that have elapsed since 12:00 
 		AM (midnight). 

TimeSerial 		Function Returns a Variant of subtype Date containing the 
 			time for a specific hour, minute, and second. 

TimeValue Function 	Returns a Variant of subtype Date containing the time. 

Trim Function 		Returns a copy of a string without leading or trailing spaces. 

Tristate Constants 	Use them anywhere in your code to represent the values 
 			shown for each. 

True Keyword 		that has a value equal to -1. 

TypeName Function 	Returns a string that provides Variant subtype information 
 			about a variable. 

UBound Function 	Returns the largest available subscript for the indicated 
 			dimension of an array. 

UCase Function 	Returns a string that has been converted to uppercase. 

Value Property 		Returns the value or text of a match found in a search string. 

VarType Constants 	List of constants that define Variant subtypes. 

VarType Function 	Returns a value indicating the subtype of a variable. 

VBScript Constants 	Various categories of constants provided in VBScript. 

Weekday Function 	Returns a whole number representing the day of the week. 

WeekdayName Function Returns a string indicating the specified day of the week. 

While...Wend Statement Executes a series of statements as long as a given condition 
 			is True. 

With Statement 		Executes a series of statements on a single object. 

Xor Operator 		Performs a logical exclusion on two expressions. 

Year Function 		Returns a whole number representing the year.

Property

Description Property  	Returns or sets a descriptive string associated with an error. 

FirstIndex Property 	Returns the position in a search string where a match occurs. 

Global Property 	Sets or returns a Boolean value. 

HelpContext Property 	Sets or returns a context ID for a topic in a Help File.  

HelpFile Property 	Sets or returns a fully qualified path to a Help File 

IgnoreCase Property 	Sets or returns a Boolean value that indicates if a pattern  
 			search is case-sensitive or not. 

Length Property 	Returns the length of a match found in a search string. 

Number Property 	Returns or sets a numeric value specifying an error. 

Pattern Property 	Sets or returns the regular expression pattern being searched 
 		for. 

Source Property 	Returns or sets the name of the object or application that originally generated the error. 

Value Property   	Returns the value or text of a match found in a search string.

Objects

Class Object 		Provides access to the events of a created class. 

Dictionary Object 	Object that stores data key, item pairs. 

Err Object 		Contains information about run-time errors. 

FileSystemObject 	Object Provides access to a computer's file system.  

Match Object 		Provides access to the read-only properties of a regular 
 			expression match. 

Matches Collection 	Collection of regular expression Match objects. 

RegExp Object 		Provides simple regular expression support.

Methods

Clear Method 		Clears all property settings of the Err object.  

Execute Method 	Executes a regular expression search against a specified string. 

Raise Method 		Generates a run-time error. 

Replace Method 	Replaces text found in a regular expression search. 

Test Method 		Executes a regular expression search against a specified 
string.

Events
------

Initialize Event	  	Occurs when an instance of the associated class is created. 
Terminate Event  	Occurs when an instance of the associated class is 
 		terminated.

Errors
------

Run-time Errors	List of VBScript run-time errors. 
Syntax Errors	List of VBScript syntax errors.

Regular Expression Syntax
-------------------------

A regular expression is a pattern of text that consists of ordinary characters (for example, letters a through z) and special characters, known as metacharacters. The pattern describes one or more strings to match when searching a body of text. The regular expression serves as a template for matching a character pattern to the string being searched.

Here are some examples of regular expression you might encounter:

JScript 		VBScript 	Matches 
/^\[ \t]*$/ 	"^\[ \t]*$" 	Match a blank line. 
/\d{2}-\d{5}/ 	"\d{2}-\d{5}" 	Validate an ID number consisting of 2 digits, a hyphen, 
 				and another 5 digits. 
/<(.*)>.*<\/\1>/ 	"<(.*)>.*<\/\1>" 	Match an HTML tag. 


The following table contains the complete list of metacharacters and their behavior in the context of regular expressions:

Character 	Description 
\ 		Marks the next character as either a special character, a literal, a backreference, or an octal escape. For example, 'n' matches the character "n". '\n' matches a newline character. The sequence '\\' matches "\" and "\(" matches "(". 

^ 	Matches the position at the beginning of the input string.  If the RegExp object's Multiline property is set, ^ also matches the position following '\n' or '\r'. 

$ 	Matches the position at the end of the input string. If the RegExp object's Multiline property is set, $ also matches the position preceding '\n' or '\r'. 

·	Matches the preceding subexpression zero or more times. For example, zo* matches "z" and "zoo". * is equivalent to {0,}. 
·	
+ 	Matches the preceding subexpression one or more times. For example, 'zo+' matches "zo" and "zoo",  but not "z". + is equivalent to {1,}. 

? 	Matches the preceding subexpression zero or one time. For example, "do(es)?" matches the "do" in "do" or "does". ? is equivalent to {0,1} 

{n} 	n is a nonnegative integer. Matches exactly n times. For example, 'o{2}' does not match the 'o' in "Bob," but matches the two o's in "food". 

{n,} 	n is a nonnegative integer. Matches at least n times. For example, 'o{2,}' does not match the "o" in "Bob" and matches all the o's in "foooood". 'o{1,}' is equivalent to 'o+'. 'o{0,}' is equivalent to 'o*'. 

{n,m} 	m and n are nonnegative integers, where n <= m. Matches at least n and at most m times. For example, "o{1,3}" matches the first three o's in "fooooood". 'o{0,1}' is equivalent to 'o?'. Note that you cannot put a space between the comma and the numbers. 

? 	When this character immediately follows any of the other quantifiers (*, +, ?, {n}, {n,}, {n,m}), the matching pattern is non-greedy. A non-greedy pattern matches as little of the searched string as possible, whereas the default greedy pattern matches as much of the searched string as possible. For example, in the string "oooo", 'o+?' matches a single "o", while 'o+' matches all 'o's. 

. 	Matches any single character except "\n". To match any character including the '\n', use a pattern such as '[.\n]'. 

(pattern) 	Matches pattern and captures the match. The captured match can be retrieved from the resulting Matches collection, using the SubMatches collection in VBScript or the $0&#8230;$9 properties in JScript.  To match parentheses characters ( ), use '\(' or '\)'. 

(?:pattern) 	Matches pattern but does not capture the match, that is, it is a non-capturing match that is not stored for possible later use. This is useful for combining parts of a pattern with the "or" character (|). For example, 'industr(?:y|ies) is a more economical expression than 'industry|industries'. 

(?=pattern) 	Positive lookahead matches the search string at any point where a string matching pattern begins. This is a non-capturing match, that is, the match is not captured for possible later use. For example 'Windows (?=95|98|NT|2000)' matches "Windows" in "Windows 2000" but not "Windows" in "Windows 3.1". Lookaheads do not consume characters, that is, after a match occurs, the search for the next match begins immediately following the last match, not after the characters that comprised the lookahead. 

(?!pattern) Negative lookahead matches the search string at any point where a string not matching pattern begins. This is a non-capturing match, that is, the match is not captured for possible later use. For example 'Windows (?!95|98|NT|2000)' matches "Windows" in "Windows 3.1" but does not match "Windows" in "Windows 2000". Lookaheads do not consume characters, that is, after a match occurs, the search for the next match begins immediately following the last match, not after the characters that comprised the lookahead. 

x|y 	Matches either x or y. For example, 'z|food' matches "z" or "food". '(z|f)ood' matches "zood" or "food".  

[xyz] 	A character set. Matches any one of the enclosed characters. For example, '[abc]' matches the 'a' in "plain".
  
[^xyz] 	A negative character set. Matches any character not enclosed. For example, '[^abc]' matches the 'p' in "plain".  

[a-z] 	A range of characters. Matches any character in the specified range. For example, '[a-z]' matches any lowercase alphabetic character in the range 'a' through 'z'.  
[^a-z] 	A negative range characters. Matches any character not in the specified range. For example, '[^a-z]' matches any character not in the range 'a' through 'z'.  

\b 	Matches a word boundary, that is, the position between a word and a space. For example, 'er\b' matches the 'er' in "never" but not the 'er' in "verb".  

\B 	Matches a nonword boundary. 'er\B' matches the 'er' in "verb" but not the 'er' in "never".  

\cx 	Matches the control character indicated by x. For example, \cM matches a Control-M or carriage return character. The value of x must be in the range of A-Z or a-z. If not, c is assumed to be a literal 'c' character.  

\d 	Matches a digit character. Equivalent to [0-9].  

\D 	Matches a nondigit character. Equivalent to [^0-9].  

\f 	Matches a form-feed character.  Equivalent to \x0c and \cL. 

\n 	Matches a newline character.  Equivalent to \x0a and \cJ. 

\r 	Matches a carriage return character.  Equivalent to \x0d and \cM. 

\s 	Matches any whitespace character including space, tab, form-feed, etc. 
 	Equivalent to [ \f\n\r\t\v]. 

\S 	Matches any nonwhite space character. Equivalent to [^ \f\n\r\t\v].  

\t 	Matches a tab character.  Equivalent to \x09 and \cI. 

\v 	Matches a vertical tab character.  Equivalent to \x0b and \cK. 

\w 	Matches any word character including underscore. Equivalent to '[A-Za-z0-9_]'.  

\W 	Matches any nonword character. Equivalent to '[^A-Za-z0-9_]'.  

\xn 	Matches n, where n is a hexadecimal escape value. Hexadecimal escape values must be exactly two digits long. For example, '\x41' matches "A". '\x041' is equivalent to '\x04' & "1". Allows ASCII codes to be used in regular expressions. 

\num 	Matches num, where num is a positive integer. A reference back to captured matches. For example, '(.)\1' matches two consecutive identical characters.  

\n 	Identifies either an octal escape value or a backreference. If \n is preceded by at least n captured subexpressions, n is a backreference. Otherwise, n is an octal escape value if n is an octal digit (0-7). 

\nm 	Identifies either an octal escape value or a backreference. If \nm is preceded by at least nm captured subexpressions, nm is a backreference. If \nm is preceded by at least n captures, n is a backreference followed by literal m. If neither of the preceding conditions exist, \nm matches octal escape value nm when n and m are octal digits (0-7). 
\nml 	Matches octal escape value nml when n is an octal digit (0-3)  and m and l are octal digits (0-7). 

\un 	Matches n, where n is a Unicode character expressed as four hexadecimal digits. For example, \u00A9 matches the copyright symbol (©). 

Build a Regular Expression
--------------------------

Regular expressions are constructed in the same way that arithmetic expressions are created. That is, small expressions are combined using a variety of metacharacters and operators to create larger expressions. You construct a regular expression by putting the various components of the expression pattern between a pair of delimiters. For JScript, the delimiters are a pair of forward slash (/) characters. For example:  
/expression/  For VBScript, a pair of quotation marks ("") delimit regular expressions. For example:
"expression" In both of the examples shown above, the regular expression pattern (expression) is stored in the Pattern property of the RegExp object. The components of a regular expression can be individual characters, sets of characters, ranges of characters, choices between characters, or any combination of all of these components.

Order of Precedence
-------------------

Once you have constructed a regular expression, it is evaluated much like an arithmetic expression, that is, it is evaluated from left to right and follows an order of precedence. 

The following table illustrates, from highest to lowest, the order of precedence of the various regular expression operators:

Operator(s) 		Description 
\ 			Escape 
(), (?:), (?=), [] 		Parentheses and Brackets 
*, +, ?, {n}, {n,}, {n,m} 	Quantifiers 
^, $, \anymetacharacter 	Anchors and Sequences 
| 			Alternation

Non-Printable Characters
------------------------

There are a number of useful non-printing characters that must be used occasionally. The following table shows the escape sequences used to represent those non-printing characters:

Character Meaning 
\cx 	Matches the control character indicated by x. For example, \cM matches a Control-M or carriage return character. The value of x must be in the range of A-Z or a-z. If not, c is assumed to be a literal 'c' character. 
\f 	Matches a form-feed character. Equivalent to \x0c and \cL. 
\n 	Matches a newline character. Equivalent to \x0a and \cJ. 
\r 	Matches a carriage return character. Equivalent to \x0d and \cM. 
\s 	Matches any whitespace character including space, tab, form-feed, etc. 
	Equivalent to [\f\n\r\t\v]. 
\S 	Matches any non-whitespace character. Equivalent to [^ \f\n\r\t\v].  
\t 	Matches a tab character. Equivalent to \x09 and \cI. 
\v 	Matches a vertical tab character. Equivalent to \x0b and \cK.