Shell scripting is a great way to start writing scripts
I'd really like to get started in scripting, but all the available languages confuse me. Where should I start?
You could start with VBScript or Perl, but the learning curve with these languages can be pretty steep, especially if you haven't done any scripting or programming before. Windows 2000 and Windows NT command-shell scripting gives you a useful language that's easy to learn. Tim Hill's book Windows NT Shell Scripting (Macmillan Technical Publishing, 1998) is a good starting point.