UI++ makes heavy use of three external technologies:
- XML
- VBScript
- Regular Expressions
- In their basic form, none of these technologies is very complicated; each is relatively easy to learn and start using quickly.
XML
XML is the only absolutely required technology that you need to be familiar with to start using UI++. This requirement is because all configuration in UI++ is done using XML. You can accomplish most configuration by copying or modifying existing snippets into your configuration file so extensive knowledge is not needed, however.
Here are some things to keep in mind when creating your very own XML configuration file for UI++.
- XML is case-sensitive.
- XML elements are defined by tags surrounded in angle brackets; i.e., the less-than and greater-than characters.
- All XML elements have a matching beginning and closing tag.
- XML closing tag names are prefixed with a forward-slash.
- The value of an XML element is place between the opening and closing tags but not all elements have values necessarily.
- XML attribute values are surrounded by either single or double-quotes. Beware of smart-quotes when copying and pasting snippets from external sources; XML does not treat these the same as non-smart-quotes.
VBScript
Yes, VBScript. It is old-school for sure, but it has a simple syntax, is quite robust, and works well in the context of UI++.
You don’t generally need to know a lot about VBScript to be successful with UI++ as there is no actual scripting directly involved. Knowing the basic syntax and functions available in VBScript opens up many advanced techniques and capabilities, however.
An excellent reference for VBScript is the w3schools VBScript Functions page. Note that this reference is geared toward web development, but it is accurate and sufficient for most needs when writing your UI++ configuration. Here are some common functions that are often used with UI++:
- InStr
- Left
- Len
- Mid
- Replace
- Split
- StrComp
- Trim
Regular Expressions
UI++ uses regular expressions for many built-in matching and validation operations. Regular expressions enable UI++ to match and enforce simple as well as very complex strings and patterns, including naming conventions, software titles, and anything that you need to match against ultimately.
My go-to reference for regular expressions is Regular-Expressions.info, although there are of course many more available on the web. Additionally, being able to test a regular expression outside of UI++ is tremendously helpful. My go-to for testing them is Regular Expressions 101.