Trick to know whether a command line parameter is quoted or not?

[JJ]

I have a program where it differentiates its parameters based on whether a
parameter is double-quoted or not, and I need to make a launcher script for
it.

The problem is that WshArguments object strips any double-quote enclosures
from the parsed parameters, and there seem to be a way to know whether a
parameter was originally double-quoted or not in the command line. e.g. when
the command line is like below.

launcher.vbs abc "def ghi" "jkl"

Parameter #0 is: abc
Parameter #1 is: def ghi
Parameter #2 is: jkl

In this case, the meaning of parameter #2 would be different from the
program because it's not double-quoted. So, I can't pass it to the program
as is.

So, is there a trick to get the parameters without their double-quote
enclosures stripped out? Or get the whole original unparsed command line? So
that I can manually parse it.

I thought about using WMI to retrieve the whole command line, but I haven't
found a reliable way to uniquely identify the current script's process, for
use in the WMI query.

[R.Wieser]

JJ,

Post by JJ
In this case, the meaning of parameter #2 would be different
from the program because it's not double-quoted.

I'm assuming you ment #0 there ...

Post by JJ
So, I can't pass it to the program as is.

Why not ? It /is/ a string in VBScript. Could it be regarded as
anything else ?

You could get into trouble with an argument like "123" (including the
double-quotes this time), as its would be a number without those
double-quotes, but now a string instead.

In this case (number/string confusion) you could try and see if the
'vartype' or 'typename' functions could be of help.

And maybe also take a peek at named arguments (the "/x:y" form)

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

[R.Wieser]

JJ,

Post by R.Wieser
In this case (number/string confusion) you could try and see if the
'vartype' or 'typename' functions could be of help.

You can forget about that I'm afraid: :-( All arguments (raw, named and
unnamed alike) are regarded as strings, even when numbers are entered.

Regards
Rudy Wieser

[JJ]

Post by R.Wieser
JJ,

Post by JJ
In this case, the meaning of parameter #2 would be different
from the program because it's not double-quoted.

I'm assuming you ment #0 there ...

Post by JJ
So, I can't pass it to the program as is.

Why not ? It /is/ a string in VBScript. Could it be regarded as
anything else ?
You could get into trouble with an argument like "123" (including the
double-quotes this time), as its would be a number without those
double-quotes, but now a string instead.
In this case (number/string confusion) you could try and see if the
'vartype' or 'typename' functions could be of help.
And maybe also take a peek at named arguments (the "/x:y" form)

No. It's not #0. It's #2.

Based on the original command line:
Parameter #0: abc
Parameter #1: "def ghi"
Parameter #2: "jkl"

But WshArgument can only see:
Parameter #0: abc
Parameter #1: def ghi
Parameter #2: jkl

Because #1 has a space in it, it means that the original parameter is
quoted, so I could restore that to: "def ghi"

But I have no way to know whether #2 was originally passed with quote or
not.

[R.Wieser]

JJ,

Post by JJ

parameter #2 would be different from the program
because it's not double-quoted.

...

Post by JJ
No. It's not #0. It's #2.

My apologies. I thought you where referring to the origionals. Also, with
nothing said further, both #1 and #2 became unquoted in the end result, so I
ruled them out.

Post by JJ
Because #1 has a space in it, it means that the original parameter
is quoted, so I could restore that to: "def ghi"

I would be careful there: you've found one character that indcates that it
was origionally quoted, but there are more ...

Post by JJ
But I have no way to know whether #2 was originally passed
with quote or not.

It certainly looks that way.

There seems to be a kind of solution using WMI though (not very clean):
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40056204/how-do-i-get-raw-vbscript-command-line-arguments

The only other solution seems to be to add another object, just to
encapsulate the GetCommandLine function (Kernel32).

Regards,
Rudy Wieser

[JJ]

Post by R.Wieser
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40056204/how-do-i-get-raw-vbscript-command-line-arguments

Yes, WMI is one possible solution. But it's not reliable when there are two
separate instances of the script. There doesn't seem to be a way to indicate
which is which. i.e. Script#1 may end up getting the command line of
Script#2, or vice versa.

[Mayayana]

"JJ" <***@vfemail.net> wrote

| The problem is that WshArguments object strips any double-quote enclosures
| from the parsed parameters, and there seem to be a way to know whether a
| parameter was originally double-quoted or not in the command line. e.g.
when
| the command line is like below.

Not a direct answer, but if it were me I'd use
markers. (This assumes the target program is your own.)
For instance, I have a CAB component with a function
to add files to the CAB. The method takes a pipe-delimited
string. Another option is to use options or switches:
/i C:\windows\desktop\file with spaces.txt /o C:\file2 with spaces.txt

Both methods provide unambiguous input without quotes.

That's also easier for the sender, rather than struggling
with multiple, nested quotes.

[JJ]

Post by Mayayana
Not a direct answer, but if it were me I'd use
markers. (This assumes the target program is your own.)
For instance, I have a CAB component with a function
to add files to the CAB. The method takes a pipe-delimited
/i C:\windows\desktop\file with spaces.txt /o C:\file2 with spaces.txt
Both methods provide unambiguous input without quotes.
That's also easier for the sender, rather than struggling
with multiple, nested quotes.

Unfortunately, the program is not mine.

[Mayayana]

This works for me, even though it's a pain in the neck:

Dim SH, Qt
Set SH = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Qt = Chr(34)
SH.Run "C:\windows\desktop\testcom.exe abc " & Qt & "def ghi" & Qt & " " &
Qt & "abc" & Qt
Set SH = Nothing

I wrote a VB program to test it. testcom.exe contains
only:

Sub Form_Load()
Dim sCom as string
sCom = Command()
MsgBox sCom
Unload Me
End Sub