The 2008 Winter Scripting Games
Sudden Death Challenge Event 1: Could I See Some ProgID, Please?
Important: The deadline for this event has passed. You can find the solution here. |
In Could I See Some ProgID, Please? competitors are asked to match a ProgID with a description of what that particular object does.
Note. The Sudden Death Challenge is a separate competition from the main Scripting Games and Scripting Games events; although anyone can enter the Sudden Death Challenge, it’s primarily designed for those people who manage to breeze through the main Scripting Games events in a day or two. To enter the main Scripting Games, click here. To enter Event 1 of the Sudden Death Challenge, well, keep reading.
On This Page
 | About This Sudden Death Challenge Event |
| Sudden Death Challenge Event Scenario |
| How to Enter This Sudden Death Challenge Event |
About This Sudden Death Challenge Event
Deadline | Tuesday, February 19, 2008 3:00 PM PST |
Points Awarded | 1 point in the Sudden Death Challenge |
Sudden Death Challenge Event Scenario
The first event in our Sudden Death Challenge is pretty easy, if we do say so ourselves. Shown below are 10 different ProgIDs (information required to create an instance of a COM object):
ProgID | Description |
ADODB.Connection | - |
HNetCfg.FwMgr | - |
Microsoft.XMLDOM | - |
SAPI.SpVoice | - |
NameTranslate | - |
Scriptlet.TypeLib | - |
Outlook.Application | - |
WMPlayer.OCX | - |
WScript.Network | - |
WSMan.Automation | - |
CDO.Message | - |
Microsoft.ISAdm | - |
Your task, as we noted, is an easy one: you simply have to indicate what task the COM object each of these ProgIDs creates is capable of carrying out. You say you don’t have the slightest idea what these COM objects can do? That’s OK; all the answers can be found in the list below. Of course, keep in mind that there are 20 descriptions but only 12 ProgIDs. That means half of these descriptions won’t be used:
1. | Enables you to manage the Windows Firewall in Windows XP. |
2. | Enables you to create a remote connection using Windows Script Host. |
3. | Enables you to map printers using Windows Script Host. |
4. | Enables you to perform an XPath query in an XML document. |
5. | Enables you to create an instance of Internet Explorer. |
6. | Enables you to connect to a database. |
7. | Enables you to perform text-to-speech conversions in a script. |
8. | Enables you to create an instance of Microsoft Excel. |
9. | Enables you to send and create SMTP email. |
10. | Enables you to create an instance of Microsoft Outlook. |
11. | Enables you to work with Windows Remote Management. |
12. | Enables you to access type libraries from a script. |
13. | Enables you to manage Microsoft Indexing Server. |
14. | Enables you to manage Windows Media Player. |
15. | Enables you to manage Windows Update Services. |
16. | Enables you to manage TCP/IP and other network settings. |
17. | Enables you to work with XML documents. |
18. | Enables you to manage fonts. |
19. | Enables you to create a GUID. |
20. | Enables you to convert Active Directory names from one format to another. |
All you have to do is identify the 10 correct items, writing each number next to the corresponding ProgID. For example, the ProgID Microsoft.XMLDOM enables you to work with XML documents; thus you would write the number 17 in the space next to Microsoft.XMLDOM:
ProgID | Description |
ADODB.Connection | - |
HNetCfg.FwMgr | - |
Microsoft.XMLDOM | 17 |
SAPI.SpVoice | - |
NameTranslate | - |
Scriptlet.TypeLib | - |
Outlook.Application | - |
WMPlayer.OCX | - |
WScript.Network | - |
WSMan.Automation | - |
CDO.Message | - |
Microsoft.ISAdm | - |
It’s that easy.
Well, assuming you can figure out what the other 11 ProgIDs are for, that is.
How to Enter This Sudden Death Challenge Event
After completing the script, click here to submit your entry. If the link doesn’t automatically open a pre-addressed message, send email to scripter@microsoft.com (in English, if possible) with the subject line Sudden Death Challenge: Event 1.
All you have to do is paste your solution into the body of the message and then send the mail. You may also include the following:
| • | A name or nickname we can use to identify you when posting Sudden Death Challenge points leaders. |
| • | The name of the country you would like to represent. This might be your country of birth or the country you currently live in, but it doesn’t have to be; you can represent any country you wish. |
Note that Sudden Death points/participation will not be included in either the User Group or International Challenges.
You can simply type these items in at the top of the email. In that case, your email might look something like this:
Ken Myer USA Microsoft.XMLDOM 17