Scripting Challenges

The following 3 challenges are to test your (XP) batch scripting skills only.
You'll know if you solved them by the fact that you do get the desired results.

Challenge 1:

ECHO the word "OFF" on screen in a "DOS window".
Nothing more, nothing less, only the word OFF without quotes!

ECHO.OFF
ECHO,OFF
ECHO;OFF
ECHO:OFF
ECHO\OFF
ECHO(OFF
ECHO[OFF
ECHO]OFF
ECHO OFO<backspace>F

Challenge 2:

Display the following table:

0 0
1 0
1 1
2 0
2 1
2 2
3 0
3 1
3 2
3 3
4 0
4 1
4 2
4 3
4 4

The challenge is that you may only use a single command line without using ampersands!

@FOR %%A IN ("0 0" "1 0" "1 1" "2 0" "2 1" "2 2" "3 0" "3 1" "3 2" "3 3" "4 0" "4 1" "4 2" "4 3" "4 4") DO @ECHO.%%~A

Challenge 3:

The same challenge again, now also without using quotes!

@FOR /L %%A IN (0,1,4) DO @FOR /L %%B IN (0,1,%%A) DO @ECHO.%%A %%B

Real-life batch challenge

Read the title of the running batch file's own window (the TITLE command can set the title, but sometimes we may want to restore the original title)

These real-life challenges come from Denis St-Pierre:

I've been creating a list of "things that can't be done in VBScript".
That way I don't waist my time trying to code the impossible.
[...]
You could even make it a challenge on your web site on finding/producing workarounds for some of them.
I know some people love "Mission Impossible" stuff.

Well, here comes Denis' "Mission Impossible" list:

• Minimize or maximize a specific window
• List all windows in taskbar (other than IE windows)
• Use Sendkeys or equivalent to send a Win key combo (i.e. you can't do Win-D or Win-E in VBScript)
• Get the Time in Milliseconds
• Run a script under alternate user credentials without using RunAs (or equivalent) (Currently this can be done only on remote PCs as per Microsoft's Scripting Guys)
• Detect when Desktop is active (some things don't work until you can see the desktop after you login)
• Calling DLLs like RunDll32.exe does (found a workaround, see: vbs2exe.com, not tested)
• Get and set the owner of files and folders

And I would like to add one myself:

• Enumerate all subkeys in the root of a registry hive.
  So far, REGEDIT seems the only tool that can do this, more or less:
  
  START /WAIT REGEDIT /E "root.reg" "HKEY_USERS"
TYPE root.reg | FINDSTR /R /B /C:"\[HKEY_USERS\\[ˆ\\]*\]"
  
  But remember, this is a VBScript challenge!

This might be your opportunity to eternal fame!

Option Explicit

Const HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT  = &H80000000
Const HKEY_CURRENT_USER  = &H80000001
Const HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002
Const HKEY_USERS         = &H80000003

Dim objReg, strComputer, arrSubkeys, subkey

strComputer = "."

Set objReg=GetObject( "winmgmts:{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!//" & strComputer & "/root/default:StdRegProv" )

objReg.EnumKey HKEY_USERS, "", arrSubkeys

For each subkey in arrSubkeys
    WScript.echo "[HKEY_USERS\" & subkey & "]"
Next

Set objReg = Nothing