FastTrack Automation Studio (formerly known as FastTrack Scripting Host), often referred to as just FastTrack, is a
scripting language
A scripting language or script language is a programming language that is used to manipulate, customize, and automate the facilities of an existing system. Scripting languages are usually interpreted at runtime rather than compiled.
A scripting ...
for
Windows IT System Administrators. The product’s goal is to handle any kind of scripting that might be required to automate processes with
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
networks. The web site of the product is located a
www.fasttrackscript.com
Manufacturer
FastTrack is produced by
FastTrack Software, which is headquartered in
Aalborg, Denmark
Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aal ...
. The product is promoted by the manufacturer as a one-stop shop for Windows script writers and its development paradigm is “one operation = one script line”. Script writers use a
purpose-built editor to create scripts, inserting script lines via menus, drag’n drop, or simply typing them in. Scripts may be used out of the box, created from scratch, imported from forums or other users, or customized from product documentation.
Types of scripts
Simple scripts include:
* Outlook Signatures
*
Login
In computer security, logging in (or logging on, signing in, or signing on) is the process by which an individual gains access to a computer system by identifying and authenticating themselves. The user credentials are typically some form ...
scripts
*
Backup
In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...
and
replication scripts
*
Inventory
Inventory (American English) or stock (British English) refers to the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation.
Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying the shap ...
and
asset management
Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of value from the things that a group or entity is responsible for, over their whole life cycles. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as buildings ...
* Automated
Windows OS
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
installation and deployment
* Automated
application software
Application may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks
** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...
deployment
*
Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks. It is included in most Windows Server operating systems as a set of processes and services. Initially, Active Directory was used only for centralize ...
scripts
More advanced scripts include:
*
SCCM task sequences
*
Citrix ICA and
RDP Clients built-in
* Deploying applications to server farms
* Deploying
GPO MSI files
*
SQL Server scripts
Basic structure
Under the hood, scripts comprise commands, functions, collections, and conditions. When a script is executed these components are converted into many lines of
C# code, sometimes hundreds of lines, depending on the particular script operation. Scripts can be compiled into
EXE files or
MSI packages and treated as standalone Windows applications.
History
FastTrack Scripting Host (FastTrack) was first developed around 2006 to ease the administration burden of IT System Administrators on Windows networks.
Product idea
The idea for the product came from founder and President of FastTrack Software,
Lars Pedersen, who has a background in systems administration. Previously with
Telenor
Telenor ASA ( or ) is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwide, ...
, Denmark’s major telephone company, Pedersen performed various roles in systems administration, programming and web development. He also worked as a consultant and developer on several major projects at various companies in Europe.
Dissatisfied from his own experiences and frustrations administering Windows networks, Pederson looked for a way to make life easier for system administrators. In particular, he wanted something that could
minimize the amount of time needed each day to perform routine and mundane tasks, which was a waste of time and expertise that should have been committed to other projects.
Development
Leading a small team of developers, Pedersen developed FastTrack Scripting Host to simplify and automate the routine tasks of system administrators. The resulting product is definitely a
scripting language
A scripting language or script language is a programming language that is used to manipulate, customize, and automate the facilities of an existing system. Scripting languages are usually interpreted at runtime rather than compiled.
A scripting ...
, but it can be used intuitively like a programming language, without requiring users to learn
syntax
In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure ( constituency) ...
or other concepts typically associated with programming languages.
Marketing
In April 2010, FastTrack Software entered into an agreement wit
Binary Research International based in the city of
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, United States to market and sell the product globally.
Awards
FSH received a
Windows IT Pro
''Windows IT Pro'' was a trade publication and web site owned by Informa serving the information needs of IT professionals working with the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine's editorial offices were located in Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA. ...
Community Choice award in 2012.
Versions
The first version was produced in June 2006 and contained 51 components, which are the commands, functions, conditions and collections making up FastTrack.
The following table summarizes dates and components for major releases. Companies and organizations such as
NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
,
Kawasaki, and
Goodyear have used and implemented the FastTrack Scripting Host.
Comparison with other scripting software
*FastTrack Scripting Host
*
Kixtart
KiXtart is a closed source free-format scripting language for Windows. It is described as a logon script processor and enhanced batch scripting language by the official website. Its name is a portmanteau of "kick start".
Overview
KiXtart is devel ...
*
PowerShell
PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management program from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell (computing), shell and the associated scripting language. Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, it ...
*
ScriptLogic
*
VBScript
VBScript (''"Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition"'') is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft that is modeled on Visual Basic. It allows Microsoft Windows system administrators to generate powerful tools for managing computers w ...
References
{{Reflist
Programming tools
Integrated development environments
Scripting languages