A script communicates
with its host and other applications through a COM technology called Automation (formerly
OLE Automation). To support Automation, an application requires
an object model that exposes certain objects, with their properties
and methods, to external applications. An application that supports
Automation is called an Automation Server.
An Automation server makes its objects available. An Automation Client can
manipulate the Automation Server’s objects.
With Automation, these applications
and their components become objects you can control programmatically.
In addition to manipulating objects exposed by the scripting host,
a script can also manipulate objects served by other Automation
servers. For example, a script in the application can manipulate
an Excel spreadsheet or a Word document. The reverse of this is also
possible: a Word or Excel script can manipulate a PCB design.