Are Windows Script 5.5 and 5.6 bound to Internet Explorer versions?

[iMic]

I'm working on some update packages for Windows Me for the retro-computing community, one of which allows you to select from two different versions of Internet Explorer - 5.5 SP2 and 6.0 SP1 - depending on individual preferences.

One detail I haven't been able to confirm is if the Windows Script Host version is linked to the Internet Explorer version - for example, IE 5.5 only works with Script 5.5 and IE 6.0 only works with Script 5.6.

For some context - the Windows Script Host is primarily the files JSCRIPT.DLL and VBSCRIPT.DLL. Windows Me ships with Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Script 5.5 (JSCRIPT.DLL / VBSCRIPT.DLL 5.5.XXXX), and Internet Explorer 6.0 includes Windows Script 5.6 (JSCRIPT.DLL / VBSCRIPT.DLL 5.6.XXXX).

Keep in mind that for the purposes of this post I'm only referring to the official updates that were available directly from Microsoft at this time, not any unofficial updates that may have been made available later.

 

However if I install Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2, and then manually install the KB917344 update to install Windows Script 5.6, it installs without issue and appears to work fine. This seems to suggest that the version of the Script Host included with Internet Explorer is only a minimum, and newer versions can be installed without issue.

But then Microsoft makes this unclear with the KB318089, because this later update contained different versions of these files depending on the version of Internet Explorer that was installed.

https://ftp.zx.net.nz/pub/archive/ftp.microsoft.com/MISC/KB/en-us/318/089.HTM

This makes it sound as though the two are directly linked, and one shouldn't install the 5.6.XXXX files on a computer running Internet Explorer 5.5 - at least officially.

After all, if it were a supported configuration, why wouldn't this update just upgrade JSCRIPT.DLL and VBSCRIPT.DLL to their 5.6.XXXX versions regardless of whether you were running IE 5.5, or if you were running IE 6.0?

 

Bit of a confusing one I'm aware, but I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this one.

 

[iMic]

Might've answered my own question here.

https://ftp.zx.net.nz/pub/archive/ftp.microsoft.com/MISC/KB/en-us/325/453.HTM

 

Quote

When you upgrade from Windows Scripting Host version 5.1 to Windows Scripting Host version 5.6, especially if you are using Internet Explorer versions 5.x, you may receive "stack overflow" error messages in scripts that use recursion.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because Windows Scripting Host version 5.6 consumes about three times more stack space than Windows Scripting Host version 5.1.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, upgrade to Internet Explorer version 6 or later because the maximum committed stack size has been increased from 256 KB to 1 MB.

WORKAROUND

If you cannot upgrade to Internet Explorer version 6 or later, or if you are already using this version, to work around this problem, rewrite your code to use iteration instead of recursion.

 

So yes, it is an expected configuration, and in several Microsoft support documents (such as 315496, 836948 and MS02-009's FAQ) they even seem to encourage customers to upgrade to Script 5.6.

But as the document above suggests, you may encounter "stack overflow" errors when running scripts that make heavy use of recursion. Microsoft then recommends upgrading to Internet Explorer 6 whenever running Windows Script 5.6, if possible. At this time it remains unclear whether this change was made between 5.1 and 5.5, or between 5.5 and 5.6.

That could explain why Microsoft chose to release separate updates for 5.1, 5.5 and 5.6 instead of just pushing users to upgrade to 5.6.

Or perhaps it's just because that's how Microsoft liked to roll back then - it wasn't uncommon after all for Microsoft to release separate security updates for Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0 to address a common issue as well.

Edited July 30, 2024 by iMic
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