<s>
AutoIt	B-Language
is	O
a	O
freeware	B-License
programming	O
language	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
its	O
earliest	O
release	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
primarily	O
intended	O
to	O
create	O
automation	B-Application
scripts	O
(	O
sometimes	O
called	O
macros	O
)	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
programs	O
but	O
has	O
since	O
grown	O
to	O
include	O
enhancements	O
in	O
both	O
programming	O
language	O
design	O
and	O
overall	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
scripting	B-Language
language	I-Language
in	O
AutoIt	B-Language
1	O
and	O
2	O
was	O
statement-driven	O
and	O
designed	O
primarily	O
for	O
simulating	O
user	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
version	O
3	O
onward	O
,	O
the	O
AutoIt	B-Language
syntax	O
is	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
found	O
in	O
the	O
BASIC	O
family	O
of	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
form	O
,	O
AutoIt	B-Language
is	O
a	O
general-purpose	O
,	O
third-generation	O
programming	O
language	O
with	O
a	O
classical	O
data	O
model	O
and	O
a	O
variant	B-Language
data	I-Language
type	I-Language
that	O
can	O
store	O
several	O
types	O
of	O
data	O
,	O
including	O
arrays	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
AutoIt	B-Language
automation	B-Application
script	O
can	O
be	O
converted	O
into	O
a	O
compressed	O
,	O
stand-alone	O
executable	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
run	O
on	O
computers	O
even	O
if	O
they	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
the	O
AutoIt	B-Language
interpreter	O
installed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AutoIt	B-Language
is	O
also	O
distributed	O
with	O
an	O
IDE	B-Application
based	O
on	O
the	O
free	O
SciTE	B-Language
editor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
compiler	O
and	O
help	O
text	O
are	O
fully	O
integrated	O
and	O
provide	O
a	O
de	O
facto	O
standard	O
environment	O
for	O
developers	O
using	O
AutoIt	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
AutoIt1	O
and	O
AutoIt2	O
were	O
closed-source	O
projects	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
a	O
very	O
different	O
syntax	O
than	O
AutoIt3	B-Language
,	O
whose	O
syntax	O
is	O
more	O
like	O
VBScript	B-Application
and	O
BASIC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AutoIt3	B-Language
was	O
initially	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
,	O
licensed	O
under	O
the	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
,	O
with	O
its	O
initial	O
public	O
release	O
3.0.100	O
in	O
February	O
2004	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
open-source	O
releases	O
in	O
March	O
2004	O
and	O
August	O
2004	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
3.1.0	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
first	O
release	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
GUI	B-Application
scripts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
AutoHotkey	B-Language
project	O
derived	O
29	O
of	O
its	O
functions	O
from	O
the	O
AutoIt	B-Language
3.1	O
source	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AutoHotkey	B-Language
syntax	O
is	O
quite	O
different	O
from	O
AutoIt3	B-Language
syntax	O
,	O
and	O
rather	O
resembles	O
AutoIt2	O
syntax	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AutoIt	B-Language
is	O
typically	O
used	O
to	O
produce	O
utility	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
and	O
to	O
automate	O
routine	O
tasks	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
systems	O
management	O
,	O
monitoring	O
,	O
maintenance	O
,	O
or	O
software	O
installation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
used	O
to	O
simulate	O
user	O
interaction	O
,	O
whereby	O
an	O
application	O
is	O
"	O
driven	O
"	O
(	O
via	O
automated	O
form	O
entry	O
,	O
keypresses	O
,	O
mouse	B-Device
clicks	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
)	O
to	O
do	O
things	O
by	O
an	O
AutoIt	B-Language
script	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
AutoIt	B-Language
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
low-cost	O
laboratory	O
automation	B-Application
.	O
</s>
