Learn PowerShell Scripting
Why should we learn PowerShell?
All the Microsoft Server products can be managed through PowerShell. From an administrative standpoint, it will make your life easier and faster. Imagine if you have one thousand servers and want to scan for the installed applications on all the servers… How much time it will take? Using a PowerShell, you can make a script and scan for all the installed applications. This will save you days. All the Microsoft products use PowerShell.
- It saves time.
- It is the Microsoft standard for automation. Automation and tool making are easier.
- .NET Objects and Forms supported
- More Functions compared to cmd.exe and VBScript.
- More Extensible via cmdlets, plugins.
- Microsoft wants you to learn PowerShell.
- Background Jobs
- PowerShell can be used for reporting, configuring and administration.
- The benefits are obvious, and you will come to know it once you start learning PowerShell.
Who should learn PowerShell?
You, me and all Microsoft administrators. You are a Microsoft administrator and that is why you are here.
Ask the following questions yourself:
- Do you need a good shell and scripting language in Windows?
- Do you manage Windows servers?
- Do you manage Microsoft server products such as SharePoint, TFS or Exchange?
- Do you develop or support server software for Windows machines?
- Do you develop or support software for Microsoft server products such as SharePoint, TFS or Exchange?
- Do you need to explore and experiment with the .NET framework?
If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, I would recommend learning PowerShell.
PowerShell gives MUCH more helpful information in each cmdlet. (Pronounced command-let). you load entire modules of commands for the applications installed in your system. There is secure application signing, there’s thousands of scripts that all talk to each other using native .NET libraries and it’s all object based… That is the best part.
Happy Learning…
Windows PowerShell is an evolution of the command line – a combination of a DOS shell and scripting environment. It can help with repetitive tasks; processes acting on many files at once, automating and scheduling tasks, and configuring Windows components and services. PowerShell is not only for running DOS commands, but also far more flexible than that. It supports complex decision making, connecting to a wide variety of data sources, and even building graphical user interfaces.
PowerShell is now an essential skill for IT and server administrators and is often used when deploying maintenance scripts across an entire organization. It is now an essential requirement / skill for a Systems Administrator. So, let us start learning PowerShell.
Learn PowerShell programming
- Introduction to Windows PowerShell
- Run First Command
- PowerShell Variables
- Working with Data types, PowerShell Variables
- Operators and expressions – Arithmetic, assignment, comparison, pattern matching logical and bit wise operators
- PowerShell Pipeline
- Scripting
- Flow control (if-elseif-else, while loop, do-while loop, for loop, break and continue, switch)
- PowerShell Functions
- Error Handling, exceptions and debugging
- Working with Files and Folders
- Working with WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation)
- PowerShell Remote Sessions and Invoke-Command
- Regular Expressions
- Parse and scrape a web page
- Reading XML with PowerShell
- Managing Registry with PowerShell
- GUI Forms PowerShell
- Configure WinRM for HTTPS