Powershell Intro

Code Camp tutorial on Powershell.

Goal

• To have a basic understanding of Powershell and be able to sit down at a console and write your own script.

Questions

• Who has used powershell?
• What is it?
• Who hasn't used it?
• Who has used UNIX?

Purpose

• Windows Automation engine
• Foundation of new Server Technologies
• Easy automation of repetitive task
• Full fledge shell and language

Basic shell

• Should be able to do everything in normal command prompt
• dir, cd, ipconfig, notepad
• ls, cd, ps, cat!!

What's different

• A lot!
• Cmdlet's and Pipeline

cmd-lets

• CORE of Powershell
• First cmdlet get-command
• Consistent name scheme (Verb-Noun)
• Standard format for parameters
• -Verb? oops, try get-help

get-help

• get-help get-command

get-command

• Verb takes string[]
• get-command -verb get
• get-command -verb get,start

Pipeline

• Standard output
• Is it just string output?
• It is output to a pipeline...
• ls | out-default
• ls | format-table
• ls | format-list
• get-command -verb start
• get-command -verb start | format-list
• get-command -verb start | gm

Objects!!!

• Variables
• get-date
• get-date | gm
• $date = get-date
• $date | gm
• $date.adddays(5)
• $date.second
• $second = $date.second
• $second | gm
• $second = "asdf"
• LOOSLY TYPED
• CASE INSENSITIVE

Basic structures

• if/else
• for
• foreach

Basic to Pipeline

• where
• foreach

Examples

• Math Problem
• get-tweets
• update-status

Tab completion?