Microsoft continues to build GUI consoles, but those consoles are executing PowerShell commands behind the scenes.
#Cutepdf writer on cpw2 windows#
Microsoft’s goal for Windows PowerShell is to build 100% of a product’s administrative functionality in the shell. Microsoft products are increasingly built to use Powershell behind the scenes, even if a GUI exists at the back it executes Powershell cmdlets to accomplish its tasks: Dozens of product groups within Microsoft have adopted PowerShell, an extensive ecosystem of third parties depend on it, and a global community of experts and enthusiasts are pushing the PowerShell envelope every day. And it’s been a successful attempt so far. Windows PowerShell is an express attempt on Microsoft’s part to do a better job and to get you through the last mile. You can do a lot with VBScript (and other, similar technologies), but it tends to let you down at some point, never getting you through that last mile to the finish line. Jeffrey Snover, the architect of Windows PowerShell, calls this the last mile. Want to check its link speed? You can’t, because nobody remembered to hook that up in a way that VBScript could get to. Want to change the IP address of a network adapter by using VBScript? OK, you can. Microsoft had to remember to make things VBScript accessible, and when developers forgot (or didn’t have time), you were stuck. The problem with VBScript is that Microsoft didn’t make a wholehearted effort in supporting it. It might have taken you an hour to write a VBScript that could import new users from a CSV file, but after you’d invested that hour, creating users in the future would take only a few seconds. Microsoft has tried to deal with that problem a bit haphazardly, and VBScript was probably its most successful attempt. However, the as the aforementioned Powershell book explains You can see an example of a VB Script in a previous lab here. Why so late and what did Windows sysadmin use to manage their systems? Apart from manually clicking through GUI wizards or outsourcing/hiring junior staff to do so, Windows sysadmin would typically use VB Script to automate tasks. After all, bash came out in 1989 while Powershell appeared only in 2006. But you might wonder why Microsoft pushed out so late comparatively. In Windows-land, when I work on a large project I’ll use C# for backend, MS-SQL for the database, HTML/CSS/JS or WPF for the frontend, and Powershell to fill in all of the gaps. I would not use Powershell for a large application – I generally stick to compiled languages for large projects spanning more than a couple of files. It’s an interpreted scripting language so you generally want to use it for smaller tasks. It’s useful for automating OS-bound tasks and generally provides the “glue” between other standalone applications. Powershell is basically the Windows version of Bash. It can even be used to post comments on Reddit. It can be used to fully customize your PC. It can help service thousands of servers under your care. It can be the language behind custom GUIs.
It can be used to bridge data between Macs and PCs. Powershell can parse and read out loud your new new emails or upcoming appointments. Active Directory OUs and SGs can be completely automated. Application installs can be done with no user input, even tricky ones that normally require more steps. It’s probably easier to list what it can’t do…seriously though I’ve done everything from data formatting to migrating VMware esxi hosts from cluster to cluster while upgrading them.
Need to get Chuck Norris jokes from the internet and have Windows read them to everyone in the IT OU, it can do that too.
#Cutepdf writer on cpw2 update#
Need update DNS settings on 200 web servers, it can do that. Powershell takes any task that Windows can do and lets you add logic to it. Some good replies from that thread on what Powershell is In general, that sub is excellent for Powershell questions and discussion, well apart from Stack Overflow that is. This reddit thread goes some way into explaining what you can do with Powershell. Why learn Powershell? If you work in a Windows shop, then you can either choose to do everything manually GUI or make your job easier by automating with Powershell. How could this be? Well I’ll explain why I think so below.
After experimenting with it and typically following this excellent guide book I realise that its actually easier to learn than bash. Powershell can appear confusing for beginners, especially with the long commands (typically ‘cmdlets’) which causes output to spill over a few lines long.
0 kommentar(er)
