A beginners guide to Powershell - Part 1

What is Powershell?

Powershell is an open source, task-based command-line shell and scripting language. It is specifically designed for sys-admins and power-users to automate the administration of multiple systems (Linux, Windows etc.) and the processes related to applications running on those systems.

Where do I get Powershell?

Powershell comes pre-installed on Windows Operating Systems (Windows 7 / Server 2008 and upwards).

A windows installer for the current version (5.1) can be downloaded here: microsoft.com 

And the source code can be found here: github.com

The Powershell ISE

The Powershell Integrated Scripting Environment (short ISE) is a host application for Powershell. In ISE you can run commands, write, test and debug scripts in a Windows-based GUI. 

Some of the features include:

• Tab completion
• Syntax coloring
• Selective execution
• Context-sensitive help

You can start the ISE by just clicking on Start and then entering "ise", that should bring up the right entry:

Alternatively press Windows+R and enter powershell_ise.exe

What´s next?

In the next parts I will introduce you to the Powershell console and the basic concepts of the Powershell language (Syntax, Variables, logical constructs, all the good stuff). If you have questions or suggestions feel free to let me know.

Part 2