Introduction to PowerShell

1
Introduction to PowerShell

• Brian Button
• VP Engineering
• Asynchrony Solutions, Inc
• brian.button_at_asolutions.com
• http//oneagilecoder.asolutions.com

2
Just the other day
Visual Studio 2005 Enterprise Library
VS.Net SP1 Nunit
IIS Xunit.net
TFS Explorer Resharper
SQL Server 2005 Test Driven.net
GAX
GAT
3
Failure!!!

• SQL Server failed to install and uninstall
• What to do???
• MSDN says
• Regedit HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVe
  rsion\Uninstall
• For each GUID found, Examine DisplayName
  searching for match of SQL Server
• Manually uninstall it
• Maybe there was a better way!

4
What is PowerShell

• New Scripting language
• Same, but different!
• In Vista, then unbundled
• Separate download
• General purpose programming language

5
Basic Tour

• Shell prompt
• Cmdlets
• Pipes
• .Net objects
• PSDrives
• Help system

6
5 key commands

• Get-Help
• Get-Command
• Get-Member
• Get-Psdrive
• Format-List

7
Lets build something

• Removing all bin and obj folders from project
• Find all IDisposable classes in assembly

8
Powershell as a programming language

• General purpose programming language
• File extension PS1
• Example Reformat.PS1

9
Extending Powershell

• Custom Cmdlets and PSSnapins
• Written in C or VB.Net
• Functions, Filters, Aliases
• Written in powershell
• Adding methods, properties to existing types
• Written in XML, powershell
• Add-member

10
Extending Powershell in C/VB.Net

• Create Custom cmdlet
• Create PSSnapin to install
• Great tutorial at http//blogs.msdn.com/daiken/arc
  hive/2007/02/07/creating-a-windows-powershell-cmdl
  et-using-the-visual-studio-windows-powershell-temp
  lates.aspx

Cmdlet(VerbsCommon.Get, "Proc") public class
GetProcCommand Cmdlet
11
Extending Powershell natively

• Functions
• function to_uppercase
• param(stringfirst)
• first.ToUpper()
• At command line or in user profile

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Extending Powershell natively

• Aliases make commands easier to use
• set-alias, new-alias, get-alias
• Alias gal Get-Alias
• Alias gc Get-Content
• Alias gci Get-ChildItem
• Alias gcm Get-Command
• Alias gdr Get-PSDrive

13
Customizing Powershell

• User profile
• profile
• Get-Executionpolicy
• Like .profile or .login in Linux
• Invoked for every new shell
• Sets up functions, aliases, etc

14
Why learn Powershell

• Automate repetitive tasks
• Share knowledge with others
• Its the Microsoft Way

15
Controlling Windows through Scripts

• Complaints for years about GUI-only config
• In Unix/Linux forever
• MS making admin tasks powershell-scriptable
• Exchange
• SQL Server
• IIS 7
• More

16
Resources

• Download powershell through Microsoft.com
• Videos
• http//channel9.msdn.com/Media/?TagID163
• Blogs
• http//blogs.msdn.com/powershell
• http//thepowershellguy.com
• http//keithhill.spaces.live.com
• http//www.leeholmes.com/blog

17
More resources

• Books
• Powershell in Action, Bruce Payette
• Professional Windows Powershell, Andrew Watt
• Windows Powershell Cookbook, Lee Holmes
• Community projects
• 21 projects on http//www.codeplex.com

18
Q A

• Slides posted at http//oneagilecoder.asolutions.c
  om
• Email questions to brian.button_at_asolutions.com