Professional Windows 7 Development Guide

Chapter 20. Working with Windows PowerShell 2.0

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Using Windows PowerShell in place of the old command prompt

• Working with PowerShell from a developer perspective

• Getting help when you need it

• Working with the shell property system

Many developers have used the command prompt to perform tasks. In fact, you've used the command prompt in the form of batch commands for several of the examples in this book. However, the command prompt comes from the days of DOS, the Disk Operating System, many years ago. Some people consider it outdated or at least too difficult to use, so Microsoft has come up with a command prompt replacement, the Windows PowerShell. In many respects, Windows PowerShell is just like the old command prompt. For example, you still type commands to perform tasks, and you also use scripts to execute multiple commands. However, Windows PowerShell also comes with a much nicer Help system and it's considerably easier to use.

Windows PowerShell hasn't received a great amount of attention, and some developers haven't even tried it yet because it's different from what they've used in the past. The old command prompt still works. However, at some point you'll probably have to at least entertain the thought of using Windows PowerShell, because Microsoft has started using it with some of its products. For example, you can't perform some tasks with Exchange Server without using Windows PowerShell — just how much Microsoft intends to use Windows PowerShell remains ...