Scripting

4    PowerShell

The oldest “shell” for Windows is the cmd.exe program, often called the “command prompt.” cmd.exe represents the user interface (UI) of MS-DOS, the text-based predecessor of Microsoft Windows. Batch files (extension *.bat) allow simple script programming. However, cmd.exe is no longer a contemporary tool but a relic from the IT stone age.

In 2006, Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows PowerShell as a powerful successor to cmd.exe. Meanwhile, we have reached version 7.n. The program also runs on Linux and macOS; because the shell is thus no longer Windows specific, its name has been simplified to PowerShell. PowerShell is the scripting tool in the Windows world today. The language is irreplaceable if you want to administer ...