Windows PowerShell in Action, Third Edition

Chapter 14. Errors and exceptions

This chapter covers

• Error handling
• Dealing with terminating errors
• Working with event logs

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana, The Life of Reason

It’s always useful to keep in mind that PowerShell isn’t merely a shell or scripting language. Its primary purpose is to be an automation tool and perform critical management tasks on a server, such as send software updates, inspect log files, or provision user accounts. You need to be sure that either the task is completed properly or the reason for failure is appropriately recorded.

In this chapter, we’ll focus on how PowerShell reports, records, ...