Introducing PowerShell

PowerShell is a handy tool for automating tasks and managing configuration.

PowerShell is not limited to Windows devices, it is cross-platform.

To get started with PowerShell in windows PC, open Windows PowerShell in your windows PC or launch PowerShell from VSCode terminal.

Run the command $PSVersionTable and $PSVersionTable.PSVersion for details of your version of PowerShell.

Searching PowerShell Command

You can view and search list of commands available in PowerShell with Get-Command. To search commands, eg. User related commands, running Get-Command -Noun Disk* will list Disk related commands. The (*) will ensure that all commands with Disk keyword are listed.

You can narrow your search by specifying the verb as well. Eg. Get-Command -Verb Get -Noun Disk*. Running Get-Command -Verb Get will list all the commandlets with the Get verb.

PowerShell Command Structure

PowerShell commands follow a consistent structure, below a break down.

1. Cmdlets (Commandlets): these are fundamental building blocks in PowerShell. They consist of Verb, Noun and Parameters (also referred to as Flags).

2. Aliases: these are shorthand names for cmdlets or other elements. They allow you to use shorter forms of commands. Example: ls for Get-ChildItem, cd for Set-Location.

3. Functions: Custom scripts that perform specific tasks