What Windows PowerShell is and how to use it
Windows PowerShell, initially introduced in 2008 during the reign of Windows Vista, is a command-line tool that uses a scripting programming language built on the .NET framework that, as part of Windows XP, Vista, 7.0, 8.1 and Windows 10, is updated to new versions regularly, leaving the earlier versions in place.
The management interfaces of several Windows components and Microsoft products can be administered using PowerShell or have their tasks automated using its commands, which are more user-friendly than the MS DOS Command Prompt commands. Version 2.0 can be downloaded and installed for Windows XP.
PowerShell is a significantly more powerful command-line tool than the old MS DOS command-line tool, cmd.exe, which every version of Windows still has, and the created batch files (.bat) that it can be set to run to automate routines. Moreover, what can be created using the PowerShell scripting language can be tested from its command line instead of actually running the scripts, which has to be done with other script languages, such as VBScript.
There is plenty of information on PowerShell provided on the web. Here are some webpages that would be useful to anyone who wants to learn how to use it:
Windows PowerShell – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_PowerShell
A Windows PowerShell Tutorial –
http://www.computerperformance.co.uk/powershell/index.htm
Getting Started with Windows PowerShell –
10 cool things you can do with Windows PowerShell –
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-cool-things-you-can-do-with-windows-powershell/
