PowerShell in Depth

Book excerpt: Summary PowerShell in Depth, Second Edition is the go-to reference for administrators working with Windows PowerShell. Every major technique, technology, and tactic is carefully explained and demonstrated, providing a hands-on guide to almost everything an admin would do in the shell. Written by three experienced authors and PowerShell MVPs, this is the PowerShell book you'll keep next to your monitor—not on your bookshelf! Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Book A Windows admin using PowerShell every day may not have the time to search the net every time he or she hits a snag. Wouldn't it be great to have a team of seasoned PowerShell experts ready to answer even the toughest questions? That's what you get with this book. PowerShell in Depth, Second Edition is the go-to reference for administrators working with Windows PowerShell. Every major technique, technology, and tactic is carefully explained and demonstrated, providing a hands-on guide to almost everything an admin would do in the shell. Written by PowerShell MVPs Don Jones, Jeffrey Hicks, and Richard Siddaway, each valuable technique was developed and thoroughly tested, so you'll be able to consistently write production-quality, maintainable scripts while saving hours of time and effort. This book assumes you know the basics of PowerShell. What's Inside Automating tasks Packaging and deploying scripts Introduction to Desired State Configuration PowerShell security Covers PowerShell version 3 and later About the Authors Don Jones, Jeffery Hicks, and Richard Siddaway are Microsoft MVPs, trainers, and administrators. Collectively, they've authored nearly three dozen books on PowerShell and Windows administration. Table of Contents PART 1 POWERSHELL FUNDAMENTALS Introduction PowerShell hosts Using the PowerShell help system The basics of PowerShell syntax Working with PSSnapins and modules Operators Working with objects The PowerShell pipeline Formatting PART 2 POWERSHELL MANAGEMENT PowerShell Remoting Background jobs and scheduling Working with credentials Regular expressions Working with HTML and XML data PSDrives and PSProviders Variables, arrays, hash tables, and script blocks PowerShell security Advanced PowerShell syntax PART 3 POWERSHELL SCRIPTING AND AUTOMATION PowerShell's scripting language Basic scripts and functions Creating objects for output Scope PowerShell workflows Advanced syntax for scripts and functions Script modules and manifest modules Custom formatting views Custom type extensions Data language and internationalization Writing help Error handling techniques Debugging tools and techniques Functions that work like cmdlets Tips and tricks for creating reports PART 4 ADVANCED POWERSHELL Working with the Component Object Model (COM) Working with .NET Framework objects Accessing databases Proxy functions Building a GUI WMI and CIM Working with the web Desired State Configuration