contents
1.1 Why you can no longer afford to ignore PowerShell
1.2 Windows, Linux, and macOS, oh my
1.5 Setting up your lab environment
1.7 Contacting us
1.8 Being immediately effective with PowerShell
2.3 PowerShell on Linux (Ubuntu 18.04)
2.4 Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension
Installing Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension
Getting familiar with Visual Studio Code
Customizing Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension
2.5 It’s typing class all over again
2.7 Lab
3.1 The help system: How you discover commands
3.2 Updatable help
3.3 Asking for help
3.4 Using help to find commands
Parameter sets and common parameters
Optional and mandatory parameters
3.8 Lab
3.9 Lab answers
4.2 Not scripting, but running commands
4.4 The cmdlet naming convention
4.5 Aliases: Nicknames for commands
4.6 Taking shortcuts
4.7 Support for external commands
4.9 Common points of confusion
4.10 Lab
4.11 Lab answers
5.2 Understanding how the filesystem is organized
5.4 Using wildcards and literal paths
5.5 Working with other providers
5.6 Lab
5.7 Lab answers
6 The pipeline: Connecting commands
6.1 Connecting one command to another: Less work for you
6.3 Piping to a file
6.5 Using cmdlets that modify the system: Killing processes
6.6 Common points of confusion
6.7 Lab
6.8 Lab answers
7.1 How one shell can do everything
7.2 Extensions: Finding and installing modules
7.3 Extensions: Finding and adding modules
7.4 Command conflicts and removing extensions
7.6 Common points of confusion
7.7 Lab
7.8 Lab answers
8 Objects: Data by another name
8.2 Understanding why PowerShell uses objects
8.3 Discovering objects: Get-Member
8.4 Using object attributes, or properties
8.5 Using object actions, or methods
8.6 Sorting objects
8.7 Selecting the properties you want
8.9 Common points of confusion
8.10 Lab
8.11 Lab answers
9.3 Learning to use the commands
9.4 Tips for teaching yourself
9.5 Lab
9.6 Lab answer
10.1 The pipeline: Enabling power with less typing
10.2 How PowerShell passes data down the pipeline
10.3 Plan A: Pipeline input ByValue
10.4 Plan B: Pipeline input ByPropertyName
10.5 When things don’t line up: Custom properties
10.6 Working with Azure PowerShell
10.8 Extracting the value from a single property
10.9 Lab
10.10 Lab answers
10.11 Further exploration
11 Formatting: And why it’s done on the right
11.1 Formatting: Making what you see prettier
11.2 Working with the default formatting
11.2 Formatting tables
11.3 Formatting lists
11.5 Creating custom columns and list entries
11.6 Going out: To a file or to the host
11.8 Common points of confusion
One type of object at a time, please
11.9 Lab
11.10 Lab answers
11.11 Further exploration
12.1 Making the shell give you just what you need
12.2 Filtering left
12.3 Using comparison operators
12.4 Filtering objects out of the pipeline
12.5 Using the iterative command-line model
12.6 Common points of confusion
12.7 Lab
12.8 Lab answers
12.9 Further exploration
13 Remote control: One-to-one and one-to-many
13.1 The idea behind remote PowerShell
Remoting on macOS and Linux devices
13.4 WinRM overview
13.5 Using Enter-PSSession and Exit-PSSession for one-to-one remoting
13.6 Using Invoke-ScriptBlock for one-to-many remoting
13.7 Differences between remote and local commands
13.9 Common points of confusion
13.10 Lab
13.11 Lab answers
13.12 Further exploration
14 Multitasking with background jobs
14.1 Making PowerShell do multiple things at the same time
14.2 Synchronous vs. asynchronous
14.5 Remoting, as a job
14.6 Jobs in the wild
14.7 Getting job results
14.9 Commands for managing jobs
14.10 Common points of confusion
14.11 Lab
14.12 Lab answers
15 Working with many objects, one at a time
15.1 The preferred way: “Batch” cmdlets
15.2 The CIM way: Invoking methods
15.3 The backup plan: Enumerating objects
Making the cmdlets work for you
15.5 Common points of confusion
Diminishing returns of Parallel ForEach
15.6 Lab
15.7 Lab answers
16 Variables: A place to store your stuff
16.1 Introduction to variables
16.2 Storing values in variables
16.3 Using variables: Fun tricks with quotes
16.4 Storing many objects in a variable
Working with single objects in a variable
Working with multiple objects in a variable
Other ways to work with multiple objects
Unrolling properties and methods in PowerShell
16.5 More tricks with double quotes
16.6 Declaring a variable’s type
16.7 Commands for working with variables
16.9 Common points of confusion
16.10 Lab
16.11 Lab answers
16.12 Further exploration
17.1 Prompting for, and displaying, information
17.2 Read-Host
17.3 Write-Host
17.4 Write-Output
17.5 Other ways to write
17.6 Lab
17.7 Lab answers
17.8 Further exploration
18 Sessions: Remote control with less work
18.1 Creating and using reusable sessions
18.2 Enter-PSSession with session objects
18.3 Invoke-Command with session objects
18.4 Implicit remoting: Importing a session
18.5 Using disconnected sessions
18.6 Lab
18.7 Lab answers
18.8 Further exploration
19.1 Not programming, more like batch files
19.2 Making commands repeatable
19.4 Creating a parameterized script
19.8 Lab
19.9 Lab answer
20 Improving your parameterized script
20.1 Starting point
20.2 Getting PowerShell to do the hard work
20.3 Making parameters mandatory
20.5 Validating parameter input
20.6 Adding the warm and fuzzies with verbose output
20.7 Lab
20.8 Lab answer
21 Using regular expressions to parse text files
21.1 The purpose of regular expressions
21.4 Using regex with Select-String
21.5 Lab
21.6 Lab answers
21.7 Further exploration
22 Using someone else’s script
22.1 The script
22.2 It’s a line-by-line examination
22.3 Lab
22.4 Lab answer
23.1 Foreach and Foreach-Object
23.2 While
23.3 Do While
23.4 Lab
23.5 Lab answers
24.1 Understanding errors and exceptions
24.2 Bad handling
24.3 Two reasons for exception handling
24.4 Handling exceptions
24.5 Handling exceptions for noncommands
24.6 Going further with exception handling
24.7 Lab
24.8 Lab answer
25.1 Output everything
25.2 One line at a time
25.3 Hey, script, stop right there with breakpoints
25.4 Lab
26 Tips, tricks, and techniques
26.1 Profiles, prompts, and colors: Customizing the shell
26.2 Operators: -as, -is, -replace, -join, -split, -contains, -in
26.3 String manipulation
26.4 Date manipulation
26.6 Setting default parameter values
26.7 Playing with script blocks
26.8 More tips, tricks, and techniques
27.1 Ideas for further exploration
27.2 “Now that I’ve read the book, where do I start?”
27.3 Other resources you’ll grow to love
Appendix. PowerShell cheat sheet