PowerShell has reached a point where it has split into Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core. Windows PowerShell accounts for versions up to, and including, PowerShell 5.1. Windows PowerShell is based on the .NET full framework. PowerShell Core accounts for version 6 and over and is based on the .NET core framework.
The future of PowerShell is in PowerShell Core; it opens up cross-platform scripting with PowerShell, that is, support for Linux and macOS.
As well as the change to .NET, there are an increasing number of differences between Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core that must be accounted for.
The differences between Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core will be highlighted throughout this book.
This book is split into a number of sections. Much of this book is intended to act as a reference. We will cover the following topics in this book:
- Exploring PowerShell fundamentals
- Working with data
- Automating with PowerShell
- Extending PowerShell
In the first section of this book, while exploring the PowerShell fundamentals, we will look at the use of language and cover as many building blocks as possible.
In this chapter, we will briefly look at a number of short, diverse topics:
- What is PowerShell?
- PowerShell editors
- Getting help
- Command naming
- Command discovery
- Parameters and parameter sets
- Introduction to providers
- Introduction to splatting