In this chapter, we will preview the next version of PowerShell. You might be surprised to know that there are no major updates in terms of syntax or functionality. Instead, Microsoft has focused on making sure that the upcoming version of PowerShell (Core) is:

• Free
• Open source
• Cross-platform

PowerShell has become the cornerstone for scripting and instrumentation in the Microsoft stack. Many partners and competitors have also embraced it for their APIs (for example, VMWare). Having cemented PowerShell as the scripting platform of choice for their own products, Microsoft is now going for what is left of the market. The promise is that PowerShell will run in any environment and provide administrators with a standard language and patterns for management. The change in paradigm is significant for PowerShell, yet we should not be very surprised. Microsoft has been open sourcing strategic projects for several years.

There are many challenges for the vision to materialize (we are currently on beta 4). PowerShell Core is limited when it comes to managing Office 365. Indeed, the changes are many and therefore we will have to be patient and follow (and possibly contribute to) the maturity of the product.

For PowerShell to be cross-platform, its implementation has moved to Microsoft .NET Core. .NET Core is also cross-platform and open source and is also maturing slowly. Some of the limitations (and workarounds) that we will review are due to the fact that the .NET Core platform is still lacking features. This affects the PowerShell Core development but also puts limitations on the use of the Office 365 API, which currently still runs on the Microsoft .NET platform.

We will look through the following topics:

• Installing PowerShell Core
• Managing Exchange from PowerShell Core
• Connecting to SharePoint Online from PowerShell Core