Powershell Questions

LittleBIT

Hello TE,

I have a few questions regarding PS. First off, whats the big deal about it? Should we, as IT's, begin moving (or retrograding) back to the old black screen with white letters in place of GUI's and fancy gadgets? Why is it becoming a huge trend now? I'm just curious, because it seems like all the buzz is about powershell and the future with the release of 2012R2 and the Core release where the GUI is not even present...

My second question is - is it more of a educational thing to have in your tool set, or is it something that should be taken seriously and really dived into by all IT's?

I have been contemplating about PS, since it's not something you really 'learn', more something you continually educate yourself about and improve upon - is this wrong thinking?

I want to be a good well rounded IT, will PS be worth learning?

blargoe

I think powershell is almost a must-have skill in the enterprise as a Windows admin/engineer or VMware. It is a must-have if you are working with Exchange Server.

Powershell is no more a buzz-word or a fad than the traditional DOS-style command line was, or shell scripting in Unix, or any other scripting environment. Once you are used to the syntax and the fundamentals concepts of using Powershell, it becomes fairly intuitive to use and is a real time-saver, particularly for repetitive tasks but also for quick and dirty reporting. I use it multiple times per day for a variety of administrative tasks. There are some just some things that you either can't accomplish as fast in the GUI, or can't fully accomplish at all.

RobertKaucher

If you are a Windows admin or you want to be a Windows admin and you do not know PowerShell, you needed to do that in 2010 and your skills are out of date. If I were looking to bring a new person on to my team, not knowing PowerShell would very nearly be a deal breaker for me.

If you deal with administration of Windows server or desktops, you must know PowerShell. If you don't, you are behind. I'm not saying you cannot do the job, but it's getting to be close to that. Those who are Windows admins and don't know PoSh and don't think they are behind are literally too behind to be able to understand how behind they are.

NovaHax

First off...GUIs are not the future...GUIs exist because command line interface is too complicated for most casual users. CLI is, and always has been more functional.

And Powershell is by far the best shell scripting tool that windows boxes have ever seen. Multi-threading, remote code execution, interactive remote sessions, full integration with almost all windows products!!!

Its good stuff. And the IDE makes it very easy to learn.

lsud00d

I can't tell if this is a joke or if OP is serious? Seems a rather ignorant way to approach the topic.

Shells, whether it be Unix, Linux, or Windows, are the most powerful way to interact with the operating system, software, and hardware. Scripting in shell is efficient, scalable, time-saving, and makes you in-demand.

So, yes, it's worth learning.