PowerShell is a cross-platform task automation solution made up of a command-line shell, a scripting language, and a configuration management framework. PowerShell runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. In this article we will discuss about what is PowerShell, its features, cmdlet commands, data types and operator with examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microsoft designed PowerShell is an object-oriented scripting language and is designed mainly for the system administrators. It helps to control & automate the administration of the Window OS and other applications. It combines the flexibility of scripting, command-line speed, and the power of a GUI-based admin tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PowerShell has a well-integrated command-line utilities\/ command for the operation system. It is a simple way to get information about server and is more secure than running VBScript or other scripting languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A cmdlet is a PowerShell command with a predefined function<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Format<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Simple variable<\/strong> Adding to an Array<\/strong> Combining arrays together<\/strong> Remove-Item Variable:f<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n $var = \u2018Some Variable\u2019 #Define variable ‘var’ containing the string ‘Some Variable\u2019 2 -eq 2 # Equal to (==) String comparison operators: In order to use * , 3 , 4 , 5 you need to have PowerShell 3.0 or above. Simple arithmetic:<\/strong> Increment and decrement:<\/strong> Note: The type of the left operand dictates the behavior<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Addition Stay tuned for more updates in PowerShell \u2013 Part II, where we will discuss examples on, we can execute it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
PowerShell Data Types<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Data Type Name<\/strong><\/td> Description<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> [Array]<\/td> Array<\/td><\/tr> [Bool]<\/td> Value is TRUE or FALSE<\/td><\/tr> [DateTime]<\/td> Date and time<\/td><\/tr> [Guid]<\/td> Globally unique 32-byte identifier<\/td><\/tr> [HashTable]<\/td> Hash table, collection of key-value pairs<\/td><\/tr> [Int32], [Int]<\/td> 32-bit integers<\/td><\/tr> [PsObject]<\/td> PowerShell object<\/td><\/tr> [Regex]<\/td> Regular expression<\/td><\/tr> [ScriptBlock]<\/td> PowerShell script block<\/td><\/tr> [Single], [Float]<\/td> Floating point number<\/td><\/tr> [String]<\/td> String<\/td><\/tr> [Switch]<\/td> PowerShell switch parameter<\/td><\/tr> [TimeSpan]<\/td> Time interval<\/td><\/tr> [XmlDocument]<\/td> XML document<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Variables in PowerShell<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
All variables in PowerShell begin with a US dollar sign ($). The simplest example of this is:
$f = “bar\u201c
Arrays
Array declaration in PowerShell is almost the same as instantiating any other variable,. The items in the array are declared by separating them by commas(,):
$myArrayOfInts = 1,2,3,4
$myArrayOfStrings = “1”,”2″,”3″,”4\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to an array is as simple as using the + operator:
$myArrayOfInts = $myArrayOfInts + 5 # now contains 1,2,3,4 & 5!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again this is as simple as using the + operator
$myArrayOfInts = 1,2,3,4
$myOtherArrayOfInts = 5,6,7
$myArrayOfInts = $myArrayOfInts + $myOtherArrayOfInts<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
$var
Remove-Variable -Name var<\/strong>
$var<\/p>\n\n\n\nOperators<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2 -ne 4 # Not equal to (!=)
5 -gt 2 # Greater-than (>)
5 -ge 5 # Greater-than or equal to (>=)
5 -lt 10 # Less-than (<) 5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>“MyString” -like “String” # Match using the wildcard character (<\/em>)
“MyString” -notlike “Other” # Does not match using the wildcard character (<\/em>)
“MyString” -match ‘^String$’ # Matches a string using regular expressions
“MyString” -notmatch ‘^Other$’ # Does not match a string using regular expressions<\/p>\n\n\n\nRedirection Operator<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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1 \u2013 Success output
2 \u2013 Errors
3 \u2013 Warnings messages
4 \u2013 Verbose Output
5 \u2013 Debug messages
6 \u2013 Informational message<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Those four types were introduced in Powershell 3.0.
The newer type that has been introduced in PowerShell 5.0 is 6. You need to have PowerShell 5.0 or above to used it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAssignment Operator<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
$var = 1 # Assignment. Sets the value of a variable to the specified value
$var += 2 # Addition. Increases the value of a variable by the specified value
$var -= 1 # Subtraction. Decreases the value of a variable by the specified value
$var *= 2 # Multiplication. Multiplies the value of a variable by the specified value
$var \/= 2 # Division. Divides the value of a variable by the specified value
$var %= 2 # Modulus. Divides the value of a variable by the specified value and then
# assigns the remainder (modulus) to the variable<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$var++ # Increases the value of a variable, assignable property, or array element by
1 $var– # Decreases the value of a variable, assignable property, or array element by 1<\/p>\n\n\n\nMixing Operand Types<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
“4” + 2 # Gives “42”
4 + “2” # Gives 6
1,2,3 + “Hello” # Gives 1,2,3,”Hello”
“Hello” + 1,2,3 # Gives “Hello1 2 3”<\/p>\n\n\n\nRedirection Operator<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Why should we learn PowerShell?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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