Windows PowerShell in Action


Author: Bruce Payette
Publisher: Manning, 2007
ISBN: 978-1932394900
Aimed at: Programmers
Rating: 3.5
Pros: Written by an expert
Cons: Slightly theoretical approach
Reviewed by: Mike James

PowerShell – I’m still not sure why Windows needs it. Bash-, or any Unix/Linux shell-envy, is the best explanation! In theory shells are designed to provide simple automation facilities to administrators but in practice they tend to be used by code wizards who can churn out thousands of lines that are completely opaque. As it supports a good security model and because it uses the .NET Framework, PowerShell promises to be different. This book isn’t for beginners or for administrators who need access to some useful scripts. It has been written by one of the founding members of the Windows PowerShell team and it deals with the ideas behind PowerShell. So if you don’t really want to know the inner workings you might find this a waste of space. It does deal with security and with the object-oriented aspects of using PowerShell. What it is weak on is using it in combination with other technologies such as WMI, but you can find this information elsewhere. If you are looking for an administrator’s recipe book then I can’t recommend it but if you want a book about PowerShell as software development tool it’s a very good starting point. You need to keep in mind, however, that the CTP of version 2 of PowerShell was released after the book was published.

<Reviewed in VSJ>

Last Updated ( Monday, 12 January 2009 )