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Learn Windows PowerShell in the Month of Lunches

Milton Bell

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Windows PowerShell is a powerful scripting language that can be used to automate tasks on Windows computers. It is a great tool for system administrators, IT professionals, and anyone else who wants to save time and effort by automating repetitive tasks.

Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches

by Michael Brian Murphy

4.6 out of 5

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In this article, we will cover the basics of Windows PowerShell, including how to create and manage files and folders, run commands, and use variables and functions. By the end of this article, you will be able to write simple PowerShell scripts to automate tasks on your own computer.

Getting Started

To get started with Windows PowerShell, you will need to open a PowerShell window. To do this, press the Windows key + R, type "powershell", and then press Enter.

Once the PowerShell window is open, you can start typing commands. To create a new file, use the New-Item cmdlet. For example, the following command creates a new file named "test.txt" in the current directory:

New-Item test.txt

To manage files and folders, you can use the Get-Item, Set-Item, and Remove-Item cmdlets. For example, the following command gets the properties of the "test.txt" file:

Get-Item test.txt

The following command sets the LastWriteTime property of the "test.txt" file to the current date and time:

Set-Item test.txt -LastWriteTime (Get-Date)

And the following command removes the "test.txt" file:

Remove-Item test.txt

Running Commands

In addition to creating and managing files and folders, you can also use PowerShell to run commands. To run a command, simply type the command name followed by any arguments. For example, the following command runs the "dir" command to list the files and folders in the current directory:

dir

You can also use PowerShell to run commands from other programs. For example, the following command runs the "ping" command to test the connection to a website:

ping www.google.com

Using Variables and Functions

Variables are used to store data in PowerShell. You can create a variable by using the $ symbol followed by the variable name. For example, the following command creates a variable named "name" and assigns it the value "John Doe":

$name ="John Doe"

You can use variables in commands to pass data to the command. For example, the following command uses the "Write-Host" cmdlet to display the value of the "name" variable:

Write-Host $name

Functions are used to group together a set of commands. You can create a function by using the Function keyword followed by the function name and the function body. For example, the following command creates a function named "Hello" that displays a message to the user:

function Hello { Write-Host "Hello, world!" }

You can call a function by using the function name followed by any arguments. For example, the following command calls the "Hello" function:

Hello

In this article, we have covered the basics of Windows PowerShell. We have learned how to create and manage files and folders, run commands, and use variables and functions. By the end of this article, you should be able to write simple PowerShell scripts to automate tasks on your own computer.

If you want to learn more about Windows PowerShell, there are many resources available online. Microsoft provides a comprehensive documentation website for PowerShell, and there are many books and articles available on the topic. You can also find many helpful PowerShell scripts online.

I encourage you to start using PowerShell to automate tasks on your own computer. It is a powerful tool that can save you time and effort. With a little practice, you will be able to write complex PowerShell scripts that can handle even the most complex tasks.

Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches

by Michael Brian Murphy

4.6 out of 5