PowerShell

PowerShell is a cross-platform task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and scripting language. It is built on the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) and integrates with the .NET ecosystem, enabling administrators and developers to automate system tasks, manage configurations, and interact with various services and APIs. PowerShell supports object-oriented pipelines, making it powerful for handling structured data beyond traditional text-based shells.

Also known as: Powershell, PS, Windows PowerShell, PowerShell Core, pwsh

Why learn PowerShell?

Developers should learn PowerShell for automating Windows system administration, cloud management (especially with Azure), and DevOps tasks, as it provides deep integration with Microsoft technologies and cloud services. It is essential for scripting repetitive operations, managing infrastructure as code, and interacting with REST APIs or cloud resources programmatically, offering a more robust alternative to batch scripting or command-line tools.

Learning Resources

• docs: Microsoft PowerShell Documentation
• video: PowerShell in 100 Seconds
• book: Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
• tutorial: PowerShell Tutorial for Beginners