Microsoft has finally answered the prayers of system administrators and developers everywhere through the introduction of Windows PowerShell, a new scripting technology that enables the automation of system management tasks and the creation of system management tools. PowerShell runs on Windows XP, 2003, and Vista. Exchange Server 2007 and System Center Operations Manager 2007 will be built on Windows PowerShell. Unlike traditional Windows shell scripting, PowerShell scripting is object based and is designed to work with the .NET framework. Microsoft Windows PowerShell Programming for the Absolute Beginner teaches readers how to program using Microsoft's new PowerShell scripting language through the creation of computer games. No prior knowledge of programming in any language is required. Topics covered include the Windows PowerShell Command Line, object based scripting with .NET, writing PowerShell Scripts, working with variables, arrays and hashes, implementing conditional logic, using loops to process data, organizing scripts using functions, basic system administration, and much more.
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
Disjointed presentation style, January 8, 2009
By
Apex (AZ)
I took this book up in hopes it would provide the trail of breadcrumbs needed for an absolute beginner to learn the basics of Powershell. Instead I tossed in the towel half way through chapter 4.
Jerry Lee Ford's disjointed presentation style was difficult to follow and often presented examples of things only to be poorly explained several chapters later.
Additionally, there were too many times where he would introduce several new concepts in a script example only to explain one or two of them, and then only to say how it might be usefull for yada, yada.
System admins considering a non-developer oriented entry level Powershell book should instead consider Professional Windows PowerShell by Andrew Watt. It does a much better job of setting a foundation and building upon it.
good for beginners with no shell scripting experience, September 15, 2008
By
Akash Aggarwal (Cincinnati, OH United States)
this is good if you want to get started quickly enough. Once you understand the syntax and stuff and concept, you can always find canned scripts from google and adjust to your needs. Thats why I give this book 5 stars since it helps you be a powershell programmer quickly.
Try something else, July 7, 2008
By
DataMan (Minneapolis)
I was disappointed with this book. I personally dislike technical books that bring the writers family/children into it -- send those things into Family Circle. The programming style was poor -- bad for later maintenance and a bad thing to teach beginners. Possibly ok for seasoned programmers, but there are other ways to use one's time. I found too many errors for my taste. Of the first 150 pages, I think it could have been reduced to about 20, at most. In short, I will have to read another book to accomplish what this one was supposed to do.
Not for people with any programming experience, June 15, 2008
By
M. JensenI admit, this review maybe a little biased, because I do have some programming experience, but I didn't have any powershell experience so I bought this and the Manning book in the amazon package deal. This book is what it says, for absolute beginners. It babies you through gaming examples more so by throwing code at you and hoping you pick it up, as opposed to explaining what is really going on. Also, half the pages are filled with charts and lists of powershell commands that our easily accessible using powershell itself. Additionally, the book does not focus on any of the more intermediate topics except for a 10 page or so focus on system administration. In all reality, if you have no programming experience at all, this is the book for you. If you have used the command line extensively and/or any scripting language (or really any language), get the Manning book and don't waste your time with this one.
Good beginners book for Windows powershell, May 29, 2008
By
Darren A. Allicock (New York, N.Y.)
This book is pretty well laid out. When I say beginner, I mean someone who is familiar with vbscript, Vb, etc. It gives a great introduction to powershell and then gradually builds up the reader's skill level using powershell. Of course, with any programming language you will have to practice. I believe this book is worth purchasing. The reason I gave it 3 stars...I don't have anything else to compare it to you. I probably won't either, because MS pretty much has every reference to a command etc. on it's support website. Also as with vbscript, once you understand the language.. you can always Google an example and use it as a baseline to produce a script.
