Features of PowerShell



PowerShell is a departure from the current management interfaces in Windows. As such, it has been built from the ground up to include a number of features that make CLI (Command-Line Interface) and script-based administration easier.

Some of PowerShell’s more key features are as follows:

1) It has 130 built-in command-line tools (referred to as cmdlets).

2) The scripting language is designed to be readable and easy to use.

3) PowerShell supports existing scripts, command-line tools, and automation interfaces, such as WMI, ADSI, .NET Framework, ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and so on.

4) It follows a strict naming convention for commands based on a verb-noun format.

5) It supports a number of different Windows operating systems: Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows Vista, and, now, Windows Server 2008.

6) It provides direct “access to and navigation of” the Windows Registry, certificate store, and file system using a common set of commands.

7) PowerShell is object based, which allows data (objects) to be piped between commands.

8) It is extensible, which allows third parties (as noted earlier) to build upon and extend PowerShell’s already rich interfaces for managing Windows and other Microsoft platforms.