Full Answer
How do I get Started with PowerShell?
How Do I Get Started With Powershell? PowerShell ISE can be launched using the Start button by typing powershellexe. ISE -which makes writing PowerShell script and testing easier by combining syntax highlighting, auto-filling of command marks, and other automation features – is the best way to work with the language.
How to get a computer name with PowerShell?
The acceptable values for this parameter are:
- Basic
- CredSSP
- Default
- Digest
- Kerberos
- Negotiate
What is PowerShell and why use it?
PowerShell is an open source shell and scripting language built on top of Microsoft .NET technology. It aims to help tech pros that may not be software developers build efficient scripts and tools to help them do their job better.
What are the basics of PowerShell?
- Set-ExecutionPolicy
- Get-Service
- Show-Command
What does $() do in PowerShell?
$( ) Subexpression operator. Use a SubExpression to return specific properties of an object. Unlike simple ( ) grouping expressions, a subexpression can contain multiple ; semicolon ; separated ; statements. The output of each statement contributes to the output of the subexpression.
What does $_ in PowerShell mean?
$_ in the PowerShell is the 'THIS' toke. It refers to the current item in the pipeline. It can be considered as the alias for the automatic variable $PSItem.
What does @{ mean in PowerShell?
In PowerShell V2, @ is also the Splat operator. PS> # First use it to create a hashtable of parameters: PS> $params = @{path = "c:\temp"; Recurse= $true} PS> # Then use it to SPLAT the parameters - which is to say to expand a hash table PS> # into a set of command line parameters.
What does $Script mean in PowerShell?
This automatic variable is introduced in PowerShell 3.0. $PSScriptRoot - Contains the directory from which a script is being run. In PowerShell 2.0, this variable is valid only in script modules ( . psm1 ). Beginning in PowerShell 3.0, it is valid in all scripts.
What is $_ FullName in PowerShell?
$_.FullName # this refers specifically to the FullName property } Get-ChildItem -Path C:\Windows | ForEach-Object { $_ # this references the entire object returned. $_. FullName # this refers specifically to the FullName property.
What does $null mean in PowerShell?
PowerShell $null $null is an automatic variable in PowerShell used to represent NULL. You can assign it to variables, use it in comparisons and use it as a place holder for NULL in a collection. PowerShell treats $null as an object with a value of NULL.
What is @{} in PowerShell?
@{} in PowerShell defines a hashtable, a data structure for mapping unique keys to values (in other languages this data structure is called "dictionary" or "associative array").
What is recurse in PowerShell?
-Recurse is a classic switch, which instructs PowerShell commands such as Get-ChildItem to repeat in sub directories. Once you remember that -Recurse comes directly after the directory, then it will serve you well in scripts that need to drill down to find information.
What is Dot in PowerShell?
The PowerShell dot-source operator brings script files into the current session scope. It is a way to reuse script. All script functions and variables defined in the script file become part of the script it is dot sourced into. It is like copying and pasting text from the script file directly into your script.
What does colon mean in PowerShell?
The answer is that the colon has a special meaning in PowerShell variable names: It's used to associate the variable with a specific scope or namespace. There are a few scopes defined by PowerShell, such as script and global; so for example a global variable might be named $global:var.
Is PowerShell easy to learn?
PowerShell is one of the easiest languages to get started with and learn for multiple reasons. As mentioned before, PowerShell follows a "verb-noun" convention, which makes even more complex scripts easier to use (and read) than a more abstracted language like .
What is null coalescing operator?
The null-coalescing operator ?? returns the value of its left-hand operand if it isn't null. Otherwise, it evaluates the right-hand operand and returns its result. The ?? operator doesn't evaluate its right-hand operand if the left-hand operand evaluates to non-null.
What is the operator that runs the pipeline before it in the background?
Runs the pipeline before it in the background, in a PowerShell job. This operator acts similarly to the UNIX control operator ampersand ( & ), which runs the command before it asynchronously in subshell as a job.
What is a comma in a binary array?
As a binary operator, the comma creates an array or appends to the array being created. In expression mode, as a unary operator, the comma creates an array with just one member. Place the comma before the member.
What is logical operator?
Use logical operators ( -and, -or, -xor, -not, !) to connect conditional statements into a single complex conditional. For example, you can use a logical -and operator to create an object filter with two different conditions.
What is assignment operator?
Use assignment operators ( =, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=) to assign, change, or append values to variables. You can combine arithmetic operators with assignment to assign the result of the arithmetic operation to a variable.
What is the function of arithmetic operators?
Use arithmetic operators ( +, -, *, /, %) to calculate values in a command or expression. With these operators, you can add, subtract, multiply, or divide values, and calculate the remainder (modulus) of a division operation.
What type of operator is used to manipulate bits in a.NET application?
You can use arithmetic operators on any .NET type that implements them, such as: Int, String , DateTime, Hashtable, and Arrays. Bitwise operators ( -band, -bor, -bxor, -bnot, -shl, -shr ) manipulate the bit patterns in values. For more information, see about_Arithmetic_Operators.
What is pipeline in PowerShell?
In PowerShell, the word pipeline generally refers to a series of commands that have been joined together. Individual commands are separated from one another by using the pipe symbol (hence the name pipeline). When commands are joined together in a pipeline, the output from one command is used as input for the next command in the sequence.
Is PowerShell flexible?
PowerShell is extremely flexible when it comes to the ways in which it allows variables to be used. If you look back at the previous screen capture, you will notice that the information that is presented within the output is divided into a series of columns and that each of those columns has a name.
Who is Brien Posey?
Brien Posey is a freelance technology author and speaker with over two decades of IT experience. Prior to going freelance, Brien was a CIO for a national chain of hospitals and healthcare facilities. He has also served as a network engineer for the United States Department of Defense at Fort Knox. In addition, Brien has worked as a network administrator for some of the largest insurance companies in America. To date, Brien has received Microsoft’s MVP award numerous times in categories including Windows Server, IIS, Exchange Server, and File Systems / Storage. You can visit Brien’s Website at: www.brienposey.com.
Question
I know that typically the "%" character is for mod functionality. In some powershell scripts I've come across, I've noticed % being used after the | character and I can't seem to find what the syntax means.
Answers
The above only works with PowerShell v2. V1 doesn't support the -Definition parameter.
All replies
The above only works with PowerShell v2. V1 doesn't support the -Definition parameter.
What is a plain parentheses?
Plain parentheses act as a grouping expression to encapsulate a single cmdlet or a single sequence, where a sequence might be something piped to something else that is piped to something else again. The output of a sequence comes only from the terminal command or cmdlet of the pipeline, i.e. a single source.
How many streams are there in PowerShell?
PowerShell has those and more, because there are five streams: standard, error, warning, verbose, and debug output streams.
How to use quotation marks in PowerShell?
Use quotation marks (single or double) to surround string literals in PowerShell, just as you do in many other languages. I would like to say that quoting is so simple in PowerShell that hardly anything needs to be said… but that’s not quite the case. In fact, I wrote a whole article about the nitty-gritty details about quoting (see When to Quote in PowerShell ): But in a nutshell, use double quotes if you want variables and expressions to be interpolated within your literal, and use single quotes if you do not. That applies to both regular strings ( "..." and '...') and here strings ( @'...'@ and @"..."@ ), the latter typically used for multi-line strings.
How to be productive with PowerShell?
Though it requires effort to learn, you can be quite productive with PowerShell after gaining only a small proportion of the skills and then acquiring more incrementally as you need to. Probably the most oft-cited hurdle of getting up to speed with PowerShell is learning the syntax and, in particular, the punctuation.
What is parentheses in PowerShell?
Though sometimes an expression may stand alone (you could just type 5 + 3, for example, and press return to evaluate that expression), parentheses are often a key element to an expression in PowerShell.
What are the characters in a basic variable?
A basic variable may contain only letters, numbers, underscores, and question marks. (Note that letter and number are in the context of several specific Unicode character classes (Lu, Ll, Lt, Lm, Lo, or Nd), so there are many more characters permitted beyond the 36 standard English ones-18,571 more to be precise!)
What is the first rule for variables in PowerShell?
Variables are very simple in PowerShell-except for the complicating, little details. The first simple rule: all variables begin with a dollar sign ( $ ). And the first exception: except when you want to use a hash table or an array to splat parameters to a function or cmdlet, then your variable starts with an at-sign.

Long Description
Arithmetic Operators
- Use arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /, %) to calculate values in acommand or expression. With these operators, you can add, subtract, multiply,or divide values, and calculate the remainder (modulus) of a divisionoperation. The addition operator concatenates elements. The multiplication operatorreturns the specified number of copies of each element. ...
Assignment Operators
- Use assignment operators (=, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=) to assign, change,or append values to variables. You can combine arithmetic operators withassignment to assign the result of the arithmetic operation to a variable. For more information, seeabout_Assignment_Operators.
Comparison Operators
- Use comparison operators (-eq, -ne, -gt, -lt, -le, -ge) to comparevalues and test conditions. For example, you can compare two string values todetermine whether they are equal. The comparison operators also include operators that find or replace patternsin text. The (-match, -notmatch, -replace) operators use regularexpressions, and (-like, -notlike) use wildcards *. Containment comparison operators determine whether a test value appears in areferen…
Logical Operators
- Use logical operators (-and, -or, -xor, -not, !) to connectconditional statements into a single complex conditional. For example, you canuse a logical -andoperator to create an object filter with two differentconditions. For more information, see about_Logical_Operators.
Redirection Operators
- Use redirection operators (>, >>, 2>, 2>>, and 2>&1) to send theoutput of a command or expression to a text file. The redirection operatorswork like the Out-File cmdlet (without parameters) but they also let youredirect error output to specified files. You can also use the Tee-Objectcmdlet to redirect output. For more information, see about_Redirection
Split and Join Operators
- The -split and -join operators divide and combine substrings. The -splitoperator splits a string into substrings. The -joinoperator concatenatesmultiple strings into a single string. For more information, see about_Split andabout_Join.
Type Operators
- Use the type operators (-is, -isnot, -as) to find or change the .NETFramework type of an object. For more information, see about_Type_Operators.
Unary Operators
- Use the unary ++ and -- operators to increment or decrement values and- for negation. For example, to increment the variable $a from 9 to10, you type $a++. For more information, see about_Arithmetic_Operators.
Special Operators
- Special operators have specific use-cases that do not fit into any otheroperator group. For example, special operators allow you to run commands,change a value's data type, or retrieve elements from an array.