1 Before you begin
This opening chapter reframes how to learn PowerShell and explains why it has become essential for modern administration. The authors describe the shift from teaching scripters to teaching admins who may have no programming background, emphasizing that PowerShell is first a command-line shell that can be used productively without writing scripts. They contrast the discovery-friendly but inefficient GUI with automation’s compounding returns, note the “last mile” limitations of prior tools like VBScript, and show how Microsoft’s products now expose full administrative coverage through PowerShell—often with GUIs merely calling PowerShell behind the scenes. With broad adoption across Microsoft and beyond, PowerShell has become a foundational skill that distinguishes efficient, automation-minded administrators.
The chapter also sets expectations for cross-platform use. Since PowerShell was open-sourced, it runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS with the same object-centric model, though not all commands exist on non-Windows systems and some content remains Windows-specific. The book primarily serves administrators who run and combine commands, while still benefiting those who want to script, package tools, or develop modules. You’ll learn effective day-to-day command usage first, then progress to automating multi-step tasks, working with remoting, CIM, regular expressions, and other integrations—enough to be productive in production environments, with pointers to deeper resources when you’re ready.
Finally, the chapter explains how to use the book and get set up. Plan on one chapter per day across a month of focused, hands-on practice, with short labs and answers to reinforce skills, plus brief “Above and beyond” sidebars for curious readers. Build a safe lab environment rather than practicing in production; Windows with PowerShell 7 alongside Windows PowerShell 5.1 is recommended, and the authors suggest using a modern editor with the PowerShell extension. Non-Windows installations are supported, but certain examples rely on Windows-only features, and behavior can differ across operating systems. With a single machine (or a small set of test machines) you can complete the exercises, customize your console for readability, and verify your version before diving in.
Being immediately effective with PowerShell
Immediately effective is a phrase we’ve made our primary goal for this entire book. As much as possible, each chapter focuses on something that you could use in a real production environment, right away. That means we sometimes gloss over some details in the beginning, but when necessary we promise to circle back and cover those details at the right time. In many cases, we had to choose between hitting you with 20 pages of theory first, or diving right in and accomplishing something without explaining all the nuances, caveats, and details. When those choices came along, we almost always chose to dive right in, with the goal of making you immediately effective. But all of those important details and nuances are still explained later in the book.
OK, that’s enough background. It’s time to start being immediately effective. Your first lunch lesson awaits.
Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches, Fourth Edition ebook for free
