27 Never the end
This concluding chapter emphasizes that finishing the book is just the beginning of your PowerShell journey. With the foundational skills you’ve gained, you’re equipped to keep exploring, learning on your own, and applying the shell across Windows, Linux, and macOS. The goal is to orient you toward what to learn next and how to build on your ability to use existing commands to solve real problems.
The authors encourage moving from being a tool user to a toolmaker by combining commands into reusable, parameterized scripts and functions that automate multistep processes for yourself and others. They highlight areas worth deeper study, such as the scripting language, scope, functions, error handling, writing help, debugging, custom formatting and type extensions, building modules, working with databases and workflows, troubleshooting pipelines and complex objects, localization, proxy functions, constrained remoting, and leveraging .NET. Specialized domains are noted too, including dbatools for database administration, and the broader developer-focused ecosystem around PowerShell.
For practical next steps, pick a repetitive task from your environment and automate it—accepting that the first version may take time, but the payoff comes with reuse. Example projects include changing service account passwords across many machines, automating user provisioning, managing mailbox reporting and operations, and provisioning IIS websites. The chapter closes with pragmatic advice: don’t overcomplicate things; PowerShell can orchestrate existing, battle-tested utilities when they’re the best tool for the job.
Other resources you’ll grow to love
We spend a lot of time working with, writing about, and teaching PowerShell. Ask our families—sometimes we barely shut up about it long enough to eat dinner. That means we’ve accumulated a lot of online resources that we use daily and that we recommend to all of our students. Hopefully, they’ll provide you with a good starting point as well.
- https://powershell.org —This should be your first stop. You’ll find everything from Q&A forums to free e-books, free webinars to live educational events, and a lot more. It’s a central gathering place for a big chunk of the PowerShell community, including a podcast that’s run for years and years.
- https://youtube.com/powershellorg PowerShell.Org’s YouTube Channel has tons of free PowerShell videos, including sessions recorded at the PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit.
- https://jdhitsolutions.com —This is Jeff Hick’s all-purpose scripting and PowerShell blog.
- https://devopscollective.org —This is the parent organization for PowerShell .org, focused on the bigger-picture DevOps approach to IT management.
Students often ask if there are any other PowerShell books that we recommend. Two are Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches and PowerShell in Depth (both available from Manning). Windows PowerShell in Action, (Manning, 2017) is a comprehensive look at the language by one of its designers, Bruce Payette, along with Richard Siddaway, a Microsoft MVP. We also recommend PowerShell Deep Dives (Manning, 2013), a collection of deep technical articles authored by PowerShell MVPs (proceeds from the book benefit the Save the Children charity, so please buy three copies). Finally, if you’re a fan of video training, there are plenty of PowerShell at http://Pluralsight.com. And Tyler has a video introduction to PowerShell, How to Navigate the PowerShell Help System originally recorded for Twitch, now available for free at Manning.com [https://livevideo.manning.com/module/378_1_1/how-to-navigate-help-system-powershell/author-talk/author-talk].
FAQ
What should I do after finishing the book?
Pick a real, repetitive task from your day-to-day work and automate it with PowerShell. You’ll learn fastest by solving a problem you care about, and the next time you need it, the work is already done.What does “toolmaking” mean in PowerShell?
Toolmaking is combining multiple commands into parameterized scripts or functions that automate multi-step processes and can be reused by you and others.I’m a DBA—what should I explore next?
Check out the dbatools PowerShell module. It provides hundreds of commands to safely and quickly automate SQL Server tasks and has an active, welcoming community.Which topics should I study to become an effective toolmaker?
- PowerShell’s simplified scripting language and scope
- Functions (building multiple tools in one script)
- Error handling, debugging, and writing help
- Custom formatting views and type extensions
- Script and manifest modules
- Using databases and workflows
- Pipeline troubleshooting and complex object hierarchies
- Globalization/localization, proxy functions
- Constrained remoting and delegated administration
- Using .NET from PowerShell
How do I start combining commands into reusable tools?
Create parameterized scripts or functions that chain the commands you already know. Package them together, validate inputs, handle errors, and include help so others can run them.What are some project ideas to practice after this chapter?
- Rotate a service’s logon password across multiple computers
- Automate new user provisioning (accounts, mailboxes, home directories)
- Report on or manage Exchange/M365 mailboxes (sizes, charge-backs)
- Provision new IIS websites using the WebAdministration module
Learn PowerShell in a Month of Lunches, Fourth Edition ebook for free
