Book Review – "Windows Powershell 3.0 Step By Step" by Ed Wilson, O’Reilly Media, Inc.
I’ve as I’ve mentioned many times on twitter, I’ve become quite obsessed with Powershell over the last year and a half. I recently joined the O’Reilly Blogger Review Program and here is my first review.
Book Summary
Microsoft Certified Trainer, Ed Wilson, covers all of the facets of Powershell 3.0. Not only does he teach the reader how to use Powershell, he also teaches them to teach themselves Powershell. The book starts with the basics and builds to expert levels on many topics in Powershell. There is a section in the introduction on what chapters to read based on your background and ability and hopes/wants/needs for Powershell. This helped me pick and choose what to read and focus on. At the end of each chapter, there are exercises that really test your knowledge and drill the information into your brain. Also, throughout the book, there are Tips and Notes that help find the important information quickly. Finally, each chapter has a Quick Reference at the end that summarizes the main points which is extremely helpful in getting the information you need.
My Reactions
Since I got this book, I have used it as a reference everyday. In fact, I added a snippet to my $profile to open it when I open Powershell. I’ve seen a few videos and demonstrations of the Get-Command and Get-Member functions, but having the hands on exercises along with the the full explanations helped me finally understand how to use these – and that was in the first chapter! I love the "Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog" and this book uses a similar approach. It keeps things simple and builds upon the simple things. Due to the fact that this book uses a straightforward approach and makes the finding of information very easy, I recommend it to anyone interested in learning and/or improving their Powershell skills.
