If you’re a fan of the command prompt, batch files, or scripting, then you’re probably going to want to check out PowerShell. Powershell has been out for quite awhile, but more and more it’s going to become a very valuable administration tool.

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Yes, it looks just like the command prompt, but an example of the primary difference between the command prompt and PowerShell is that when you perform a directory (dir) command in the command prompt, the output is text. Each directory entry is just a string of characters.

PowerShell is object oriented. With PowerShell, each directory entry is an object. Not only can you see what directories are there, but you can also pull each object’s attributes, or send the objects to another PowerShell command.

I’m still just learning, so of course, the first thing I did is search for resources, and there’s a whole lot of them. Here I’ve included some of the ones I like so far, from blogs about PowerShell to tutorials.

Check out some of the links below, and you’ll see more of the Power of PowerShell.

- PowerShell Pro! – PowerShell Pro’s intent is to show us how to use and benefit from PowerShell. He has a great tutorial, which I’m working my way through now, that I highly suggest if you want to learn PowerShell.

- Tech Prosaic – I recently started following Halr9000 on Twitter, which is a well timed coincidence, since he has a great blog that covers PowerShell, among other things, and I’m trying to learn PowerShell. On his blog, he posts tutorials, scripts, and examples of problem solving with PowerShell. For example, here’s a post that shows you how to Parse Text for IP Addresses.

- The PowerScripting Podcast - Here's a podcast dedicated to PowerShell, including News, Tips and Resources. It's put on by the same author as Tech Prosaic, so you know it's good stuff. (Updated 7/25/2008 @ 20:33)

- Scripting with PowerShell Tech Hub – Straight from the Redmond Giant, this is a great list of resources for learning and using PowerShell. From free books and courseware, to a repository of Scripts, you can find a lot of good info here.

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- Windows PowerShell Owner’s Manual – Another resource from Microsoft, this is a great resource to get the basics down, and start using PowerShell.

I plan to post more about PowerShell as I come up with tips and tricks, so stay tuned.