Articles from January 2014 on PowerShell.org - Welcome Automaters!

Reporting On Installed Windows Programs Via The Registry

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 14:37:18 +0000

Quite a common request for working with Windows machines is to report the software installed on them. If you don’t have a centralised system for reporting on client software (many places don’t) then you may turn to some form of scripted method to obtain this information.
Most people tend to head to Add / Remove Programs when thinking about what software is installed in Windows. However, not all applications will always populate information in there, depending on how they have been installed. Additionally, to query that information you would typically query the WMI class Win32_Product, however this can lead to performance issues.
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.

The Scripting Games Winter 2014 – Update on Event 1 Scores

Wed, 29 Jan 2014 18:16:58 +0000

Note that scorecards for the first event will not be accurate immediately on Sunday when judging closes; we have the scores in the database, but they’re not tagged in a way the system can find them. The bug has been fixed, but I need to go through and manually re-tag the first day’s scorecards, and it’s going to take a couple of days. This also affect the leaderboard display. I hope to have it fixed over the weekend. Thanks for your patience!

Episode 255 – PowerScripting Podcast – Steve Roberts from Amazon on AWS and PowerShell

Tue, 28 Jan 2014 00:07:40 +0000

A Podcast about Windows PowerShell. Listen:

In This Episode
Tonight on the PowerScripting Podcast, we talk to Steve Roberts from Amazon on Amazon Web Services and PowerShell.

News
-
[The Scripting Games](https://powershell.org/category/announcements/scripting-games/) are going on now!
-
[PowerShell Saturday #007](http://powershellsaturday.com/007/) is on February 8th
-
[PowerShell Saturday #008](http://powershellsaturday.com/008/) is on February 15th

Interview
Guest - Steve Roberts

Links
-
[Amazon Web Services](http://aws.amazon.com/)
-
[AWS Tools for PowerShell](http://aws.amazon.com/powershell/)
-
AWS .Net / PowerShell team
[Windows & .Net Developer Center](http://aws.amazon.com/net/)
-
[Blog](http://aws.amazon.com/net/)
-
Twitter: [@awsfornet](https://twitter.com/awsfornet)
-
[Handling credentials with PowerShell tools](http://blogs.aws.amazon.com/net/post/Tx36NATIEAMER5V/Handling-Credentials-with-AWS-Tools-for-Windows-PowerShell)
Chatroom Highlights:
[21:55:58] [http://amzn.com/1430264519](http://amzn.com/1430264519)
[21:56:13] Pro PowerShell for Amazon Web Services
[21:56:33] Steve (speaking) was a big help with the book
[21:56:43] his team was great
[https://powershell.org/community-events/summit/](https://powershell.org/community-events/summit/)
[http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughpad/us/7-inch-tablet-fz-m1.asp](http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughpad/us/7-inch-tablet-fz-m1.asp)
[http://aws.amazon.com/powershell/](http://aws.amazon.com/powershell/)
[http://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/reference/Index.html](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/reference/Index.html)
[http://aws.amazon.com/](http://aws.amazon.com/)
[http://amzn.com/1430264519](http://amzn.com/1430264519)
[http://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/reference/Index.html](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/reference/Index.html)
[http://aws.amazon.com/net/](http://aws.amazon.com/net/)
[http://blogs.aws.amazon.com/net](http://blogs.aws.amazon.com/net)
[http://www.musicradar.com/us/news/guitars/trent-reznor-talks-johnny-cash-168199](http://www.musicradar.com/us/news/guitars/trent-reznor-talks-johnny-cash-168199)
[https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1607005_10202465193703988_1046463679_n.jpg](https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1607005_10202465193703988_1046463679_n.jpg)
## what does AWS stand for again?
DexterPOSh, please add ## before your questions so they are easier for us to pick out
@JonWalz ...got it ##
## can you give a quick/small example of the differences between AWS and Azure?
## Can I extend my local Lab to include machines from AWS ?
## does he have a blog

The Question - Hero/Power
-
Thor

PowerShell Saturday 007 style

Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:46:49 +0000

Last year was the first annual PowerShell Saturday in Charlotte, NC. We were 002. This year, we are back and will be blowing minds in 007 style. We have some great speakers and sessions lined up and there are still tickets available.

The popular Iron Scripter! competition will also be back.

All of the information you could want to know about this event is located on the PowerShell Saturday site. Jump on over, take a look around, and don’t forget to register.

PowerShell Tip from the Head Coach of the 2014 Winter Scripting Games: Design for Performance and Efficiency!

Thu, 23 Jan 2014 14:28:33 +0000

There are several concepts that come to mind when discussing the topic of designing your PowerShell commands for performance and efficiency, but in my opinion one of the items at the top of the list is “Filtering Left” which is what I’ll be covering in this blog article.
First, let’s start out by taking a look at an example of a simple one-liner command that’s poorly written from a performance and efficiency standpoint:
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.
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PhillyPoSH 01/09/2014 meeting summary and presentation materials

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 22:53:52 +0000

Lido Paglia gave a presentation entitled “A PowerShell beginner’s guide to using GitHub”. During his talk Lido went over the history of GitHub and how you can use it to manage your scripts and to collaboratively code (e.g. The Winter Scripting games!). A copy of his presentation materials are available on our GitHub Repository.
Lido Paglia and John Mello both went over their approach to the homework problem they presented during the 11/07/2013 meeting. You can find a copy of Lido’s and John’s script in our GitHub Repository.
A recording of this meeting has been posted to our YouTube channel; please note that there are some audio issues near the end of the recording.

Adding and Removing Items from a PowerShell Array

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 11:46:35 +0000

Adding and removing Items from a PowerShell array is a topic which can lead to some confusion, so here are a few tips for you.
Create an array and we will note the type System.Array:
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.

Testing for Admin Privileges in PowerShell

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 10:27:53 +0000

Sometimes when running a PowerShell script you may need to test at the beginning whether the process it was called from had Windows admin privileges in order to be able to achieve what it needs to do. Prior to PowerShell v4 I had used something along the lines of the following to test for this condition – not the most obvious piece of code ever to be fair:
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.

Winter Scripting Games 2014 Tip #2: Use #Requires to let PowerShell do the work for you

Tue, 21 Jan 2014 03:51:34 +0000

In Version 2 of PowerShell, you had the ability to use #Requires –Version 2.0 to ensure that your scripts/functions would only run at a specified PowerShell version to prevent folks running an older version from wondering why things weren’t working that well.
In this article, I will show you a couple of new additions to the #Requires statement that will make your life easier when writing functions that require specific pre-requisites rather than coding your own methods
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article..

Scripting Games 2014 – event submission tip

Sat, 18 Jan 2014 12:21:45 +0000

I’ve testing out the judging system using the practice event and one thing jumped out at me.
It was a lot easier to understand the entries for those teams that included a transcript of their entry.
I would very strongly recommend that you include a transcript of your entry running. As a minimum I would recommend that you include:

the solution running - show each type of input required by the scenario (pipeline, single values, file etc)
if parameter validation is asked for - show that in action
show error handling in action if you can
show the partial contents of any output file
Transcripts make for happy judges. You want your judges to be happy don’t you…

Winter Scripting Games 2014 Tip #1: Avoid the aliases

Fri, 17 Jan 2014 03:57:53 +0000

Having been a judge for the previous 2 Scripting Game competitions as well as competing in the 2 before that, I have seen my share of scripts submitted that didn’t quite meet the cut of what I felt were the best scripts. It doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t work out in the real world in a production environment (Ok, some wouldn’t :)), but some were just really hard to read or others were doing things that I wouldn’t consider to be a good practice. The first of several articles that I will be doing will start out with the use of aliases in scripts and why this is not necessarily a good idea.
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.

PowerShell Tip #3 from the Winner of the Advanced Category in the 2013 Scripting Games

Thu, 16 Jan 2014 14:18:54 +0000

In my previous blog article (PowerShell Tip #2), I left off with the subject of inline help and stated there was a better way. I’m fast-forwarding through lots of concepts and jumping right into “Advanced Functions and Scripts” with this tip because they are where you’ll find the answer to a “better way” to add inline help.
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.
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Winter Scripting Games 2014

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 10:00:48 +0000

If you’re looking to learn or improve on existing skills as part of a new year goal and one of those in PowerShell, then you may find it useful to check out the Winter Scripting Games 2014. When you are looking to improve your scripting skills it can sometimes be tricky if you don’t have a practical problem to solve. By taking part in these games you will have a number of opportunities to apply your skills to _real _problems.
Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.

Tampa Bay Powershell User Group – Jan Meeting

Mon, 13 Jan 2014 13:37:14 +0000

Next meeting:
Topic: Winter Scripting Games Kickoff and Team formation
Jan 16th 2014 6 – 8 PM back at Tek System Tampa Office
FOOD PROVDED
RSVP via – http://www.eventbrite.com/e/tampa-powershell-user-group-tickets-1634714475
4301 West Boy Scout Boulevard
Suite 590
Tampa, FL 33607

Scripting Games Winter 2014 – WE HAS PRIZES!!

Fri, 10 Jan 2014 19:43:49 +0000

Many thanks to SAPIEN Technologies for providing - completely without us asking - first-place and overall-best prizes for The Scripting Games!
We’ll have copies of PowerShell Studio (x2), PrimalScript (x2), and the entire SAPIEN Software Suite (x1) for our overall top-scoring team at the end of the Games. Team members can decide how to divvy up the loo themselves.
Remember that Event 1 is coming up soon:

Instructions available 2014-01-18 00:00:00 UTC
Entries accepted starting 2014-01-19 00:00:00 UTC
All entries due by 2014-01-26 00:00:00 UTC

**You must be registered and on a team before we begin accepting entries, or you will not be able to participate. **Any latecomers will not be allowed to chat or upload files, even if they join a team.

PowerShell Tip #2 from the Winner of the Advanced Category in the 2013 Scripting Games

Thu, 09 Jan 2014 14:10:35 +0000

Tip #2 - Comment (Document) your code!
This is another one of those tips that probably isn’t very popular, but regardless of how good you are at writing PowerShell scripts and functions, they’re useless if no one else can figure out how to use them. You might be thinking that you’re the only one who uses the PowerShell code that you write, but I’m sure that you like to go on vacation just like the rest of us and none of us are going to live forever.
In my tip #1 blog you learned that you need to “Read the Help!”. This tip builds on the first one because it allows others to “Read the Help!” for the PowerShell code that you write.
The type of help that you want to provide for your PowerShell functions and scripts is “Comment Based Help”. Click here to be redirected to the original post of this article on the author’s blog site where you can read the remainder of the article.
µ

PowerShell Summit North America 2014 – Some More Reasons to Register!

Tue, 07 Jan 2014 19:17:37 +0000

PowerShell Summit North America Registration is in full swing, and we’ve got about 50 more spots to reach our break-even goal. Hopefully, those of you that have been holding off for budgetary reasons are now “weapons free” and can plan to join us in April 2014!

Articles from January 2014 on PowerShell.org - Welcome Automaters!

Reporting On Installed Windows Programs Via The Registry

The Scripting Games Winter 2014 – Update on Event 1 Scores

Episode 255 – PowerScripting Podcast – Steve Roberts from Amazon on AWS and PowerShell

PowerShell Saturday 007 style

PowerShell Tip from the Head Coach of the 2014 Winter Scripting Games: Design for Performance and Efficiency!

PhillyPoSH 01/09/2014 meeting summary and presentation materials

Adding and Removing Items from a PowerShell Array

Testing for Admin Privileges in PowerShell

Winter Scripting Games 2014 Tip #2: Use #Requires to let PowerShell do the work for you

Scripting Games 2014 – event submission tip

Winter Scripting Games 2014 Tip #1: Avoid the aliases

PowerShell Tip #3 from the Winner of the Advanced Category in the 2013 Scripting Games

Winter Scripting Games 2014

Tampa Bay Powershell User Group – Jan Meeting

Scripting Games Winter 2014 – WE HAS PRIZES!!

PowerShell Tip #2 from the Winner of the Advanced Category in the 2013 Scripting Games

PowerShell Summit North America 2014 – Some More Reasons to Register!

Confirmed PowerShell Product Team Presenters

Scripting Games Winter 2014 – Team Discussion Tips

Scripting Games Winter 2014 – Teams in Danger

Script for Setting Up and Demoing a DSC Pull Server

Scripting Games Winter 2014 Notice

Scripting Games Winter 2014 – Practice Event Rules

PowerShell Tip #1 from the Winner of the Advanced Category in the 2013 Scripting Games

Winter Scripting Games Team Formation in Full Swing

Using Install-WindowsFeature with Offline Source

Articles from January 2014 on PowerShell.org - Welcome Automaters!

Reporting On Installed Windows Programs Via The Registry

The Scripting Games Winter 2014 – Update on Event 1 Scores

Episode 255 – PowerScripting Podcast – Steve Roberts from Amazon on AWS and PowerShell

PowerShell Saturday 007 style

PowerShell Tip from the Head Coach of the 2014 Winter Scripting Games: Design for Performance and Efficiency!

PhillyPoSH 01/09/2014 meeting summary and presentation materials

Adding and Removing Items from a PowerShell Array

Testing for Admin Privileges in PowerShell

Winter Scripting Games 2014 Tip #2: Use #Requires to let PowerShell do the work for you

Scripting Games 2014 – event submission tip

Winter Scripting Games 2014 Tip #1: Avoid the aliases

PowerShell Tip #3 from the Winner of the Advanced Category in the 2013 Scripting Games

Winter Scripting Games 2014

Tampa Bay Powershell User Group – Jan Meeting

Scripting Games Winter 2014 – WE HAS PRIZES!!

PowerShell Tip #2 from the Winner of the Advanced Category in the 2013 Scripting Games

PowerShell Summit North America 2014 – Some More Reasons to Register!

Confirmed PowerShell Product Team Presenters

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