Abstraction and Configuration Data

Modularity and abstraction are a huge benefit in scripting and coding. Which of the following blocks of code are easier to understand?

$SQLConnection = New-Object System.Data.SqlClient.SQLConnection $SQLConnection.ConnectionString = 'Server=SqlServer1;Database=MyDB;Integrated Security=True;Connect Timeout=15' $cmd = New-Object system.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM Table1",$SQLConnection) $ds = New-Object system.Data.DataSet $da = New-Object system.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataAdapter($cmd) [void]$da.fill($ds) $SQLConnection.Close() $ds.Tables[0] Or…

# Invoke-Sqlcmd2 -ServerInstance SQLServer1 -Database MyDB -Query 'SELECT * FROM Table1' If you aren’t a masochist, the latter probably looks a bit nicer. Oh, and it offers other parameters, error handling, parameterized SQL queries, built in help, and other benefits the .NET code block misses.

The takeaway? You should be writing or using Advanced Functions and Modules, not monolithic scripts and snippets. Do it for yourself. Do it for anyone who might have to read your code down the line.

Some modules can benefit from persistent configurations. If you have a module that wraps a REST API, you might want to allow the end user to specify a default URL, rather than specify it every time they run a command.

This begs the question: what data format should you use? XML? JSON? YAML? INI?

This is a quick hit on options for storing configuration data in PowerShell.

Don’t be ashamed. Many of us sysadmins pride ourselves on learning through experience. That doesn’t mean you need to re-invent all the wheels. It can be a great learning experience to write your own code and functions, but at the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with finding the best tool for the job, and sticking with it. Developers make a living writing code, yet they all borrow existing libraries.

Once you start writing modules and advanced functions, be sure to share them with the community!

Why on earth you want to create an Escape Room with PowerShell as backend?

I’ve always been a fan of escape rooms, so I decided to create my own for my kids. I wanted to make it something that would be challenging and fun for them, but also educational. I decided to use PowerShell as the backend for the escape room, as I’m a PowerShell developer and I thought it would be a great way to learn more about the language.
The first step was to design the rooms. I wanted to make sure that there were a variety of puzzles and challenges that my kids would have to solve. I also wanted to make sure that the rooms were visually appealing and engaging. Once I had the rooms designed, I started building them.
I used a variety of materials to build the rooms, including wood, cardboard, and fabric. I also used a few electronic components, such as a USB extension cable with a switch and a 3-button keyboard. The USB extension cable with a switch was used to create a physical button that my kids could press to solve one of the puzzles. The 3-button keyboard was used to enter the code that my kids had to find to solve another puzzle.
I also used a few websites to create rebus puzzles that my kids had to solve. I printed out the rebus puzzles and placed them around the rooms. Once my kids had solved all of the puzzles, they were able to enter the code on a single screen to escape the room.
In this blog post, we’ll delve into the process of creating an engaging PowerShell escape room for the global PowerShell community. We’ll emphasize the significance of storytelling and provide a detailed breakdown of the PowerShell structure used for the escape room.

Microsoft Graph PowerShell Module: Getting Started Guide

by Jeff Brown

Microsoft is retiring the Azure AD Graph API sometime after June 30, 2023 (announcement). This retirement includes the Azure AD PowerShell module. In its place, Microsoft has released the Microsoft Graph PowerShell module. The Microsoft Graph PowerShell module is the next-generation way of managing Microsoft cloud services using PowerShell. If you have used MSOnline or Azure AD PowerShell in the past, you’ll need to read on to learn about this new module.

PowerShell.org

Abstraction and Configuration Data

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