PowerShell Tips to Write By
PowerShell Tips to Write By
Building better PowerShell scripts one tip at a time
About the Book
Hi,
I'm Adam Bertram. I've been writing PowerShell for over ten years. I was one of the first Microsoft PowerShell MVPs. I am a published author on PowerShell, avid learn PowerShell blogger and have authored dozens of courses on PowerShell. I'm a bit obsessed with this language.
For this eBook, I've teamed up with Bryce Mcdonald, another PowerShell expert. We're bringing you an eBook that covers hundreds of tips and tricks to teach you how to write PowerShell code.
You don't have to waste time watching dozens of courses or poring over hundreds of articles to write better PowerShell. You'll never catch all the tips anyway.
We've boiled down our collective PowerShell experience and knowledge into easily-referenceable, bite-sized form. We've also included dozens of tips from the PowerShell community! This eBook is the biggest collection of tips available to help you write better PowerShell scripts.
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Learn Best Practices
PowerShell is flexible to the developer (maybe a little too flexible). There are dozens of ways to get tasks done. But how do you know it's the best way? See how PowerShell experts solve PowerShell problems in snackable, knowledge nuggets. Don't get immediately bogged down in the specifics.
Discover New PowerShell Articles, Courses, Videos and More
Rather than diving deep into topics, we cover all the best PowerShell tips and tricks in tip form. Not only will you see what's possible, but we'll also give you a link to a hand-picked resource (paid or free). These resources will cover a topic in-depth — no more Googling around for how-to articles!
Think of this book as your gateway to being a PowerShell pro. Discover new resources you may not know exist that go in-depth on topics you'd like to learn more about.
Build Better PowerShell Code One Tip at a Time
Use this book as a reference. Use the book as a guide to help you remember the basics or learn new tricks. Encourage co-workers to buy this book to ensure your entire team writes better code. Learn better ways to write PowerShell one tip at a time!
About the Author
Bundles that include this book
About the Contributors
Table of Contents
- About This Book
- About the Authors
- Feedback
-
Introduction
- Tip Format
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Do The Basics
- Plan Before you Code
- Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
- Build Functions as Building Blocks
- Build Re-usable Tools
- Don’t Focus Purely on Peformance
- Build Pester tests
- Implement Error handling
- Build Manageable Code
- Don’t Skimp on Security
- Log Script Activity
- Parameterize Everything
- Limit Script and Function Input
- Maintain Coding Standards
- Code in Context
- Return Informative Output
- Understand Your Code
- Use Version Control
- Write for Cross Platform
- Write for the Next Person
- Use a Code Editor
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Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
- Use Community Modules
- Leverage Others’ work
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Plan Before you Code
- Write Comments Before Coding
- Use your Code as a Todo List
-
Create Building Blocks with Functions
- Write Functions with One, Single Goal
- Build Functions with Pipeline Support
- Save Commonly-Used, Interactive Functions to Your Profile
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Parameterize Everything
- Don’t Hardcode. Always Use Parameters
- Use Parameter Sets When All Parameters Should Not be Used at Once
- Use a PSCredential Object Rather than a Separate Username and Password
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Log Script Activity
- Use a Logging Function
- Clean up Verbose Messages
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Build with Manageability in Mind
- DRY: Don’t Repeat Yourself
- Don’t Store Configuration Items in Code
- Always Remove Dead Code
-
Be Specific
- Use Strict Mode
- Don’t Ignore Errors
- Validate Input Parameters
- Explicitly Define Parameter Types
- Enforce Mandatory Parameters
- Use the #requires Statement
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Write for the Next Person
- Give your Variables Meaningful Names
- String Substitution
- Don’t use Aliases in a Script
- Put functions in Alphabetical Order in a Module
- Explain Regular Expressions with Comments
- Write Comment-Based Help
- Weigh the Difference Between Performance and Readability
-
Handle Errors Gracefully
- Force Hard-Terminating Errors
- Avoid Using $?
-
Copy
$Error[0]to your Own Variable
-
Don’t Skimp on Security
- Sign Scripts
- Use Scriptblock Logging
- Never Store Sensitive Information in Clear Text in Code
- Don’t use Invoke-Expression
- Use PowerShell Constrained Language Mode
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Stick to PowerShell
- Use Native PowerShell Where Possible
- Use PowerShell standard cmdlet naming
-
Build Tools
- Code for Portablity
- Wrap Command-Line Utilities in Functions
- Force Functions to Return Common Object Types
- Ensure Module Functions Cover all the Verbs
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Return Stndardized, Informative Output
- Use Progress Bars Wisely
- Leave the Format Cmdlets to the Console
- Use Write-Verbose
- Use Write-Information
- Ensure a Command Returns One Type of Object
- Only Return Necessary Information to the Pipeline
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Build Scripts for Speed
- Use an ArrayList or GenericList .NET Class when Elements Need to be Added to an Array
- Use a Regular Expression to Search Multiple String Values
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Don’t use
Write-Hostin Bulk - Don’t use the Pipeline
-
Use the
.foreach()and.where()Methods - Use Parallel Processing
- Use the .NET StreamReader Class When Reading Large Text Files
-
Build Tests
- Learn the Pester Basics
- Leverage Infrastructure Tests
- Automate Pester Tests
- Use PSScriptAnalyzer
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Miscellaneous Tips
- Write for Cross Platform
- Don’t Query the Win32_Product CIM Class
- Create a Shortcut to run PowerShell as Administrator
- Store ‘Formatable’ Strings for Use Later
- Use Out-GridView for GUI-based Sorting and Filtering
- Don’t Make Automation Scripts Interactive
- Summary
- Release Notes
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