Chapter 5: Variables, Arrays, Objects and Escape Sequences

Overview

In PowerShell you will find yourself constantly working with variables, arrays, and objects. Understanding how to work with these elements is fundamental to understanding the shell. In this chapter we'll begin exploring the real nuts and bolts of PowerShell.

PowerShell's power lies in its ability to manipulate objects and command output, parameters, strings, variables, and more. By understanding how PowerShell accomplishes this, you'll be better prepared to manage your systems with PowerShell either straight from the command line or in a PowerShell script. If you're familiar with Microsoft Windows Cmd shell, this power and flexibility will be new and exciting because PowerShell is an object-oriented shell, while Cmd is text-oriented, which makes it much more limited.