Introduction

Computer system administration can be difficult, especially when you deal with large or complex computing systems. Even in the case where systems are smaller and less complex, routine maintenance can also represent another challenge. PowerShell is a system administration and configuration technology that is designed specifically to address these challenges.

Learning a new technology within the fast and vast field of computing system administration can be daunting and very difficult, especially when involved technologies are both fast-changing and difficult to grasp. In these situations, it is useful to have a comprehensive guide that can help you learn the most important components of the technology in question quickly. In addition, the guide should summarize the learning items into a compact set that can help you translate the technology into everyday use.

This is precisely what this book is for PowerShell 7.0 does for beginners. This book will provide you, as the reader, with a comprehensive foundation to a new and exciting technology in the form of PowerShell 7.0. This book has the crisp rigor of computer programming presented in a compact manner while maintaining the full comprehensive scope. The ideas presented here capture the best system administration and configuration technologies from the fast-changing landscape of the Microsoft .NET platform.  These ideas are presented to you in a manner that is easy to learn so that you can quickly put them into practical use.

After reading this book, you can begin to use the most important technologies in PowerShell 7.0 right away. This will not only improve how you manage computing systems in the present computing landscape, but also how you will adapt to future developments.

PowerShell is a part of some of the most important Microsoft certifications ("Online IT Training Videos, IT Certification Training | CBT Nuggets", 2019), including Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate: Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert: Productivity, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator and MCSE: Mobility.

There are nine categories of scripting languages and roughly 192 languages in total ("Scripting Languages", 2018), with each language evolving in line with the fast-paced developments in the field of computer software. PowerShell became open-source in 2016, thus laying the foundation for the language to evolve at an extremely fast pace. This book will equip you with the skills to not only quickly go from a beginner to an intermediate in one of these languages but also to put the language to practical use very quickly.

PowerShell 7.0 utilizes the latest developments in Microsoft .NET platform stack architecture in the form of the Standard 2.0 library and the .NET Core 3.1 stack ("Announcing The Powershell 7.0 Release Candidate | Powershell", 2019). This book will help you learn how to put to practical use the most important components of these developments within PowerShell 7.0 instantly. Not only will you begin creating custom administration and configuration tools for your computing environments, but you will be able to do so for future PowerShell versions as well.

PowerShell 7.0 can be utilized in various operating system environments (Windows, Linux, and macOS environments), both in local environments and in the cloud. This book will effortlessly equip you with the compact set of requisite knowledge to utilize PowerShell 7.0 in each of these environments in no time.

I can promise that with this book, you will be automating repetitive tasks, running custom encryption protocols, and overseeing large-scale management over complex computing systems effortlessly in little to no time at all. In addition, you will be able to use many of the solutions to real-world problems outlined in this book in your day-to-day tasks (Arntzen, 2019).

It is imperative to remember, however, that any computing system, even a simple example such as your laptop, will continue to grow more complex and difficult to manage with time. The solution to most of your problems may be outlined in the next pages.