Formatting Data in PowerShell

PowerShell formats cmdlet output by default, but how does that work? How do you work with getting data out of PowerShell? This course will teach you the fundamentals of formatting data in PowerShell.

There will come a time where you’ll want or need to leverage PowerShell to work with different formats of data. When you run cmdlets in the console, you don’t always get the data presented in the format you want. In this course, Formatting Data in PowerShell, you’ll learn how to manipulate and format data how you need, when you need it. First you’ll understand why and how PowerShell formats data by default when you aren't explicitly telling it what to do. Next, you'll work with the different format commands in PowerShell to understand the benefits of each format type, and learn how to explicitly define the format you want. Finally, you’ll learn how to get data out of PowerShell by leveraging the "out" cmdlets, whether that be to the screen, to a file, or to a printer! When you’re finished with this course, you’ll have the skills and knowledge of PowerShell needed to work with data in PowerShell.

Before beginning the course, you should be familiar with the PowerShell language, understand how to run and pipe commands, and also be comfortable with using PowerShell parameters. This course is a part of Pluralsight's PowerShell Fundamentals learning path, so if you need to brush up on some of those concepts, we've got you covered here in the Pluralsight library.

PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and the associated scripting language.

PowerShell combines command-line speed, the flexibility of scripting, and the power of a GUI-based admin tool. PowerShell is a powerful scripting tool that can greatly expedite your admin tasks. You should learn it because all the server products that Microsoft is producing now can be managed through PowerShell. If you haven't had a chance to learn how to use it, you might want to make time for it now.

A cmdlet is a lightweight command that is used in the PowerShell environment. The PowerShell runtime invokes these cmdlets within the context of automation scripts that are provided at the command line.

Use $PSVersionTable.PSVersion to determine the engine version. If the variable does not exist, it is safe to assume the engine is version 1.0.

In order to learn Powershell well enough to get started it will take somewhere between 30–40 hours of study, practice and explanation. Learning Powershell is a constant process.