Getting Started with Windows PowerShell 3.0
Windows PowerShell 3.0 offers signficant improvements over its predecessor. Per TechNet (Source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh857339.aspx), this includes and is not limited to:
- Disconnected Sessions
- Windows PowerShell Workflow
- Windows PowerShell Web Access
- Scheduled Jobs
- Module Auto-Loading and Cmdlet Discovery Improvements
- Get-ChildItem Attributes and Recursive Searches
- Map Network Drives
- Extend Types Without Types.ps1xml Files
- Simplified Syntax for Where-Object and ForEach-Object
- Updatable Help
- Enhanced Online Help
- Define Custom Session Configurations with a File
- Windows PowerShell Remoting on Public Networks
- Certificate Provider Support for Web Hosting
- Show-Command
- Unblock-File
- Web Cmdlets
Two of my favorite features are IntelliSense within the ISE, and the use of scheduled jobs to execute scripts. Shipping with Windows 8 and Server 2012, PowerShell 3.0 can also be obtained as a download for those running the following operating systems:
- Windows 7 Service Pack 1
- Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
- Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
Here is the link to download Windows PowerShell 3.0:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29939
It also requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0. This can be downloaded here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17851
Please note that other requirements may be necessary depending on your operating system. Please review the system requirements and installation instructions carefully.
For a head start into learning Windows PowerShell 3.0, check out the following link:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb978526.aspx