Windows PowerShell is a new Windows command-line shell and scripting language designed especially for system administrators. Windows PowerShell is object orientated and built on top of the .NET Framework, and accepts and returns .NET Framework objects. Windows PowerShell helps IT professionals and power users control and automate the administration of the Windows operating system and applications that run on Windows.

Windows PowerShell gives you access to the file system on the computer. In addition, Windows PowerShell providers enable you to access other data stores, such as the registry and the digital signature certificate stores, as easily as you access the file system.

Windows PowerShell introduces the concept of a cmdlet (pronounced "command-let"), a simple, single-function command-line tool built into the shell. Most of the cmdlets are very simple, and each cmdlet can be used either separately or in combination with other cmdlets. Windows PowerShell includes more than one hundred basic core cmdlets, and you can also write your own cmdlets and share them with other users.

Each cmdlet has a help file that you can access by typing:

get-help <cmdlet-name> -detailed

The detailed view of the cmdlet help file includes a description of the cmdlet, the command syntax, descriptions of the parameters, and an example that demonstrate use of the cmdlet.

You can start Windows PowerShell from the Start menu, from the taskbar, from the Search or Run box, from a Command Prompt window, or even from another Windows PowerShell session.

You can run Windows command-line programs in Windows PowerShell, and you can start Windows programs that have a graphical user interface, such as Notepad and Calculator, at the Windows Powershell prompt. You can also capture the text that Windows programs generate and use that text in Windows PowerShell. You can even use Windows PowerShell cmdlets, like Select-String, to manipulate the text that Windows programs return.

There are two ways of using Windows PowerShell: either through a command-line interface, known as the Windows PowerShell console (powershell.exe), or through the Windows PowerShell Interactive Scripting Environment (ISE) graphical interface (Powershell_ise.exe).

I have just started learning Powershell 2.0 to be used with SharePoint 2010 administration. Keep visiting the site, I will post more articles on PowerShell 2.0 as soon as I explore more.