What is Windows PowerShell?

Question

What is PowerShell?

I have Windows 7 installed, and I noticed that it has PowerShell. I remember installing this a while back when signing up for Windows Azure, but only

Answer 1

Microsoft PowerShell is Microsoft's new commandline utility that was designed to provide greater control and flexibility to IT administrators.

You can think of it as a really complicated version of the command prompt designed for repeatable tasks.

From Microsoft's website:

Microsoft Windows PowerShell command line shell and scripting language helps IT professionals achieve greater control and productivity. Using a new admin-focused scripting language, more than 130 standard command line tools, and consistent syntax and utilities, Windows PowerShell allows IT professionals to more easily control system administration and accelerate automation. Windows PowerShell is easy to adopt, learn, and use, because it works with your existing IT infrastructure and existing script investments, and because it runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003. Windows PowerShell is now included as part of Windows Server 2008 and can be evaluated in Windows Server 2008 Beta 3. Exchange Server 2007, System Center Operations Manager 2007, System Center Data Protection Manager V2, and System Center Virtual Machine Manager also leverage Windows PowerShell to improve administrator control, efficiency, and productivity.