10 Years of PowerShell!
Is it really 10 years? Time passes so fast.
I was a Sys Admin when PowerShell was released, in November 2006, and I distinctly recall the buzz and confusion.
Buzz - because, as a scripter, a new scripting language, a new Microsoft scripting language was something very cool.
Confusion - because, in my team, we didn't understand how we could use this technology on our Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 infrastructure. Why are MS doing this? Is it going to form part of the next version of Windows? Can we use it for remote administration? Many, many questions.
It was a year before I bought my first PowerShell book in December 2007 - Lee Holmes' Window PowerShell Cookbook. That book really gave me the bug. It sat, ever present, on my desk at work... in fact, I've just taken it off my bookshelf, at home, and it's sat right next to me, right now - an old friend!
Even though I couldn't write PowerShell scripts for use at work, due to our infrastructure, I played with this new tool with the help of Lee's book. I'd also try, time permitting, to convert my VBScript functions and scripts to PowerShell. Two things became very clear: PowerShell was POWERFUL and it was also big on brevity... 100 lines of VBScript became 1 of PowerShell... the one-liner was born!
Some years passed. I used PowerShell more and more. V2 arrived. I read Bruce Payette's seminal book, Windows PowerShell in Action, in theSummer of 2011. Even though it's from the V2 era, I still recommend this book for those wanting a deep insight into PowerShell and some of the decisions that defined it.
And, so, when I joined Microsoft, in December 2011, I had two goals with regards to PowerShell:
- To teach others the 'Joy of Shell'
- To become a Microsoft Scripting Guy
Re: 1 - I became accredited to teach my first PowerShell workshop in November 2012. Spreading the joy brings me joy!
Re: 2 - I started blogging about PowerShell in February 2014 and I also contributed to one of Ed Wilson's Microsoft Press PowerShell books. I was announced as an 'Honorary Microsoft Scripting Guy' in January 2015, as part of the 2014 cohort. After reading the 'Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog' through most of the 'naughties', this was the attainment of a very personal goal.
In July 2015 I met Lee Holmes, in Seattle, after attending an internal session on PowerShell v5 security features. His cookbook really did change the course of my professional life, so it was a fascinating moment.
The last 10 years have been amazing for all sorts of reasons... PowerShell has played its part! :)