Comments on: Windows PowerShell for Administrators

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 30 May 2007 20:16:15 +0000

Jeffrey, I agree, it is often just a matter of taste when it comes to using a GUI or the CLI. It is certainly a good move to ensure that everything can be done via CLI. However, I think, the main reason why Microsoft introduced PowerShell doesn’t have much to do with making things automated. This was already possible in the past to a relatively high degree. We have plenty of scripts in different scripting languages here doing just that with many Microsoft products. I admit, PowerShell probably will even improve the situation. However, the main reason for introducing PowerShell has something to do with marketing. Microsoft wants to persuade Unix admins to move to Windows. And those guys love hacking on the command line. There is no doubt about it. I guess Don is one of them Actually, I enjoy that too whenever I logon on a Linux box. So, I know exactly where they are coming from. I just wish I had more time for this. I haven’t. So, I use GUI tools when I work with Windows.

Don, if you always know which lines “to bang out�? you’re certainly faster. However, first you have to invest quite some time to learn PowerShell. I suppose, many Windows admins simply don’t have the time for this.

By: Don

Don — Thu, 24 May 2007 21:53:49 +0000

I guess my take is this: I’d rather have a command-line environment where I can bang out a line or two to administer a dozen machines… than have to hunt down a third-party GUI to do it. MS is bad about giving us multi-machine admin GUIs… maybe if they weren’t, I’d feel differently!! I’m just adept with command-lines – always have been – and feel they get me “closer” to the guts of whatever I’m trying to run. Plus, unlike Mr. Snover, I really don’t like GUIs for administrative stuff .

By: Jeffrey Snover

Jeffrey Snover — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:40:15 +0000

We don’t view this as a GUI vs CLI (Command Line Interface). We LOVE GUIs. We view this as a GUI AND CLI story. Someones you want one, sometimes you’ll want the other. Our goal is to layer all the GUIs over CLI so that we ensure that everything can be done via that CLI and thus everything can be automated.

Jeffrey Snover [MSFT]
Windows Management Partner Architect
Visit the Windows PowerShell Team blog at: http://blogs.msdn.com/PowerShell
Visit the Windows PowerShell ScriptCenter at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/hubs/msh.mspx