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Microsoft 55039 - Windows PowerShell Scripting and Toolmaking

  • Length 5 days
  • Version B
Course overview
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Why study this course

This five-day course is intended for IT professionals who are interested in furthering their skills in Windows PowerShell and administrative automation. The course assumes a basic working knowledge of PowerShell as an interactive command-line shell, and teaches students the correct patterns and practices for building reusable, tightly scoped units of automation.

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What you’ll learn

After completing this course participants will be able to:

  • Describe the correct patterns for building modularised tools in Windows PowerShell

  • Build highly modularised functions that comply with native PowerShell patterns

  • Build controller scripts that expose user interfaces and automate business processes

  • Manage data in a variety of formats

  • Write automated tests for tools

  • Debug tools


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Microsoft at Lumify Work

Lumify Work has been delivering effective training across all Microsoft products for over 30 years. We are proud to be both Australia's and New Zealand’s first Microsoft Gold Learning Solutions Partner and the winner of the Microsoft MCT Superstars Award for FY24, which formally recognises us as having the highest quality Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCTs) in ANZ. All Lumify Work Microsoft technical courses follow Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) and are led by MCTs.


Who is the course for?

IT professionals who are interested in furthering their skills in Windows PowerShell and administrative automation.


Course subjects

Module 1: Tool Design
This module explains how to design tools and units of automation that comply with native PowerShell usage patterns.

Lessons

  • Tools do one thing

  • Tools are flexible

  • Tools look native

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Design a tool

Module 2: Start with a Command
This module explains how to start the scripting process by beginning in the interactive shell console.

Lessons

  • Why start with a command?

  • Discovery and experimentation

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Start with a command

Module 3: Build a Basic Function and Module
This module explains how to build a basic function and module, using commands already experimented with in the shell.

Lessons

  • Start with a basic function

  • Create a script module

  • Check prerequisites

  • Run the new command

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Build a basic function and module

Module 4: Adding CmdletBinding and Parameterising
This module explains how to extend the functionality of a tool, parameterise input values, and use CmdletBinding.

Lessons

  • About CmdletBinding and common parameters

  • Accepting pipeline input

  • Mandatory-ness

  • Parameter validation

  • Parmeter aliases

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Adding CmdletBinding and Parameterising

Module 5: Emitting Objects as Output
This module explains how to create tools that produce custom objects as output.

Lessons

  • Assembling information

  • Constructing and emitting output

  • Quick tests

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Emitting objects as output

Module 6: An Interlude: Changing Your Approach
This module explains how to re-think tool design, using concrete examples of how it’s often done wrong.

Lessons

  • Examining a script

  • Critiquing a script

  • Revising the script

Module 7: Using Verbose, Warning, and Informational Output
This module explains how to use additional output pipelines for better script behaviors.

Lessons

  • Knowing the six channels

  • Adding verbose and warning output

  • Doing more with verbose output

  • Informational output

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Using Verbose, Warning, and Informational Output

Module 8: Comment-Based Help
This module explains how to add comment-based help to tools.

Lessons

  • Where to put your help

  • Getting started

  • Going further with comment-based help

  • Broken help

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Comment-based help

Module 9: Handling Errors
This module explains how to create tools that deal with anticipated errors.

Lessons

  • Understanding errors and exceptions

  • Bad handling

  • Two reasons for exception handling

  • Handling exceptions in our tool

  • Capturing the actual exception

  • Handling exceptions for non-commands

  • Going further with exception handling

  • Deprecated exception handling

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Handling errors

Module 10: Basic Debugging
This module explains how to use native PowerShell script debugging tools.

Lessons

  • Two kinds of bugs

  • The ultimate goal of debugging

  • Developing assumptions

  • Write-Debug

  • Set-PSBreakpoint

  • The PowerShell ISE

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Basic debugging

Module 11: Going Deeper with Parameters
This module explains how to further define parameter attributes in a PowerShell command.

Lessons

  • Parameter positions

  • Validation

  • Multiple parameter sets

  • Value from remaining arguments

  • Help messages

  • Aliases

  • More CmdletBinding

Module 12: Writing Full Help
This module explains how to create external help for a command.

Lessons

  • External help

  • Using PlatyPs

  • Supporting online help

  • “About” topics

  • Making your help updatable

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Writing full help

Module 13: Unit Testing Your Code
This module explains how to use Pester to perform basic unit testing.

Lessons

  • Sketching out the test

  • Making something to test

  • Expanding the test

  • Going further with Pester

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Unit testing your code

Module 14: Extending Output Types
This module explains how to extend objects with additional capabilities.

Lessons

  • Understanding types

  • The Extensible Type System

  • Extending an object

  • Using Update-TypeData

Module 15: Analysing Your Script
This module explains how to use Script Analyser to support best practices and prevent common problems.

Lessons

  • Performing a basic analysis

  • Analysing the analysis

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Analysing your script

Module 16: Publishing Your Tools
This module explains how to publish tools to public and private repositories.

Lessons

  • Begin with a manifest

  • Publishing to PowerShell Gallery

  • Publishing to private repositories

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Publishing your tools

Module 17: Basic Controllers: Automation Scripts and Menus
This module explains how to create controller scripts that put tools to use.

Lessons

  • Building a menu

  • Using UIChoice

  • Writing a process controller

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Basic controllers

Module 18: Proxy Functions
This module explains how to create and use proxy functions.

Lessons

  • A proxy example

  • Creating the proxy base

  • Modifying the proxy

  • Adding or removing parameters

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Proxy functions

Module 19: Working with XML Data
This module explains how to work with XML data in PowerShell.

Lessons

  • Simple: CliXML

  • Importing native XML

  • ConvertTo-XML

  • Creating native XML from scratch

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Working with XML

Module 20: Working with JSON Data
This module explains how to using JSON data in PowerShell.

Lessons

  • Converting to JSON

  • Converting from JSON

Lab 1: Designing a Tool

  • Working with JSON data

Module 21: Working with SQL Server Data
This module explains how to use SQL Server from within a PowerShell script.

Lessons

  • SQL Server terminology and facts

  • Connecting to the server and database

  • Writing a query

  • Running a query

  • Invoke-SqlCmd

  • Thinking about tool design patterns

Module 22: Final Exam

This module provides a chance for students to use everything they have learned in this course within a practical example.

Lessons

  • Lab problem

  • Break down the problem

  • Do the design

  • Test the commands

  • Code the tool

Lab 1: Final Exam

  • Lab one

Lab 2: Final Exam

  • Lab two


Prerequisites

  • Experience at basic Windows administration

  • Experience using Windows PowerShell to query and modify system information

  • Experience using Windows PowerShell to discover commands and their usage

  • Experience using WMI and/or CIM to query system information


Terms & Conditions

The supply of this course by Lumify Work is governed by the booking terms and conditions. Please read the terms and conditions carefully before enrolling in this course, as enrolment in the course is conditional on acceptance of these terms and conditions.


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