Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Microsoft has finally answered the prayers of system administrators and developers everywhere through the introduction of Windows PowerShell, a new scripting technology that enables the automation of system management tasks and the creation of system management tools. PowerShell runs on Windows XP, 2003, and Vista. Exchange Server 2007 and System Center Operations Manager 2007 will be built on Windows PowerShell. Unlike traditional Windows shell scripting, PowerShell scripting is object based and is designed to work with the .NET framework. Microsoft Windows PowerShell Programming for the Absolute Beginner teaches readers how to program using Microsoft's new PowerShell scripting language through the creation of computer games. No prior knowledge of programming in any language is required. Topics covered include the Windows PowerShell Command Line, object based scripting with .NET, writing PowerShell Scripts, working with variables, arrays and hashes, implementing conditional logic, using loops to process data, organizing scripts using functions, basic system administration, and much more.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. xiii)
• Chapter 1 Introducing Windows Powershell (p. 3)
• Project Preview: The Knock Knock Joke Game (p. 4)
• Getting to Know Windows PowerShell (p. 7)
• A Little History Lesson (p. 7)
• Integration with .NET (p. 8)
• PowerShell Versus cmd.exe (p. 9)
• Installing and Configuring Windows PowerShell (p. 10)
• Interacting with the PowerShell Command Prompt (p. 12)
• Starting a New PowerShell Session (p. 13)
• Executing PowerShell Cmdlets (p. 13)
• Other Types of Commands (p. 16)
• A Short PowerShell Workout (p. 16)
• Windows PowerShell Scripting (p. 20)
• Simplifying PowerShell Script Execution (p. 20)
• Back to the Knock Knock Joke Game (p. 22)
• Designing the Game (p. 22)
• The Final Result (p. 26)
• Summary (p. 28)
• Chapter 2 Interacting with the Windows PowerShell Command Line (p. 31)
• Project Preview: The Story of the Three Amigos (p. 32)
• Accessing Windows PowerShell (p. 35)
• Customizing the Windows PowerShell Working Environment (p. 36)
• Customizing Windows PowerShell Shortcuts (p. 36)
• Configuring the Windows Command Console (p. 38)
• Windows Command Console Customization Options (p. 38)
• Windows Command Console Editing Features (p. 43)
• Windows PowerShell Edit Enhancements (p. 44)
• Tab Completion (p. 44)
• The Get-History Cmdlet (p. 46)
• Navigating Hierarchical Data Stores (p. 47)
• Back to The Story of the Three Amigos (p. 52)
• Creating a New Script (p. 53)
• Declaring Script Variables (p. 54)
• Displaying the Introduction (p. 54)
• Providing Player Instructions (p. 55)
• Prompting the Player for Input (p. 56)
• Collecting Additional Inputs (p. 57)
• Displaying the Story's Opening (p. 58)
• Displaying the Rest of the Story (p. 59)
• Summary (p. 62)
• Chapter 3 Object-Based Scripting with.NET (p. 63)
• Project Preview: The PowerShell Fortune Teller Game (p. 64)
• One Last PowerShell Customization Technique (p. 66)
• The Microsoft .NET Framework (p. 68)
• Key .NET Framework Components (p. 69)
• The .NET Class Library (p. 69)
• The Common Language Runtime (p. 70)
• Accessing .NET Framework Resources (p. 70)
• Executing Cmdlets (p. 75)
• Windows PowerShell Plumbing (p. 81)
• Working with Aliases (p. 84)
• Back to the PowerShell Fortune Teller Game (p. 87)
• Designing the Game (p. 87)
• Creating a New PowerShell Script (p. 88)
• Declaring and Initializing Variables (p. 88)
• Displaying the Welcome Screen (p. 89)
• Displaying Game Instructions (p. 90)
• Controlling Gameplay (p. 91)
• Displaying the Closing Screen (p. 93)
• Summary (p. 94)
• Chapter 4 Working with Variables, Arrays, and Hashes (p. 99)
• Project Preview: The Seinfeld Trivia Quiz (p. 100)
• Windows PowerShell Language Features (p. 102)
• Windows PowerShell Reserved Words (p. 102)
• Escape Characters (p. 103)
• String Manipulation (p. 105)
• Storing and Retrieving Data (p. 107)
• Variables (p. 107)
• Arrays (p. 114)
• Associative Arrays (p. 118)
• Back to the Seinfeld Trivia Quiz (p. 121)
• Designing the Game (p. 121)
• The Final Result (p. 131)
• Summary (p. 131)
• Chapter 5 Implementing Conditional Logic (p. 133)
• Project Preview: The Guess My Number Game (p. 134)
• Comparing Values (p. 136)
• Combining Pipelines and Operators (p. 137)
• Implementing Conditional Logic (p. 138)
• Comparing Data Using the if Statement (p. 139)
• Making Multiple Comparisons Using the switch Statement (p. 144)
• Windows PowerShell Operators (p. 146)
• Comparison Operators (p. 146)
• Logical Operators (p. 147)
• String Comparison Operators (p. 148)
• Back to the Guess My Number Game (p. 150)
• Designing the Game (p. 150)
• The Final Result (p. 157)
• Summary (p. 162)
• Chapter 6 Using Loops to Process Data (p. 163)
• Project Preview: The Rock, Paper, Scissors Game (p. 164)
• Working with Loops (p. 166)
• Setting Up do while Loops (p. 167)
• Setting Up do until Loops (p. 168)
• Creating for Loops (p. 169)
• Creating foreach Loops (p. 172)
• Using while Loops (p. 175)
• Altering Loop Execution (p. 176)
• Using the break Command (p. 176)
• Using the continue Command (p. 177)
• Back to the Rock, Paper, Scissors Game (p. 178)
• Designing the Game (p. 179)
• The Final Result (p. 188)
• Summary (p. 188)
• Chapter 7 Organizing Scripts Using Functions (p. 191)
• Project Preview: The PowerShell Hangman Game (p. 192)
• Changing Script Design Using Functions and Filters (p. 194)
• Improving Script Organization (p. 195)
• Creating Reusable Code (p. 195)
• Enhancing Script Organization with Functions (p. 196)
• Function Structure (p. 196)
• Processing Arguments (p. 198)
• Processing Incoming Data (p. 203)
• Returning a Result (p. 204)
• Restricting Variable Scope (p. 205)
• Replacing Functions with Filters (p. 207)
• Back to the PowerShell Hangman Game (p. 208)
• Creating a New Script (p. 209)
• Defining and Initializing Script-Level Variables (p. 209)
• Defining Custom Functions (p. 210)
• Prompting the Player to Start the Game (p. 212)
• Setting Up a Loop to Control Gameplay (p. 213)
• Selecting a Secret Word (p. 213)
• Setting Up a Loop to Process User Guesses (p. 214)
• Collecting and Validating User Input (p. 214)
• Displaying the Results of Each Guess (p. 216)
• Determining When the Game Is Over (p. 217)
• Challenging the Player to Play Another Game (p. 219)
• Summary (p. 220)
• Chapter 8 Working with Files and Folders (p. 225)
• Project Preview: The PowerShell Tic-Tac-Toe Game (p. 226)
• Using the Power of Regular Expressions (p. 228)
• Matching Simple Patterns (p. 228)
• Matching Alternative Patterns (p. 229)
• Working with Regular Expression Characters (p. 229)
• Working with Quantifiers (p. 231)
• Matching Patterns Based on Ranges (p. 231)
• Administering Files and Folders (p. 233)
• Verifying File and Folder Existence (p. 233)
• Retrieving File and Folder Information (p. 234)
• Copying and Moving Files and Folders (p. 235)
• Deleting Files and Folders (p. 236)
• Renaming Files and Folders (p. 237)
• Searching Files (p. 237)
• Reading from and Writing to Files (p. 238)
• Creating Files and Folders (p. 238)
• Writing to Text Files (p. 239)
• Reformatting Cmdlet Output (p. 240)
• Reading from Text Files (p. 244)
• Erasing File Contents (p. 245)
• Saving Data Output as HTML (p. 245)
• Saving Data as an XML File (p. 245)
• Reading Data from an XML File (p. 247)
• Saving Data in a Comma-Separated Value File (p. 247)
• Reading Data from a Comma-Separated Value File (p. 248)
• Sending Output to the Printer (p. 249)
• Back to the PowerShell Tic-Tac-Toe Game (p. 250)
• Designing the Game (p. 250)
• The Final Result (p. 263)
• Summary (p. 264)
• Chapter 9 Basic System Administration (p. 265)
• Project Preview: The PowerShell Blackjack Game (p. 266)
• Accessing and Administering System Resources (p. 268)
• Listing and Stopping Processes (p. 268)
• Administering Windows Services (p. 269)
• Accessing Event Logs (p. 274)
• Retrieving System Information Using WMI (p. 276)
• Taking Advantage of .NET Classes (p. 281)
• Taking Advantage of COM Objects (p. 281)
• Programmatically Interacting with the Windows Registry (p. 284)
• Back to the PowerShell Blackjack Game (p. 288)
• Creating a New Script File (p. 288)
• Defining and Creating New Variables (p. 289)
• Creating the Get-Permission Function (p. 289)
• Creating the Check-Registry Function (p. 291)
• Creating the Play-Game Function (p. 292)
• Creating the Deal-Hand Function (p. 292)
• Creating the Get-Card Function (p. 293)
• Creating the Get-ComputerHand Function (p. 293)
• Creating the Analyze-Results Function (p. 294)
• Creating the Get-PlayerHand Function (p. 295)
• Creating the Get-NewCard Function (p. 297)
• Adding Controlling Logic to the Main Processing Section (p. 297)
• Summary (p. 298)
• Chapter 10 Debugging PowerShell Scripts (p. 301)
• Project Preview: The PowerShell Game Console (p. 302)
• Understanding PowerShell Errors (p. 303)
• Syntax Errors (p. 303)
• Runtime Errors (p. 304)
• Logical Errors (p. 305)
• Terminating Versus Non-Terminating Errors (p. 306)
• Dissecting the Structure of Error Messages (p. 306)
• Telling Windows PowerShell How to React to Errors (p. 307)
• Creating Trap Handlers (p. 308)
• Tracing Script Execution (p. 311)
• Displaying Output Status Information and Tracking Variable Values (p. 311)
• Using PowerShell's Debug Mode (p. 313)
• Back to the PowerShell Game Console (p. 316)
• Designing the Game (p. 316)
• The Final Result (p. 322)
• Summary (p. 322)
• Appendix A What's on the Companion Website? (p. 325)
• Appendix B What Next? (p. 327)
• Windows PowerShell IDEs (p. 328)
• Recommended Reading (p. 329)
• Locating Microsoft PowerShell Resources Online (p. 330)
• PowerShell Websites (p. 331)
• Windows PowerShell News Group (p. 332)
• PowerShell Blogs (p. 333)
• The Author's Website (p. 334)
• Glossary (p. 335)
• Index (p. 345)