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Yesterday, Microsoft announced that Windows PowerShell - which I suppose we’ll just call “PowerShell,” now - has been open-sourced, with PowerShell Core builds being made available for various Linux distros as well as macOS.
This is a big deal, but not exactly for the reasons you might think.
Be sure to check back often, as we’ll add to this. So does this mean I’ll be able to run [add your favorite module name here] on Linux/Mac? Likely not. PowerShell on Linux/Mac is, at present, “PowerShell Core,” which is a subset of the total Windows PowerShell product. Similar situation to PowerShell on Nano. So any module that requires something outside Core, won’t run. And further, most modules have dependencies on underlying technologies in Windows.
I’m collecting a list of known problems in DSC v5 _that have been solved. _Like the infamous “MI RESULT 12” error that could happen if you upgraded from prerelease v5 to production preview. I’m going to document these in “The DSC Book,” including in its free sample version, to help preserve these things in one place. Again - these need to be solved problems. Just drop as much description as you can into a comment here, and feel free to link to the fix, or to a discussion thread on the problem.
We’ve been making a ton of improvements at PowerShell.org… if you haven’t visited in a while, it might be worth a stop by. **First, **if you’re hitting any of the links below and getting a 404, the most common culprit seems to be an over-zealous corporate proxy cache. Try clearing it, or doing a Shift+Reload in your browser. Confirm by visiting from a non-proxied network, like at home. Our eBooks page has a bunch of new content, and our books are now available in PDF, MOBI, and EPUB from two providers (LeanPub and GitBook).
So you’ve decided to write a bunch of commands to help automate the administration of ____. Awesome! Let’s try and make sure you get off on the right path, with this high-level overview of command design. Start with an inventory You’ll need to start by deciding _what commands to write, _and an inventory is often the best way to begin. Start by inventorying your nouns. For example, suppose you’re writing a command set for some internal order-management system.
I’d appreciate your help in testing HTTPS/SSL here on PowerShell.org. Right now, it’s “voluntary,” meaning you have to explicitly ask for https://powershell.org. If you have any problems, please note them in a comment on this article. Some notes and known problems: Most pages will not show the “lock” address bar icon in your browser, because we’re delivering mixed content. For example, the site logo is being hardcoded as http:// by some Javascript in our theme, which I need to sort out.
If you’re deep into DSC and delving into DevOps, then my summer “Camp” event is probably meant for you - and now there’s a detailed agenda, overall agenda, and full event brochure. This is a really limited event - under 20, including product team participants, and we’re down to just a few seats left. DevOps and DSC Camp Detailed Agenda
After dealing with numerous problems from PenFlip (where our free ebooks are currently located), we’ve decided to try two new hosting providers: GitBook and LeanPub. Both of these are, or can be, based on Git/GitHub, which means the Markdown text of the book will always be open-sourced and available. Both offer conversion into PDF, MOBI, and EPUB formats, so you can download whichever you want. Both enable us to update the books at any time.
OK, we finally have a huge batch of PowerShell.org and DevOpsCollective.org laptop stickers! These are great, heavy-duty, removable stickers for laptop and every day use. Here’s how you can get yours - follow these instructions carefully! United States First, this offer is only valid until July 1st, 2016. After that, you’ll have to attend PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit, our Ignite “PowerShell Community Happy Hour” event, or someplace else where we’re in-person to get a sticker.
We’ve uploaded the results of the Verified Effective: PowerShell Toolmaker exam, which was administered at the recent PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2016. Note that this exam has, for a couple of years now, been available only as an on-site, in-person, proctored experience - we do not offer online delivery.
We had our best pass rate ever - about 20%. That said, nobody hit 100%. I had actually done a pre-con, full-day session on the very topic being tested - writing advanced functions - and had more than a few folks tell me that the session wasn’t as “advanced” as they wanted. Notwithstanding, 80% of the people who took the test didn’t pass (and I wasn’t the one grading the tests, either, so it’s not just spite!). Unfortunately, a lot of us think we’re “advanced,” but in fact are missing a lot of details. In some cases, having reviewed the graded tests, folks are missing some of the basics.
If you took the test, head over to VerifiedEffective.org and enter your candidate ID to see if you passed. I want to stress that I personally don’t have access to the graded tests with names attached - I only have anonymized copies.
We’re not going to offer the exam again at Summit 2017. We’re considering making some schedule changes that won’t accommodate the time and space and personnel needed to administer the exam and - to be frank - I think education would benefit a lot of people more than a test. Whether we offer the test again in future years hasn’t yet been decided, although I’ll share our general feelings at the end of this article.
In fact, with that “education” in mind, I’m going to break a rule. I’m going to post the entire exam packet, exactly as it was given to the attendees who took the exam. I did something similar after PowerShell Summit Europe 2015, but this is the exact exam packet. Go ahead - give yourself an hour to finish the test, and then check back here. I’ll wait.
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