We do a fair amount of batch processing at work, and I have some fairly involved scripts that are combinations of Windows batch files and VBScript. Both languages are wonky in the extreme, and I’ve been uncomfortable working with them. But it’s what I knew I knew four years ago. What were simple scripts early on evolved (as such things are wont to do) over the years until they were large, complicated, and a complete mess.

I resisted replacing those scripts because I thought I didn’t have time to learn a new scripting language. I’d heard of Windows Powershell, but avoided it because I thought it would take too long to convert my scripts. I bit the bullet last week and was pleasantly surprised. It took all of a couple hours to learn enough about Powershell to fully replace the kludge of batch files and VBScript. The result is a cleaner and more robust update process.

Before you write your next batch file, VBScript, or JScript program to automate something on your Windows server, give Powershell a look. Most likely you’ll be able to do what you want more easily, handle errors better, and end up with a much more readable and more easily modified script.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a Powershell expert. But I’ve already been incredibly productive with it. It’s a real command shell that allows access to the entire .NET Framework. Like a .NET interpreter. Very, very cool. A C# or Visual Basic .NET programmer will feel comfortable in Powershell in a matter of minutes.

Very well done and quite useful. Highly recommended.