This portable reference to Windows PowerShell summarizes both the command shell and scripting language, and provides a concise reference to the major tasks that make PowerShell so successful. It's an ideal on-the-job tool for Windows administrators who don't have time to plow through huge books or search online. Written by Microsoft PowerShell team member Lee Holmes, and excerpted from his Windows PowerShell Cookbook, Windows PowerShell Pocket Reference offers up-to-date coverage of PowerShell's 1.0 release. You'll find information on .NET classes and legacy management tools that you need to manage your system, along with chapters on how to write scripts, manage errors, format output, and much more. Beginning with a whirlwind tour of Windows PowerShell, this convenient guide covers:

• PowerShell language and environment

• Regular expression reference

• PowerShell automatic variables

• Standard PowerShell verbs

• Selected .NET classes and their uses

• WMI reference

• Selected COM objects and their uses

• .NET string formatting

• .NET datetime formatting

An authoritative source of information about PowerShell since its earliest betas, Lee Holmes' vast experience lets him incorporate both the "how" and the "why" into the book's discussions. His relationship with the PowerShell and administration community -- through newsgroups, mailing lists, and his informative blog Lee Holmes -- gives him insight into problems faced by administrators and PowerShell users alike. If you're ready to learn this powerful tool without having to break stride in your routine, this is the book you want.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 2 Ratings

Essential Reference for PowerShell - 2008-12-12
Reviewer Rating:
I would knock a half a star off for some weakness in the index. That's a particularly big deal in a reference book. But it's not bad.

Overall this is a must-have. Holmes clearly knows his subject and presents it well. (He is a member of the PowerShell Development Team.) I may actually read this "reference" book. The quality is far and away superior to the other O'Reilly Pocket Reference books I've purchased. They gather dust on my shelf.

The content is substantial. Weighing in at 174 pages it dwarfs many O'Reilly Pocket References, yet is still highly portable.

Everyone knows that PowerShell users will want to read Windows PowerShell in Action for deeper understanding. I also like Windows PowerShell Cookbook: for Windows, Exchange 2007, and MOM V3 (also by Holmes) for examples that frequently help me get things working. Whatever else you get, you should have Windows PowerShell Pocket Reference.

Short concise reference - 2008-07-28
Reviewer Rating:
[Published on http://msmvps.com/blogs/luisabreu/archive/2008/07/28/book-review-power-shell-pocket-reference.aspx]

Im really happy to have received a copy of this book. Its really a simple, easy to read, concise book which contains all you need to get started with PowerShell. You can easy read the book in 1 or 2 days (that is, if youre reading from cover to cover). If youre near a computer, then you can always try to run the examples and even try some new things on your own (being a concise book, youll find lots of references which you need to explore).

As you might expect, this is not a complete guide to Powershell. You wont also be getting info on how to build custom cmdlets or on how to extend Powershell.

Overall, Id say this is a good reference book that you should have by your side if youre starting working with Powershell. Im giving it 7/10.

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