What exactly sets the new Microsoft framework apart from the familiar command prompt? To put it simply: PowerShell has all the features of cmd.exe, can do a lot of it much better, and also performs other tasks that were previously unthinkable with Windows.
PowerShell basically provides the same range of commands as cmd.exe. With sufficient knowledge of the common standard commands, PowerShell can be used in the same way as the command prompt. However, it also enables access to subjacent Windows internals that were previously not accessible with cmd.exe. e.g. the Windows Registry and the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). The command line of Windows PowerShell also follows the clear logic of a consistent command structure and syntax and makes more sense than cmd.exe in this respect.
Another feature that makes Windows PowerShell stand out: Unlike the command prompt and Unix-like systems, the program works completely object-based instead of issuing the results of commands in text form (strings). Each object has both properties and methods that define how it can be used. This is how the Windows process object represents properties such as process names and IDs, and methods for pausing and terminating processes.
Because the results of commands are always issued as .NET objects, pipelining in PowerShell enables you to perform much more complex tasks than cmd.exe. This works by using the output of one object in the pipe as input for the next object. For example, large and complex amounts of data can be filtered by file extensions and formatted as a clear list.
Windows PowerShell is not just a command line, it also acts as a rich and powerful scripting environment. In it, you can write your own commands or combine several commands into complex scripts to simplify system management tasks. Remoting also makes it possible to run scripts on any number of systems simultaneously, regardless of their location, and thereby manage, set up, record, and repair them.
This variety of options and features also reveals what Windows PowerShell’s primary target group is: IT professionals and system administrators who have a deep understanding of shells and are willing to familiarize themselves with Windows PowerShell for increased efficiency. Users who mainly work with Windows’ graphical user interface and only use the command prompt sporadically, however, will notice that PowerShell does not offer any particular added value, especially since it takes a while to get used to the framework.
Here’s a quick summary of the advantages and disadvantages of Windows PowerShell compared to the command prompt: