I have opted to slightly change the way I track my studying. One change will be to post the weeks results based on "Week Ending", rather than a numerical week number. Another change I will be making is to separate out the studying from my efforts in keeping up on IT news, blogs, and podcasts. I will still be including both topics here, just listed individually.
This week was probably the first full week back at studying that I have had in a while. It has been quite hectic, both at work and at home, therefore, my studies have suffered a bit. Things are still quite busy, but I have decided I am going to have to become a master of scheduling, and work with the busy schedule, instead of surrendering to it. I expect it will take several weeks to master this time management, and once I have, it will still take constant vigilance to maintain.
This past week was almost exclusively about PowerShell. I spent the last couple of weeks going through the "Learn PowerShell 3 in a Month of Lunches" book. I have tried to finish this book several times over the past year or so, but I always managed to get distracted. No more! I have made it most of the way through the book, with only 5 chapters left to cover. This past week I covered Chapters 19-23. I expect that next week will see the book completed.
Cool Stuff
The coolest thing I learned about this week was scripting with PowerShell. I really enjoyed learning how to take a series of commands and put them into a reusable script. If that wasn't enough, I also learned how to parameterize the script so that certain variables can be entered at run time, set up the script for taking advantage of the help system, and finally, add the ability to utilize CmdletBinding to add even more power to the script! Very cool, exciting, and useful. I already have plans for two scripts that I can use at work to make life easier.
PowerShell cmdlet of the Week
This small, unassuming cmdlet stood out a little this past week:
Read-Host
This cmdlet allows you to add a prompt for input from the user. With the addition of the -Prompt parameter, you can add some detail for the user about what you would like to have them enter. Say for example, you want to prompt the user for the computer name, and assign it to the variable $ComputerName. Simply enter the following:
$ComputerName = Read-Host -Prompt "Please enter the computer name"
It then displays the following:
Please enter the computer name:
I like the fact that the -Prompt parameter automatically appends a colon to the end of the prompt.
Studying Stats
Total time studying: 3 hrs. 15 min.
- PowerShell: 3 hrs. 15 min.
IT News, Blogs, and Podcasts
- The OPS Team – Episode 17
- Early look at containers in Windows Server, Hyper-V and Azure – Mark Russinovich
In Closing
I feel a bit better about my studies now that I am back into them. Next week, I plan to finish the last few chapters in the "Learn PowerShell 3 in a Month of Lunches" book, and get solidly back into my MCSE studies as I prepare to retake the 70-411 exam.
Have a great week everyone!
I feel a bit better about my studies now that I am back into them. Next week, I plan to finish the last few chapters in the "Learn PowerShell 3 in a Month of Lunches" book, and get solidly back into my MCSE studies as I prepare to retake the 70-411 exam.
Have a great week everyone!
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