Windows PowerShell 1.0 is Here, Unix Style Shell Scripting Now Possible in XP & Vista

If you are one of those frustrated Linux or Unix geeks who is forced to work in a Windows only environment, Microsoft offers you a new and powerful Windows scripting language called PowerShell that brings Unix style shell scripting to Windows Vista as well as XP and Windows 2003 platforms.

The new language supports features like pipelines (dir | more), command line calculations (11gb/700mb or 2*2) and even recursive commands (get-process p* | stop-process) - something that you have either seen in Unix or third-party addons like MKS Toolkit or Cygwin Utilities.

Windows Powershell 1.0 was just announced at ITForum in Barcelona. It is free and available as a separate download for your Windows copy.

Alex of Windows Vista blog has a more simple definition of Powershell. He describes Powershell as "If you haven't heard of Windows PowerShell before, think of it as an integrated version of the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) and VBScript."

Though the old MS-DOS style command prompt will still be available in Windows Vista, Powershell could ultimately replace cmd.exe as it matures in the hicoming months.

Download Windows Powershell for Windows XP