PowerShell Basics

PowerShell vs. Code Runner .NET

I just came across a blog post on Colin’s Microsoft Developer Blog called Scripting for C#.  In the post, Colin describes using Code Runner .NET to be able to quickly create a C# application and run it without having to create a new project or solution file or worry about binaries.

PowerShell can serve that exact purpose, without the overhead of launching Visual Studio or needing other tools.  PowerShell can leverage the experience developers have with the .NET Framework, right at the command line. 

The Code Runner .NET project includes a sample program that takes nineteen lines.  Here is the PowerShell equivalent -

Write-Host $MyInvocation.MyCommand

Code Runner .NET seems to be a pretty cool project, but PowerShell in the development environment can be a very useful tool.

[NOTE:  I’m a sysadmin, not a developer, so take my comparison with whatever sized grain of salt desired.]