Is Powershell A Programming Language?(And Is It Worth Learning?)

When we first published Is Powershell Considered a Programming Language?  we weren’t quite expecting it to be such a popular topic. Obviously we are happy that it is getting the attention that it deserves. (If you don’t have time to read that article then let me save you a few minutes  – YES, Powershell is a programming language!)

During my research I have read many articles claiming that Powershell is nothing more than a scripting language with some .NET trickery installed with it, to one older blog declaring that Powershell was nothing more than CMD with a blue background. (Not kidding, this is actually still appearing in the Google search results in 2021)

How Does Powershell Compare to Other Programming Languages?
Is Powershell a Programming Language?

I went ahead and created a full post over here for you to decide for yourself. I personally think that Powershell can do almost anything, and I have a library of both personal and private projects to prove it. One of my personal favorite projects that has made Powershell a giant component in my every day life is Powershell Universal.

When I first started using the module it was under the name of Universal Dashboard, which is still available, but no longer maintained as a separate application because it has been integrated into Powershell Universal.

Anyway, long story short, this is an amazing tool to look at, especially if you want to make web applications, dashboards, and anything else that you could possibly want. It can use data sources from all over, such as data bases, text files, or even direct system output. I strongly recommend that you check it out.

Anyway, this is just a small update to let you know that the question has been answered, even though we will no doubt find the question being asked repeatedly for some time still to come.

We would like to extend a big THANK YOU to Powershell.org for including us in their ICYMI feature, and to DZone for featuring our article!

FAQ

Is PowerShell a real programming language?

In a development role, you won't use Powershell as your primary programming language.

Is PowerShell similar to Python?

PowerShell is a Windows shell scripting environment that is better suited for automating tasks on the Windows platform compared to Python, which is an interpreted high-level programming language.

Is PowerShell a functional programming language?

Though PowerShell isn't a pure functional language, it integrates some functional concepts very elegantly into its semantics. You will spend less time reverse engineering your scripts and more time writing clean idiomatic PowerShell by leveraging Functional Programming concepts in PowerShell.

Is C++ similar to PowerShell?

If optimized, C++ can be one of the fastest languages in the world, due to its direct compilation to native code. Aside from being a task automation framework and configuration management framework, PowerShell is also a scripting language and command-line shell.

Is PowerShell easy to learn?

It's not hard to learn PowerShell. Because of what it does, it is flexible and powerful, but hard to master. Its syntax is relatively straightforward. If you understood basic computer concepts, such as what a variable was, you could be taught the basic syntax in a few hours.

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content