PowerShell Introduction
PowerShell is a command shell for running commands on a computer. It prints the result of each command as text you can read.
Print a greeting
Write-Output prints a value. Start with a greeting.
Write-Output "Hello, PowerShell"Print a second value
Each command prints its own result. Print one more value.
Write-Output "PowerShell is ready"Print a fixed date
Get-Date reports a date. The -Date parameter fixes the date it reports.
Get-Date -Date "2026-10-28" -Format "yyyy-MM-dd"Example
Write-Output "Welcome to PowerShell"
Write-Output "Type a command to begin"
Get-Date -Date "2026-10-28" -Format "yyyy-MM-dd"Key points
- Cmdlet: a small built-in command in PowerShell.
- A command is an instruction you type for PowerShell to run.
- PowerShell prints the result of each command.
- Write-Output is a cmdlet that prints a value.
- A parameter is an extra instruction that changes how a cmdlet works.
- Commands run one at a time in order from top to bottom.
In this example, the first line prints a welcome message, the second line prints a prompt to begin, and the third line prints a fixed date.
Note
PowerShell runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Try it Yourself
Edit the code, then press Run.
Running is simulated
Exercise
What does Write-Output do?