Best PowerShell Guidebooks to Buy in October 2025
Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches
PowerShell 7 for IT Professionals
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
PowerShell in Depth
Windows PowerShell Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Scripting Microsoft's Command Shell
- QUALITY ASSURANCE: THOROUGHLY INSPECTED FOR OPTIMAL READABILITY.
- ECO-FRIENDLY CHOICE: SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY BY BUYING USED BOOKS.
- BUDGET-FRIENDLY: AFFORDABLE PRICES FOR VALUABLE LITERARY FINDS.
Windows PowerShell Step by Step
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
Windows Server 2019 Automation with PowerShell Cookbook: Powerful ways to automate and manage Windows administrative tasks, 3rd Edition
Pro PowerShell Desired State Configuration: An In-Depth Guide to Windows PowerShell DSC
Learn Windows PowerShell in a Month of Lunches
In PowerShell, the "-" character is used as a parameter indicator in commands. It is typically followed by a parameter name that modifies the behavior of the command. For example, when using the "Get-Process" command, the "-Name" parameter can be used to specify the name of the process to retrieve information about. The "-" character plays a crucial role in effectively using PowerShell commands and passing parameters to them.
How to use the "-" symbol alongside wildcard characters in Powershell filters?
In PowerShell, the "-" symbol (minus sign) can be used alongside wildcard characters in filters to exclude certain elements from the search results.
For example, to list all files in a directory except those starting with "abc", you can use the following command:
Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Path\To\Directory" -Filter "*.txt" | Where-Object { $_.Name -notlike "abc*" }
In this command:
- Get-ChildItem lists all files in the specified directory
- -Filter "*.txt" filters only files with a .txt extension
- Where-Object { $_.Name -notlike "abc*" } filters out files whose names start with "abc"
You can adjust the wildcard pattern and condition based on your specific filtering needs.
How does the "-" symbol affect Powershell parameters?
In PowerShell, the "-" symbol is commonly used to indicate named parameters in command calls. When specifying parameters in PowerShell commands, the "-" symbol prefixes the parameter name to distinguish it from the value being passed. For example, in the command Get-Process -Name "explorer", the "-" symbol indicates that "Name" is a named parameter, and it corresponds to the value "explorer".
Additionally, the "-" symbol can also be used as a subtraction operator in mathematical operations within PowerShell scripts. When used in this context, it performs arithmetic subtraction on the values provided.
How to use the "-" symbol to reference specific variables in Powershell?
In Powershell, the "-" symbol is used as the prefix for parameter names in cmdlets and functions. To reference specific variables using the "-" symbol, you can use the following syntax:
$variable1 = "Value 1" $variable2 = "Value 2"
Using "-" symbol to reference variables
Write-Host $variable1 Write-Host $variable2
In this example, the "-" symbol is used to reference the variables $variable1 and $variable2 when outputting their values using the Write-Host cmdlet.
You can also use the "-" symbol in combination with other characters, such as in variable names or parameter names, to create more complex commands and scripts in Powershell.