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Glossary

Quick definitions, A to Z. Each term is explained in depth in its guide; this is the reminder card.

  • Alias — short name for a cmdlet (? for Where-Object). Interactive use only.
  • Automatic variable — reserved $ names: $_, $?, $HOME, $Error, $null, ...
  • Calculated property — @{ Name=...; Expression=... } hashtable creating a derived column in Select-Object.
  • Cmdlet — a PowerShell command, always Verb-Noun.
  • CmdletBinding — attribute giving functions cmdlet powers (-Verbose, -WhatIf, pipeline binding).
  • ErrorAction — per-command error policy; Stop makes errors catchable.
  • Execution policy — Windows gate on running scripts (RemoteSigned recommended).
  • Format-* — display cmdlets; for eyes only, always last in a pipeline.
  • Get-Help — the manual; -Examples is the useful part.
  • Get-Member — inspects an object's properties/methods.
  • Hashtable — @{ key = value } lookup table.
  • Module — a package of commands (.psm1); Gallery is the registry.
  • Non-terminating error — reports and continues; needs -ErrorAction Stop to be catchable.
  • Objects — what flows through pipelines: structured data with properties, not text.
  • Pipeline — |: passes objects between commands.
  • PowerShell 7 — current cross-platform PowerShell (pwsh).
  • PSGallery — the PowerShell Gallery, the module registry.
  • Terminating error — stops execution; caught by try/catch.
  • ValidateSet — restricts a parameter to known values.
  • Verb-Noun — the universal command naming pattern.
  • Windows PowerShell 5.1 — the frozen Windows-only predecessor (powershell.exe).
  • Write-Host — screen only, for humans.
  • Write-Output — to the pipeline (the default output).