Professional Windows PowerShell Programming Snap-ins, Cmdlets, Hosts, and Providers Providing you with the programmer's approach to understanding Windows PowerShell, this book introduces you to the concepts, components, and development techniques for building software packages that leverage the power of PowerShell. This author team of PowerShell experts shows you how PowerShell makes writing code easy by providing a runtime engine with its own parser, and you'll see how PowerShell offers functionality that enables you to add custom formatting when objects are displayed. You'll find out how PowerShell's robust SDK allows you to take advantage of PowerShell within your own applications. Plus, you'll discover that with PowerShell, all of the .NET Framework objects become accessible via scripting, making PowerShell a very powerful addition to your toolbox and a popular choice for future development. Once you begin performing the tasks associated with writing command-line utilities, you'll quickly learn how PowerShell permits you to direct your attention to the business logic of your applications. What you will learn from this book * How to create a PowerShell snap-in * Writing your own custom cmdlets * Creating custom providers * Calling to the PowerShell execution engine * Implementing a host user interface * Extending types and formatting Who this book is for This book is for developers and programmers who want to extend the functionality of Windows PowerShell technologies and extend their applications by using PowerShell. Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.