UK PowerShell User Group - 22nd March - Regular Expressions

One week from today, on Tuesday 22nd March, the UK PowerShell User Group will host a Live Meeting presentation on Regular Expressions by PowerShell MVP Tome Tanasovski. I make frequent use of Regular Expressions in PowerShell, so Tome's session sounds really interesting:

Regular Expressions have been employed by every serious scripting language for the past 15 years. PowerShell’s adoption and implementation of Regular Expressions has ensured that it is taken seriously by serious scripters. The presentation will explore the history and syntax of regular expressions. It will give a deep dive into the PowerShell cmdlets that use Regular Expressions as well as the .NET native methods that can be invoked using PowerShell. It will give a detailed understanding of the internals of Microsoft’s implementation of Regular Expressions and how it differs from other languages. Real-world scenarios for using regular expressions will be explored.

You'll find all the details to join the meeting on Richard Siddaway's blog, and remember, you don't need to be in the UK to take part, just be interested in the topic at hand.

NEBytes March: Bytecast out now, Automation event next week

Next Wednesday (16th March), NEBytes is putting on an Automation Extravaganza in Newcastle, with John Price delivering a session on developing home automation systems, then I'm going to talk about using PowerShell beyond the blue command window.

My session is going to cover a number of different scanarios for taking advantage of PowerShell in different hosts, from those provided by Microsoft to 3rd party solutions, including the web. I hope that some people who think they know what PowerShell is are going to get a bit of a surprise!

To register for the event, head over to Eventbrite.

As well as the in-person events, we're continuing to produce the NEByes Bytecast, on a new monthly schedule (with some special Mega-Bytecasts coming in the future). Ben Lee and I sat down last Sunday to record Episode 9 and I think we made a good show, featuring discussion of Windows Phone 7 update problems, Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, SSD security, gaming and Apple's new versions of OS X and the iPad. If those things tickle your fancy, pop over to the NEBytes site to grab the mp3 or subscribe via RSS or iTunes.

Windows Server User Group returns with April 6th event in London

After a few months without a meeting, the Windows Server User Group are hosting an event at Microsoft's London HQ (at Cardinal Place, near Victoria Station) at 6pm on the 6th April. There will be two sessions: Microsoft's Bill Orme will present Active Directory – Rights Management Services (AD-RMS) and how it can integrate with the cloud, and Simon Veale of the Oxford Computer Group is presenting on Active Directory – Federation Services (AD-FS). The formal sessions will be followed by far less formal drinks in the Ha Ha bar afterwards.

If you're in the area, I'd suggest getting yourself along to the event. See all the details and the registration link on the Windows Server User Group site. 

Learn about PowerShell's utility cmdlets at the UK User Group's February Live Meeting

Whenever I'm helping anyone get started with PowerShell, I'm always telling them about these cmdlets: Get-Help, Get-Command, Get-Member and Get-PSDrive - they let you discover and learn about the system and PowerShell. The next set of cmdlets that you'd better get familiar with are the ones that keep cropping up all the time when you're doing real work in PowerShell:

Compare-Object
ForEach-Object
Group-Object
Measure-Object
New-Object
Select-Object
Sort-Object
Tee-Object
Where-Object

In the February Live Meeting of the UK PowerShell User Group, PowerShell MVP Richard Siddaway is going to cover these cmdlets in a session accessible to beginners, but possibly with the odd surprise for experts. The session is on Tuesday 8th February at 7:30pm GMT and the joining details are available at Richard's blog.

PowerShell UK User Group with Ed Wilson

Next Tuesday, January 11th, the Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson is presenting a session over Live Meeting for the PowerShell UK User Group on best practices for developing PowerShell scripts...

Learn Windows PowerShell best practices as they apply to each stage of the script development lifecycle. See the differences between working interactively from the Windows PowerShell prompt, writing an inline script, adding basic function, advanced functions and finally the implementation of Windows PowerShell Modules. What is a local best practice for Windows PowerShell development is not the same as a global best practice, and this talk covers those differences.

Details for how to join the meeting are on Richard Siddaway's blog post. Everyone is welcome, so don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the foremost experts in Windows PowerShell.