In 2009 Microsoft kicked PowerShell up a notch to the next level, a move which coincided with the release of the latest iteration of the Windows client, Windows 7. In this context, July 22nd marked the release to manufacturing of PowerShell 2.0, while October 22nd was synonymous with the general availability, as the new Windows command-line shell ships included by default into Windows Vista’s successor. Now developers can also access the Windows PowerShell 2.0 software development kit (SDK) which is designed to bring to the table not only sample code, but also reference assemblies that enable the creation of applications with Windows PowerShell at the core.

“This SDK contains reference assemblies and samples that demonstrates how to use the Windows PowerShell 2.0 APIs to build a rich set of applications. In this package, you will find sample code which shows how to use the new PowerShell class, how to write cmdlets that supports eventing, transactions and jobs. In addition, there are examples of host applications that connect to remote computers using individual runspaces and runspace pools. This SDK also includes modified Windows PowerShell 1.0 samples using the modified and improved Windows PowerShell 2.0 APIs,” Microsoft revealed.

While Windows PowerShell 2.0 is a component of Windows 7, the command-line shell is not limited exclusively to the latest version of Windows. In fact, Microsoft is working to backport version 2.0 of PowerShell to both Windows Vista and Windows XP, in addition to their server counterparts, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003.

“Windows PowerShell is a Microsoft .NET Framework-connected environment designed for administrative automation. Windows PowerShell provides a new approach to building commands, composing solutions, and creating graphical user interface-based management tools,” the company added. “Windows PowerShell enables a system administrator to automate the administration of system resources by the execution of commands either directly or through scripts.”

Windows PowerShell 2.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) is available for download here.