14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced PowerShell 7, a new major release that comes only a few days after the company originally introduced version 6.2
And while it naturally makes more sense for the company to roll out PowerShell 6.3 rather than a whole new version 7.0, the company explains in a blog post that it’s all as part of the efforts to align the versions of all platforms.
Steve Lee, Principal Software Engineer Manager, PowerShell, explains that Microsoft noticed a growing usage pattern on Linux, but not on Windows.
“Windows usage has not been growing as significantly, surprising given that PowerShell was popularized on the Windows platform,” Lee explains.
“We believe that this could be occurring because existing Windows PowerShell users have existing automation that is incompatible with PowerShell Core because of unsupported modules, assemblies, and APIs. These folks are unable to take advantage of PowerShell Core’s new features, increased performance, and bug fixes. To address this, we are renewing our efforts towards a full replacement of Windows PowerShell 5.1 with our next release.”
Also offered as part of Windows
The next version of PowerShell will thus be available on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and the company explains it’ll be available with LTS (Long Term Servicing) and non-LTS plans.
The first preview version of PowerShel 7 is projected to land in May, but details aren’t available right now. Microsoft says the launch date depends on the work it does on the integration and validation of PowerShell with .NET Core 3.0.
Lee also revealed that PowerShell 7 will at some point be included in Windows, and it will be offered side-by-side with Windows PowerShell 5.1. There are no specifics available right now on the ETA, as Microsoft explains that the.NET Core timeline doesn’t align with the one of Windows.
The feature lineup is still in the works right now, and Microsoft says further details in this regard would be shared soon.