Why Did Windows Introduce PowerShell Instead of Upgrading CMD?

Windows introduced PowerShell as a new shell instead of upgrading Command Prompt (cmd.exe) due to several fundamental limitations of CMD. Below are the key reasons: 1. CMD Was Too Limited for Modern Automation CMD was originally designed for simple command execution and batch scripting. It lacked advanced scripting capabilities, making automation difficult. Example: CMD handles only text-based output, whereas PowerShell works with structured objects. 2. Need for Object-Oriented Processing CMD processes only plain text, making it harder to work with system data. PowerShell is built on .NET, allowing commands to handle objects instead of just text. Example: Fetching running processes CMD: tasklist | findstr "chrome" (Filters plain text output) PowerShell: Get-Process chrome (Directly fetches process objects) 3. Better System Administration & Integration with Windows CMD lacks built-in support for system administration tasks like managing services, registry, and Active Directory. PowerShell provides cmdlets (Get-Service, Set-ExecutionPolicy) for deep system control. Example: Restarting a service CMD: net stop spooler && net start spooler PowerShell: Restart-Service -Name Spooler 4. Advanced Scripting & Programming Capabilities CMD scripts (.bat files) are very basic and hard to maintain. PowerShell supports: Variables, loops, conditions (if, foreach, try-catch). Modules & functions for better reusability. Error handling using structured exception management. 5. Cross-Platform Support (PowerShell Core) CMD works only on Windows. PowerShell (from version 6) became cross-platform, running on Windows, Linux, and macOS. 6. Security Improvements CMD had no script execution policies, making it risky. PowerShell introduced execution policies to prevent unauthorized script execution: Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted Here is the basic power-shell script that does not support supported by cmd # Print a message to the console Write-Host "Hello, World!" # Get system information $os = Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem Write-Host "Operating System: " $os.Caption Write-Host "System Architecture: " $os.OSArchitecture Write-Host "Total RAM: " ($os.TotalVisibleMemorySize / 1MB) "GB" Conclusion Instead of modifying CMD (which was outdated and limited), Microsoft built PowerShell from scratch to provide: ✔ Advanced scripting capabilities ✔ Object-oriented processing ✔ Deep integration with Windows ✔ Cross-platform support ✔ Enhanced security This made PowerShell more powerful and future-proof for modern IT automation and system administration.

Mar 5, 2025 - 17:12

Why Did Windows Introduce PowerShell Instead of Upgrading CMD?

Windows introduced PowerShell as a new shell instead of upgrading Command Prompt (cmd.exe) due to several fundamental limitations of CMD. Below are the key reasons:

1. CMD Was Too Limited for Modern Automation

CMD was originally designed for simple command execution and batch scripting.
It lacked advanced scripting capabilities, making automation difficult.
Example: CMD handles only text-based output, whereas PowerShell works with structured objects.

2. Need for Object-Oriented Processing

CMD processes only plain text, making it harder to work with system data.
PowerShell is built on .NET, allowing commands to handle objects instead of just text.

Example: Fetching running processes

CMD:

 tasklist | findstr "chrome"

(Filters plain text output)

PowerShell:

 Get-Process chrome

(Directly fetches process objects)

3. Better System Administration & Integration with Windows

CMD lacks built-in support for system administration tasks like managing services, registry, and Active Directory.
PowerShell provides cmdlets (Get-Service, Set-ExecutionPolicy) for deep system control.

Example: Restarting a service

CMD:

 net stop spooler && net start spooler

PowerShell:

 Restart-Service -Name Spooler

4. Advanced Scripting & Programming Capabilities

CMD scripts (.bat files) are very basic and hard to maintain.
PowerShell supports:
- Variables, loops, conditions (if, foreach, try-catch).
- Modules & functions for better reusability.
- Error handling using structured exception management.

5. Cross-Platform Support (PowerShell Core)

CMD works only on Windows.
PowerShell (from version 6) became cross-platform, running on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

6. Security Improvements

CMD had no script execution policies, making it risky.
PowerShell introduced execution policies to prevent unauthorized script execution:

 Set-ExecutionPolicy Restricted

Here is the basic power-shell script that does not support supported by cmd

# Print a message to the console
Write-Host "Hello, World!"

# Get system information
$os = Get-CimInstance Win32_OperatingSystem
Write-Host "Operating System: " $os.Caption
Write-Host "System Architecture: " $os.OSArchitecture
Write-Host "Total RAM: " ($os.TotalVisibleMemorySize / 1MB) "GB"

Conclusion

Instead of modifying CMD (which was outdated and limited), Microsoft built PowerShell from scratch to provide:

✔ Advanced scripting capabilities

✔ Object-oriented processing

✔ Deep integration with Windows

✔ Cross-platform support

✔ Enhanced security

This made PowerShell more powerful and future-proof for modern IT automation and system administration.