This is my PowerShell presentation that I have given to both Chicago SQL Server User Groups. The name of the presentation is having some fun with the old quote, “If you have a hammer, everything is a nail”; which allows me use a real hammer in the presentation to good effect. I have received positive feedback from the people that attended and I even had someone stop me in the hall at SQL Saturday Chicago to say that it helped them use PowerShell to be the hero. It is a powerful hammer indeed.

I attended various PowerShell presentations and I just was not “getting it”. The presentation chronicles my journey trying to understand how all the bits and pieces of PowerShell work. It shows how to dig into things a bit deeper to help use PowerShell and the SQL Server integration provided with SQL Server 2008 more effectively.

I will be giving the presentation at other user groups in the Midwest and I have submitted it to nearby SQL Saturdays.

The slides and scripts are available here for download.

Thanks to Aaron Nelson (Blog|Twitter) and Nic Cain (Blog|Twitter) for their help with script reviews, feedback and inspiration.