Category: Microsoft

powershell on a mac, part 2

whbeebe
Visual Studio Code in PowerShell Git Repository

While taking breaks during the day (and later this evening) I pulled the PowerShell source from Github. I got it to build, after a fashion, but the build process wants to run a series of tests, and the tests are failing a bit. Considering this is alpha code, I’m not that concerned, and consider this to be a learning opportunity.

I will clarify this about the build directions on OS X;

  1. install a PowerShell pre-built binary as Microsoft recommends and start that up;
  2. go down into the PowerShell top Git directory (in my case it was ~/Git/PowerShell);
  3. execute ‘Import-Module ./build.psm1’ within PowerShell.

That will define the PowerShell function Start-PSBootstrap that you need to execute in order to set up the PowerShell build environment. That little detail about sourcing build.psm1 is missing in the OS X directions, although it’s there in the Linux directions. Good thing I read around a bit…

GitHub Desktop with PowerShell Repository

I am pleased with the tools I have installed on the MBP. Visual Studio Code seems to be a rather decent editor (and debugger with the right extensions installed). I’m using it so far for Rust, Go and Python, and tonight I got it set up for C# editing. It comes with the ability to navigate a local Git repository copy out-of-the-box. All on a MBP under Mac OS X 10.11.6. I’m also pleased with GitHub Desktop. I can browse the repository metadata and the diff tool is again pretty decent. My only problem is I couldn’t use the Desktop to do the pull; I had to use the command line tool. I’m no git expert, and my understanding of the Desktop is even more limited. But again, it’s an opportunity to learn.

I’m something of a tool packrat, having installed a fair number of editors and IDEs over the years. For example I’ve purchased a license for Sublime Text, I’ve got Komodo Edit 9 installed, and I even have a copy of Atom installed. About the only editor I don’t have on OS X is Notepad++ (unfortunately, only available on Windows), an editor I use on Windows when I need to get serious about text and code editing without the bloat of a full-up IDE.

So, new tools, new code, a new(ish) shell to spark some interest. I’m looking for a full-up replacement for Java, so maybe I need to give C# another look. PowerShell is written in C#, so there’s that. I know that the cool kids look askance at C#, and I know that Java is still considered the #1 language for making a living. But Oracle has made using Java hellish, and I have no desire to use the language any more. C++, C#, Python, Rust, Go, Javascript; there are so many other good alternatives and what I listed doesn’t scratch the surface of computer languages. It’s such a rich development environment these days.

powershell on a mac

whbeebe
Powershell on a Mac

tl;dr – Microsoft open sourced Powershell. Source, installable packages, and instructions for installing it or building the repository are on Github.

In case you missed it, Microsoft has open sourced its Powershell “super” shell. Right now it’s an alpha release, with all that that implies. And for those who care about such things, it’s released with the MIT open source license, not GNU. You can either grab the sources via git and built it yourself or you can download pre-built installation binaries. I chose to the pre-built Mac installation package to quickly get something up and running. I don’t have a lot to add to the conversation at this point as I’m certainly no Powershell guru. But from what little I do know about Powershell, it all appears to work on my Mac. In the example shown here I’m running Powershell in iTerm2, a better alternative to Apple’s Terminal. Perhaps future releases will be able to create a shell without this intermediate step; it would be nice.

Since upgrading to Windows 10 it’s a tiny bit ironic that I’ve been spending a lot more time in Powershell than I have in prior versions of Windows. What probably pushed me towards Powershell was my eventual dissatisfaction with the Windows Linux Subsystem and its inclusion of bash. I am not a bash fan, and find little to like with any of the other Unix-like shells (csh, tcsh, ksh, zsh, etc, etc). I’ve used all those other shells because that’s all you’ve got. I haven’t gotten excited about a shell since my days of using 4Dos on MSDOS and OS/2. I personally would like a common powerful shell environment across all my various operating systems, but somehow bash and its ilk are not it for me. Since source and instructions for building the repository are available, I’m toying with the idea of building Powershell on Arch Linux ARM for the Raspberry Pi. More to come on that, perhaps…