Azure Cloud Shell vs. Azure Virtual Desktop vs. JavaScript vs. PowerShell Comparison Chart

Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly Windows Virtual Desktop) is a comprehensive desktop and app virtualization service running in the cloud. It’s the only virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that delivers simplified management, multi-session Windows 10, optimizations for Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise, and support for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) environments. Deploy and scale your Windows desktops and apps on Azure in minutes, and get built-in security and compliance features. Bring your own device (BYOD) and access your desktop and applications over the internet using an Azure Virtual Desktop client such as Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, or HTML5. Choose the right Azure virtual machine (VM) to optimize performance and leverage the Windows 10 and Windows 11 multi-session advantage on Azure to run multiple concurrent user sessions and save costs.

PowerShell is a cross-platform task automation and configuration management framework, consisting of a command-line shell and scripting language. Unlike most shells, which accept and return text, PowerShell is built on top of the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR), and accepts and returns .NET objects. This fundamental change brings entirely new tools and methods for automation. Unlike traditional command-line interfaces, PowerShell cmdlets are designed to deal with objects. An object is structured information that is more than just the string of characters appearing on the screen. Command output always carries extra information that you can use if you need it. If you've used text-processing tools to process data in the past, you'll find that they behave differently when used in PowerShell. In most cases, you don't need text-processing tools to extract specific information. You directly access portions of the data using standard PowerShell object syntax.