Azure Cloud Shell vs. PowerShell vs. Python vs. VBScript Comparison Chart

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.

VBScript is a programming language included with Microsoft Internet Explorer. For other browsers, contact your vendor about support. VBScript 2.0 (or later) is recommended for use with Agent. Although earlier versions of VBScript may work with Agent, they lack certain functions that you may want to use. You can download VBScript 2.0 and obtain further information on VBScript at the Microsoft Downloads site and the Microsoft VBScript site. With VBScript (2.0 or later), you can verify whether Microsoft Agent is installed by trying to create the object and checking to see if it exists. The following sample demonstrates how to check for the Agent control without triggering an auto-download of the control.