Summary  
This chapter explains how to retrieve structured objects, explore their properties and methods with Get-Member, access properties or invoke methods using dot notation, and use the pipeline to filter and select objects.

General domain of usage  
system administration

Watch this video to see how PowerShell objects and pipelines work together. You'll learn how commands return objects, how to access their properties and methods, and how to pass these objects through the pipeline for further processing. Visual examples will help you understand key concepts and apply them confidently in your own PowerShell scripts.

PowerShell differs from traditional command-line interfaces because it is object-oriented. Instead of producing plain text, PowerShell commands return structured **objects**. Each object contains **properties**, which store data, and **methods**, which define actions that can be performed on that object.

This object-based approach makes it easier to filter, sort, and manipulate data without relying on text parsing. It also enables you to build more reliable and powerful automation scripts by passing objects directly between commands through the PowerShell pipeline. Understanding how objects work is a fundamental step toward using PowerShell effectively.

When you run a command such as `Get-Process`, PowerShell returns one or more **process objects**. Each object contains a variety of **properties**, including values like `ProcessName`, `Id`, and `CPU`.

You can access a property's value using **dot notation**. For example, if a process is stored in the variable `$process`, you can retrieve its process ID with:

```powershell
$process.Id
```

Objects also include **methods**, which are actions that can be performed on them. For example, the `Kill()` method terminates a process:

```powershell
$process.Kill()
```

By exposing both data through properties and functionality through methods, PowerShell objects provide a flexible and powerful way to interact with the operating system and automate administrative tasks.


This course introduces the essentials of PowerShell for those new to scripting and automation. You will learn how to run scripts, use basic commands, work with variables and types, manipulate objects, use pipelines, manage files, handle errors, and automate tasks. Each section builds practical skills with clear examples and hands-on code samples.

Learn the foundational skills to start using PowerShell, including running scripts, using commands, and understanding variables and types.

Dive into PowerShell’s object-based approach and learn how to use pipelines to process data efficiently.

Apply PowerShell to manage files, handle errors, and automate everyday tasks with scripts.

Working with Objects