Creating the JSON configurationįor this I used the example from the blog post as a template. I used these output files to design and implement a parsing function for each subcommand. I looked at the help provided by vssadmin and captured the output for each subcommand in a separate file. To create the parser functions I had to know what the output looked like for all the possible command combinations of vssadmin.exe. But, in the Preview 3 release, Jim added the ability to create your output handler code in a function or a script file, making it much easier to manage.Īlright! Writing the PowerShell functions is something I am more comfortable with, so that was my next step. Initially, the parsing code had to be embedded in the JSON file, which made writing and formatting the code very difficult.

Output handler functions that parse the output from the native command and return objects.

A JSON configuration file that describes the cmdlets you want.

To create a module using the Crescendo framework you must create two main components: So, I started by reading the blog posts about Crescendo and looking at some examples in the repository. How is this going to help me?īut I knew there must be more to it for Jim to invest this much time and effort into it, and I wanted something to present at the user group meeting. I’ve written wrapper modules like this before. When I first heard about Crescendo, I thought: The goal of a Crescendo-based module is to create PowerShell cmdlets that use a native command-line tool, but unlike the tool, return PowerShell objects instead of plain text. Crescendo provides a framework to rapidly develop PowerShell cmdlets that wrap native commands, regardless of platform.

What is Crescendo?Ĭrescendo is an experimental module developed by Jim Truher, one of the main developers of PowerShell. This got me thinking: vssadmin is a perfect candidate for a Crescendo module and maybe I should just learn it and do the presentation myself. Then, in an unrelated conversation, someone mentioned using vssadmin.exe for some project. I was going to ask Jason Helmick if he would do a presentation for us. In a recent PowerShell Users Group meeting I was thinking that it might be good to talk about the new Crescendo module and how to use it.

Crescendo registration code