Microsoft: PowerShell 7 is available for new platforms

The latest version of Microsoft's automation tool for Windows, MacOS and Linux is available. Here is what PowerShell 7 contains and what will follow.
The latest major update to Microsoft's PowerShell, PowerShell 7, an automation and scripting tool, is available on March 4. PowerShell 7 , the successor to PowerShell Core 6.X, is available for Windows 7, 8.1 and 10; Windows Server (2008R2, 2012, 2016 and 2019); macOS and various Linux versions.

With version 7, Microsoft added a number of new features to PowerShell, including new operators, cmdlets, and pipeline parallelization.

Microsoft explains that PowerShell 7 also offers increased backward compatibility, so users of older versions of PowerShell can use the new features introduced in PowerShell Core for the first time.

Windows PowerShell was built on the .NET Framework

Last year, Microsoft announced that it would call its next version of PowerShell Core "PowerShell 7" (instead of PowerShell Core 6.3). Microsoft also announced plans to update Windows PowerShell 5.1, which was the latest version of the Windows-only version of PowerShell released in 2016.

Windows PowerShell was built on the .NET Framework, and PowerShell Core on the .NET Core. PowerShell 7 is based on .NET Core 3.1, which brings back a number of .NET Framework interfaces, especially under Windows.

Microsoft's long-term plan is to provide greater compatibility between PowerShell 7 and Windows PowerShell. PowerShell 7 / PowerShell Core is available under an open-source license (MIT). Microsoft explains that any PowerShell module currently supported by PowerShell 6.x is automatically supported by PowerShell 7.

PowerShell 7 is a Long Term Servicing (LTS) version, which will be supported for approximately three years from December 3, 2019, .NET Core 3.1 release date. The company is switching to an annual output rate to align with .NET, officials said. Microsoft is working on PowerShell 7.1 and a first preview should be available soon.