Get to know Bruce Payette - PSConfEU 2024

Get-ToKnow -id 'Bruce Payette'

about Bruce
Bruce Payette is one of the original developers of (Windows) PowerShell, the master of all shells with a strong UNIX background. Bruce is the author of "PowerShell in Action" (Manning) - one book to rule them all.

Bruce' session recordings from PSConfEU 2024
Braid: One Year In
   • Braid: One Year In - Bruce Payette - ...  

Runspaces and Modules and Closures oh my!
   • Runspaces and Modules and Closures oh...  

about this interview
During the PowerShell Conference in Antwerp in 2024, Thorsten Butz invited Bruce Payette to reminisce about their previous encounter in Hanover in 2016, where they delved into Bruce early history at Microsoft around the turn of the millennium.
You can find this talk as part of the "Sliding Windows" podcast:
https://slidingwindows.de/slw04

Bruce tells his fascinating story as someone who transitioned from Unix services to creating PowerShell. Bruce details Microsoft's struggle with automation pre-PowerShell and how Jeffrey Snover's brainchild revolutionized command-line operations. Bruce unpacks the history of PowerShell's development, shedding light on the challenges faced due to Windows' reliance on WMI and APIs.

Delving into technical aspects, they explore the intricacies of Cmdletbinding and the performance implications of using Cmdllets (advanced functions) versus (simple) functions. Bruce introduces the foreach method and where method as alternatives to traditional ForEach-Object and Where-Object. As they shift focus to future advancements, Bruce shares insights on "ForEach-Object -parallel" and its role in optimizing script performance, particularly in scenarios involving multiple machines. The discussion highlights the practical implications of these technical aspects for administrators and power users, emphasizing the adaptability and efficiency that PowerShell offers in managing diverse environments.

The conversation delves into the intricacies of PowerShell commands, focusing on optimizing scripts, parallelizing tasks, and the evolution of PowerShell versions. They reflect on the maturity of the Active Directory module and the evolution of PowerShell from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The conversation moves on to the complexities of SOAP and REST protocols, the shift to more standardized protocols like WSMAN, and challenges in getting Linux systems to adapt to these standards. They also touch on the simplicity of Get-EventLog versus the sophistication and complexity of Get-WinEvent, discussing the ease of use and capabilities of each command for event log management.

The conversation delved into Bruce's transition from Microsoft to Amazon, highlighting the differences in work environments and technologies between the two tech giants. Bruce shared insights into his sabbatical after leaving Amazon, where he pursued the development of a new shell called Braid, emphasizing a shift towards a more developer-centric approach compared to PowerShell.

Bruce created yet another shell in recent years: Braid
Bruce talks about his motiviation, lessons learned from PowerShell and future use cases of Braid.

The discussion ends on broader topics like the impact of artificial intelligence and the evolving tech landscape. Bruce shared his perspectives on the role of AI and its potential implications for society, emphasizing the value of personal connections and the exchange of ideas in tech conferences. The engaging discussion concluded with reflections on the evolution of technology and the lasting impact of human intelligence in the tech industry, highlighting the importance of continuous learning and collaboration.

Chapters:
00:00:00 Get to know Bruce Payette - PSConfEU 2024
00:00:08 Introduction to PSConfEU in Antwerp 2024
00:02:06 Integration of Unix Shell
00:03:20 Paul McCartney Moment
00:04:02 Composing Commands in Pipelines
00:05:29 Cmdlet Naming Origins
00:06:57 Creation of Core Commandlets
00:07:59 Expansion to Cloud Teams
00:10:25 Differentiating foreach vs ForEach-Object
00:11:26 Technical Differentiation of Loop vs Cmdlet
00:12:49 Performance Impact of CmdletBinding
00:14:54 Introduction of ForEach Method
00:15:52 PowerShell and Language Integrated Query
00:17:36 Importance of ForEach-Object -Parallel
00:19:40 Use Cases for -Parallel
00:22:28 Importance of Explicit Module Loading
00:23:42 Pipelining by PropertyName
00:25:55 Introduction of Metaprogramming in PowerShell 3
00:27:46 Usability Challenges with WMI
00:35:05 Transition to OMI and Rest
00:36:42 Focusing on Linux and OMI
00:38:37 Evolution of SOAP to REST
00:42:31 Transition to Amazon and Retirement
00:45:38 Challenges of Working with C#
00:47:54 Development Journey of Braid
00:51:14 Evolution of Windows Terminal
00:56:14 Braid: The Beginning of a New Shell