Scripting Archives - Jonathan Crozier

Formatting JSON with proper indentation using PowerShell

PowerShell is a powerful scripting language that makes working with data a breeze, allowing you to import and export to a variety of common file formats such as CSV, XML, and JSON. However, when it comes to JSON, the formatting applied by the built-in ConvertTo-Json cmdlet leaves a lot to be desired. While this may…

How to update Azure Web App TLS/SSL bindings in bulk using PowerShell

InScripting Security Web

If you have an Azure Web App with multiple custom domains and you want to enable TLS (Transport Layer Security), you’ll need to add a TLS/SSL certificate binding for each hostname. These bindings can be configured individually via the Azure Portal web interface. However, if the number of hostnames is large, updating the TLS/SSL binding…

Send a Mailgun email via PowerShell

InScripting

Mailgun is a popular email delivery service that is built for developers and combines high reliability with scalability. PowerShell is a cross-platform scripting language that allows tasks to be automated on Windows, Linux, and macOS using the power of .NET. When developing PowerShell scripts that are running automatically on a schedule, it’s often useful to…

File backup to network drive using PowerShell

InScripting

When it comes to backing up files, sometimes the simplest option is best. If you’re looking for a quick, straightforward, yet flexible solution for backing up files and folders, a PowerShell script can be a great choice. By creating your own backup script, you can stop relying on third-party programs to do the job for…

Back for seconds: Practical Cake build automation tasks

InScripting

Cake (C# Make) provides a wonderfully straightforward and extensible means of automating your software builds. In my previous article, I provided some background on what Cake is and how to get started with it. I walked through how to set up Cake on your system and how to create and run your first build script….

Software build automation sweetness: Getting started with Cake

InScripting

Fancy some Cake? While cakes in all their forms are usually a delicious treat, the Cake I’m referring to is a build automation system written in C#. Nonetheless, if you haven’t used Cake before I’m sure you’ll find it just as sweet an experience! Let’s dive right in with a definition of Cake, taken from…

How to make a self-destructing file

InScripting

Have you ever wanted (or needed) to make a file that self-destructs after it has been opened? There are a number of ways to implement this, including some off-the-shelf tools. However, often a custom solution that can be tailored to a specific use case is what is required. This article covers a simple means of…

SQL Server Merge Replication: Update existing merge articles in bulk

InScripting SQL Server Merge Replication

Whenever you start to scale things up with SQL Server Merge Replication automation becomes essential. This becomes very apparent when there are many subscribers connected to the publisher or when the number of articles that make up your publication is large. As part of this blog post, I am going to demonstrate how to speed…

How to install MSI packages using msiexec and C#

InProgramming Scripting

MSI packages remain a popular means of distributing applications for installation on Windows devices. On occasion, you may find the need to install or uninstall an MSI package programmatically, for example, whenever you need to automate a software installation or update. In this article, I’m going to show you how you can silently install and…

Connecting to SQL Server from PowerShell

InScripting SQL

PowerShell is an awesome scripting language with many powerful features. This includes integration with SQL Server; a fantastic database engine that is both reliable and battle-tested. If you need to automate repetitive and/or time-consuming DBA processes, connecting PowerShell to your SQL Server instance can be a massive help. In this article, we are going to…

Category: Scripting

Formatting JSON with proper indentation using PowerShell

How to update Azure Web App TLS/SSL bindings in bulk using PowerShell

Send a Mailgun email via PowerShell

File backup to network drive using PowerShell

Back for seconds: Practical Cake build automation tasks

Software build automation sweetness: Getting started with Cake

How to make a self-destructing file

SQL Server Merge Replication: Update existing merge articles in bulk

How to install MSI packages using msiexec and C#

Connecting to SQL Server from PowerShell

How to print SQL Server messages to the output immediately

Introduction to the SQL Server MERGE statement

Operating on data via a SQL Server Stored Procedure efficiently with Table-Valued Parameters using C#