Batch file v PowerShell script - windows

Question

Is there any advantage to using a PowerShell script over a batch file?
By which I mean, if I have something which will run in either, is there anything to warrant detecting if PowerShell is installed and using it over a batch file if it is?
SCHTASKS works in exactly the same manner on both. Given that, is there any differentiator between them?

Answer 1

The following code executes the same code via both processes:
internal class Program
{
private static void Main()
{
const string COMMAND = #"SCHTASKS /QUERY /XML ONE";
Collection<PSObject> psObjects;
using (var ps = PowerShell.Create())
{
ps.AddScript(COMMAND);
psObjects = ps.Invoke();
}
var process = new Process
{
StartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
{
UseShellExecute = false,
RedirectStandardOutput = true,
FileName = "cmd.exe",
Arguments = "/C " + COMMAND
}
};
process.Start();
string cmdTasks;
using (var reader = process.StandardOutput)
{
cmdTasks = reader.ReadToEnd();
}
}
}
The response object from the two approaches differs. The Process.Start() approach returns a string, which I would have to parse whereas invoking PowerShell gives me a collection of PSObject objects.