What type of commands do cmdlets represent in PowerShell?

Cmdlets in PowerShell are indeed best described as instructions that perform specific tasks. They are built-in functions designed to handle various system administration tasks and are used to manage and automate the administration of the operating system and applications.

Each cmdlet consists of a verb-noun pair that defines the action and the resource on which the action is performed. For example, “Get-Process” retrieves data about running processes, acting as an instruction to the system to provide that information. This structured approach to commands enhances the usability of PowerShell, making it easier to learn and implement.

While cmdlets are not "functions" in the traditional programming sense, they do encapsulate specific functionalities and can be used similarly. Parameter lists describe the arguments that can be passed to cmdlets but do not encapsulate their overall purpose. Data types refer to the kind of data that can be processed or output by cmdlets but are not reflective of what cmdlets themselves are.