Difference between Sqlcmd and Invoke-Sqlcmd

Question

I am trying to learn Sqlcmd utility in PowerShell to run SQL queries, specifically for database administration.

Using Version 15.0.1300.359 NT

But I got confused, what is the difference between Sqlcmd and Invoke-Sqlcmd?

Why is it this command works:

Invoke-Sqlcmd -ServerInstance myinstance -Database AdventureWorks2017 "select top 3 * from [Person].[BusinessEntity]"

And this one does not work:

Invoke-Sqlcmd -S myinstance -d AdventureWorks2017 "select top 3 * from [Person].[BusinessEntity]"

By querying help I can clearly see that I should be able using all those variables:

Answer 1

• Invoke-SqlCmd is one of the PowerShell cmdlets from the SqlServer Module
• sqlcmd is a Microsoft Utility

If you're working on PowerShell scripting, I would recommend the use of the Module whenever possible. Invoke-SqlCmd will output objects, which are definitely easier to manipulate.