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Function-Structure.md

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Functions

Avoid using the return keyword in your functions. Just place the object variable on its own.

When declaring simple functions leave a space between the function name and the parameters.

function MyFunction ($param1, $param2) {
    ...  
}

Advanced Functions

For Advanced Functions and scripts use the format of <verb- for naming. For a list of approved verbs the cmdlet Get-Verb will list them. On the noun side it can be composed of more than one joined word using Pascal Case and only singular nouns.

In Advanced Functions do not use the keyword return to return an object.

In Advanced Functions you return objects inside the Process {} block and not in Begin {} or End {} since it defeats the advantage of the pipeline.

# Bad
function Get-USCitizenCapability {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    [OutputType([psobject])]
    param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
                   ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true,
                   Position=0)]
        [int16]
        $Age
    )
    process {
        $Capabilities = @{
            MilitaryService = $false
            DrinkAlcohol = $false
            Vote = $false
        }
        if ($Age -ge 18) {
            $Capabilities['MilitaryService'] = $true
            $Capabilities['Vote'] = $true
        }

        $Obj = New-Object -Property $Capabilities -TypeName psobject
    }
    end { return $Obj }
}
  
# Good
function Get-USCitizenCapability {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    [OutputType([psobject])]
    param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,
                   ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true,
                   Position=0)]
        [int16]
        $Age
    )
    process {
        $Capabilities = @{
            MilitaryService = $false
            DrinkAlcohol = $false
            Vote = $false
        }

        if ($Age -ge 18) {
            $Capabilities['MilitaryService'] = $true
            $Capabilities['Vote'] = $true
        }

        New-Object -Property $Capabilities -TypeName psobject
    }
}

Always use CmdletBinding attribute.

Always have at least a process {} code block if any parameters takes values from the Pipeline.

Specify an OutputType attribute if the advanced function returns an object or collection of objects.

If the function returns different object types depending on the parameter set provide one per parameter set.

[OutputType([<TypeLiteral>], ParameterSetName="<Name>")]
[OutputType("<TypeNameString>", ParameterSetName="<Name>")]

When a ParameterSetName is used in any of the parameters, always provide a DefaultParameterSetName in the CmdletBinding attribute.

function Get-User {
    [CmdletBinding(DefaultParameterSetName="ID")]
    [OutputType("System.Int32", ParameterSetName="ID")]
    [OutputType([String], ParameterSetName="Name")]
    param (      
        [parameter(Mandatory=$true, ParameterSetName="ID")]
        [Int[]]
        $UserID,

        [parameter(Mandatory=$true, ParameterSetName="Name")]
        [String[]]
        $UserName
    )     
    <# function body #>
}

When using advanced functions or scripts with CmdletBinding attribute avoid validating parameters in the body of the script when possible and use parameter validation attributes instead.

  • AllowNull Validation Attribute

The AllowNull attribute allows the value of a mandatory parameter to be null ($null).

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [AllowNull()]
    [String]
    $ComputerName
)
  • AllowEmptyString Validation Attribute

The AllowEmptyString attribute allows the value of a mandatory parameter to be an empty string ("").

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [AllowEmptyString()]
    [String]
    $ComputerName
)
  • AllowEmptyCollection Validation Attribute

The AllowEmptyCollection attribute allows the value of a mandatory parameter to be an empty collection (@()).

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [AllowEmptyCollection()]
    [String[]]
    $ComputerName
)
  • ValidateCount Validation Attribute

The ValidateCount attribute specifies the minimum and maximum number of parameter values that a parameter accepts. Windows PowerShell generates an error if the number of parameter values in the command that calls the function is outside that range.

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidateCount(1,5)]
    [String[]]
    $ComputerName
)
  • ValidateLength Validation Attribute

The ValidateLength attribute specifies the minimum and maximum number of characters in a parameter or variable value. Windows PowerShell generates an error if the length of a value specified for a parameter or a variable is outside of the range.

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidateLength(1,10)]
    [String[]]
    $ComputerName
)
  • ValidatePattern Validation Attribute

The ValidatePattern attribute specifies a regular expression that is compared to the parameter or variable value. Windows PowerShell generates an error if the value does not match the regular expression pattern.

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidatePattern("[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]")]
    [String[]]
    $ComputerName
)
  • ValidateRange Validation Attribute

The ValidateRange attribute specifies a numeric range for each parameter or variable value. Windows PowerShell generates an error if any value is outside that range.

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidateRange(0,10)]
    [Int]
    $Attempts
)
  • ValidateScript Validation Attribute

The ValidateScript attribute specifies a script that is used to validate a parameter or variable value. Windows PowerShell pipes the value to the script, and generates an error if the script returns "false" or if the script throws an exception.

When you use the ValidateScript attribute, the value that is being validated is mapped to the $_ variable. You can use the $_ variable to refer to the value in the script.

param (
    [Parameter()]
    [ValidateScript({$_ -ge (get-date)})]
    [DateTime]
    $EventDate
)
  • ValidateSet Attribute

The ValidateSet attribute specifies a set of valid values for a parameter or variable. Windows PowerShell generates an error if a parameter or variable value does not match a value in the set. In the following example, the value of the Detail parameter can only be "Low," "Average," or "High."

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidateSet("Low", "Average", "High")]
    [String[]]
    $Detail
)
  • ValidateNotNull Validation Attribute

The ValidateNotNull attribute specifies that the parameter value cannot be null ($null). Windows PowerShell generates an error if the parameter value is null.

The ValidateNotNull attribute is designed to be used when the type of the parameter value is not specified or when the specified type will accept a value of Null. (If you specify a type that will not accept a null value, such as a string, the null value will be rejected without the ValidateNotNull attribute, because it does not match the specified type.)

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidateNotNull()]
    $ID
)
  • ValidateNotNullOrEmpty Validation Attribute

The ValidateNotNullOrEmpty attribute specifies that the parameter value cannot be null ($null) and cannot be an empty string (""). Windows PowerShell generates an error if the parameter is used in a function call, but its value is null, an empty string, or an empty array.

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
    [ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]
    [String[]]
    $UserName
)