about_Scripting_ValidateNotNullorEmpty.help.txt
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about_ValidateNotNullorEmpty SHORT DESCRIPTION A tutorial on using the [ValidateNotNullorEmpty()] parameter validation attribute. LONG DESCRIPTION I've been writing about the different parameter validation attributes that you can use in your PowerShell scripting. One that I use in practically every script is [ValidateNotNullorEmpty()]. This validation will ensure that something is passed as a parameter value. I'm not talking about making a parameter mandatory; only that if the user decides to use the parameter that something is passed. Let's look at my demo. #requires -version 2.0 Param ( [Parameter(Position=0,Mandatory=$True, HelpMessage="Enter a process name like lsass")] [ValidateNotNullorEmpty()] [string]$Name, [Parameter(Position=1)] [ValidateNotNullorEmpty()] [string]$Computername=$env:computername ) Try { Get-Process -Name $name -ComputerName $computername -errorAction "Stop" | Select *,@{Name="Runtime";Expression={(Get-Date)-$_.StartTime}} } Catch { Write-Warning $_.Exception.Message } I've used the attribute on both parameters. The first parameter I've also made mandatory which makes it more likely that something will be entered. But if not, then the script will fail. I will also get a similar message if the user forgest to complete the command. PS C:\Scripts> .\myscript.ps1 -name lsass -computername Even though I'm using a default value for Computername, as soon as the parameter is detected PowerShell assumes I'm going to use a different value. Validation should work for missing values, a variable that might be null, or in general anything that is meaningless. However, it won't prevent something quirky like this: PS C:\Scripts> $p=" " PS C:\Scripts> .\demo-ValidateNotNull.ps1 -name $p WARNING: Cannot find a process with the name " ". Verify the process name and call the cmdlet again. The variable, while semantically meaningless to us, is not null or empty but a string of 1 space. If there's the chance you might run into this situation then you can add additional validation checks to the parameter. SEE ALSO about_Functions_Advanced_Parameters http://jdhitsolutions.com/blog |