TOPIC

about_Functions_Advanced_Parameters

SHORT DESCRIPTION
Explains how to add parameters to advanced functions.

LONG DESCRIPTION
You can add parameters to the advanced functions that you write, and use
parameter attributes and arguments to limit the parameter values that
function users submit with the parameter.

The parameters that you add to your function are available to users in
addition to the common parameters that Windows PowerShell adds automatically
to all cmdlets and advanced functions. For more information about the Windows
PowerShell common parameters, see about_CommonParameters
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113216).

Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, you can use splatting with @Args to
represent the parameters in a command. This technique is valid on simple
and advanced functions. For more information, see about_Functions
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113231) and about_Splatting
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=262720).

Static Parameters
Static parameters are parameters that are always available in the function.
Most parameters in Windows PowerShell cmdlets and scripts are static
parameters.

The following example shows the declaration of a ComputerName parameter that

has the following characteristics:

- It is mandatory (required).
- It takes input from the pipeline.
- It takes an array of strings as input.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ValueFromPipeline=$true)]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

Attributes of Parameters

This section describes the attributes that you can add to function
parameters.

All attributes are optional. However, if you omit the CmdletBinding

attribute, then to be recognized as an advanced function, the function
must include the Parameter attribute.

You can add one or multiple attributes in each parameter declaration. There
is no limit to the number of attributes that you can add to a parameter
declaration.
The Parameter Attribute

The Parameter attribute is used to declare the attributes of function

parameters.

The Parameter attribute is optional, and you can omit it if none of the
parameters of your functions need attributes, but to be recognized as
an advanced function (rather than a simple function), a function must have
either the CmdletBinding attribute or the Parameter attribute, or both.

The Parameter attribute has arguments that define the characteristics

of the parameter, such as whether the parameter is mandatory or optional.

Use the following syntax to declare the Parameter attribute, an argument,

and an argument value. The parentheses that enclose the argument and its
value must follow "Parameter" with no intervening space.

Param
(
[parameter(Argument=value)]
$ParameterName
)

Use commas to separate arguments within the parentheses. Use the

following syntax to declare two arguments of the Parameter attribute.

Param
(
[parameter(Argument1=value1,
Argument2=value2)]

If you use the Parameter attribute without arguments (as an alternative

to using the CmdletBinding attribute), the parentheses that follow the
attribute name are still required.

Param
(
[parameter()]
$ParameterName
)

Mandatory Argument

The Mandatory argument indicates that the parameter is required. If this

argument is not specified, the parameter is an optional parameter.

The following example declares the ComputerName parameter. It uses the

Mandatory argument to make the parameter mandatory.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[String[]]
 $ComputerName
)

Position Argument

The Position argument determines whether the parameter name is required

when the parameter is used in a command. When a parameter declaration
includes the Position argument, the parameter name can be omitted and
Windows PowerShell identifies the unnamed parameter value by its position
(or order) in the list of unnamed parameter values in the command.

If the Position argument is not specified, the parameter name (or a

parameter
name alias or abbreviation) must precede the parameter value whenever the
parameter is used in a command.

By default, all function parameters are positional. Windows PowerShell

assigns position numbers to parameters in the order in which the
parameters are declared in the function. To disable this feature,
set the value of the PositionalBinding argument of the CmdletBinding
attribute to $False. The Position argument takes precedence over the
value of the PositionalBinding argument for the parameters on which it
is declared. For more information, see PositionalBinding in
about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute.

The value of the Position argument is specified as an integer. A position

value of 0 represents the first position in the command, a position
value of 1 represents the second position in the command, and so on.

If a function has no positional parameters, Windows PowerShell assigns

positions to each parameter based on the order in which the parameters
are declared. However, as a best practice, do not rely on this assignment.
When you want parameters to be positional, use the Position argument.

The following example declares the ComputerName parameter. It uses the

Position argument with a value of 0. As a result, when "-ComputerName"
is omitted from command, its value must be the first or only unnamed
parameter value in the command.

Param
(
[parameter(Position=0)]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

NOTE: When the Get-Help cmdlet displays the corresponding "Position?"

parameter
attribute, the position value is incremented by 1. For example, a
parameter
with a Position argument value of 0 has a parameter attribute of
"Position? 1."

ParameterSetName Argument
 The ParameterSetName argument specifies the parameter set to which a
parameter belongs. If no parameter set is specified, the parameter
belongs to all the parameter sets defined by the function. Therefore, to
be unique, each parameter set must have at least one parameter that is
not a member of any other parameter set.

The following example declares a ComputerName parameter in the Computer

parameter set, a UserName parameter in the User parameter set, and a
Summary parameter in both parameter sets.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ParameterSetName="Computer")]
[String[]]
$ComputerName,

[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ParameterSetName="User")]
[String[]]
$UserName,

[parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[Switch]
$Summary
)

You can specify only one ParameterSetName value in each argument and only
one ParameterSetName argument in each Parameter attribute. To indicate that
a parameter appears in more than one parameter set, add additional
Parameter
attributes.

The following example explicitly adds the Summary parameter to the Computer
and User parameter sets. The Summary parameter is mandatory in one
parameter
set and optional in the other.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ParameterSetName="Computer")]
[String[]]
$ComputerName,

[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ParameterSetName="User")]
[String[]]
$UserName,

[parameter(Mandatory=$false, ParameterSetName="Computer")]
[parameter(Mandatory=$true, ParameterSetName="User")]
[Switch]
$Summary
)

For more information about parameter sets, see "Cmdlet Parameter Sets"
in the MSDN library at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=142183.
ValueFromPipeline Argument

The ValueFromPipeline argument indicates that the parameter accepts

input from a pipeline object. Specify this argument if the function
accepts the entire object, not just a property of the object.

The following example declares a ComputerName parameter that is

mandatory and accepts an object that is passed to the function
from the pipeline.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ValueFromPipeline=$true)]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName Argument

The valueFromPipelineByPropertyName argument indicates that the

parameter accepts input from a property of a pipeline object. The
object property must have the same name or alias as the parameter.

For example, if the function has a ComputerName parameter, and the

piped object has a ComputerName property, the value of the ComputerName
property is assigned to the ComputerName parameter of the function.

The following example declares a ComputerName parameter that is

mandatory and accepts input from the ComputerName property of the
object that is passed to the function through the pipeline.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true)]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

ValueFromRemainingArguments Argument

The ValueFromRemainingArguments argument indicates that the parameter

accepts all of the parameters values in the command that are not
assigned to other parameters of the function.

The following example declares a ComputerName parameter that is

mandatory and accepts all the remaining parameter values that were
submitted to the function.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true,
ValueFromRemainingArguments=$true)]
[String[]]
 $ComputerName
)

HelpMessage Argument

The HelpMessage argument specifies a string that contains a brief

description of the parameter or its value. Windows PowerShell displays
this message in the prompt that appears when a mandatory parameter value
is missing from a command. This argument has no effect on optional
parameters.

The following example declares a mandatory ComputerName parameter and a

help message that explains the expected parameter value.

Param
(
[parameter(mandatory=$true,
HelpMessage="Enter one or more computer names separated by
commas.")]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

Alias Attribute

The Alias attribute establishes an alternate name for the parameter. There
is no limit to the number of aliases that you can assign to a parameter.

The following example shows a parameter declaration that adds the "CN" and
"MachineName" aliases to the mandatory ComputerName parameter.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[alias("CN","MachineName")]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

Parameter and Variable Validation Attributes

Validation attributes direct Windows PowerShell to test the parameter

values that users submit when they call the advanced function. If the
parameter
values fail the test, an error is generated and the function is not called.
You
can also use some of the validation attributes to restrict the values that
users
can specify for variables.

AllowNull Validation Attribute

The AllowNull attribute allows the value of a mandatory parameter

 to be null ($null). The following example declares a ComputerName parameter
that can have a Null value.

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 (""). The following example declares a ComputerName
parameter
that can have an empty string value.

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 (@()). The following example declares a
ComputerName
parameter that can have a empty collection value.

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.

The following parameter declaration creates a ComputerName parameter that

takes 1 to 5 parameter values.

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.

In the following example, each computer name must have one to 10

characters.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[ValidateLength(1,10)]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

In the following example, the value of the variable $number must be a

minimum of one character in length, and a maximum of ten characters.

[Int32][ValidateLength(1,10)]$number = 01

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.

In the following example, the parameter value must be a four-digit

number, and each digit must be a number 0 to 9.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[ValidatePattern("[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]")]
[String[]]
$ComputerName
)

In the following example, the value of the variable $number must be a

four-digit number, and each digit must be a number 0 to 9.

[Int32][ValidatePattern("[0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9]")]$number = 1111

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. In the following example,
the value of the Attempts parameter must be between 0 and 10.

Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[ValidateRange(0,10)]
[Int]
$Attempts
)

In the following example, the value of the variable $number must be

between 0 and 10.

[Int32][ValidateRange(0,10)]$number = 5

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.

In the following example, the value of the EventDate parameter

must be greater than or equal to the current date.

Param
(
[parameter()]
[ValidateScript({$_ -ge (get-date)})]
[DateTime]
$EventDate
)

In the following example, the value of the variable $date must be

greater than or equal to the current date and time.

[DateTime][ValidateScript({$_ -ge (get-date)})]$date = (get-date)

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
 )

In the following example, the value of the variable $flavor must be

either Chocolate, Strawberry, or Vanilla.

[String][ValidateSet("Chocolate", "Strawberry", "Vanilla")]$flavor =

Strawberry

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.)

In the following example, the value of the ID parameter

cannot be null.

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
)

Dynamic Parameters

Dynamic parameters are parameters of a cmdlet, function, or script

that are available only under certain conditions.

For example, several provider cmdlets have parameters that are

available only when the cmdlet is used in the provider drive, or in
a particular path of the provider drive. For example, the Encoding
 parameter is available on the Add-Content, Get-Content, and Set-Content
cmdlets only when it is used in a file system drive.

You can also create a parameter that appears only when another parameter
is used in the function command or when another parameter has a certain
value.

Dynamic parameters can be very useful, but use them only when necessary,
because they can be difficult for users to discover. To find a dynamic
parameter, the user must be in the provider path, use the ArgumentList
parameter of the Get-Command cmdlet, or use the Path parameter of Get-Help.

To create a dynamic parameter for a function or script, use the

DynamicParam keyword.

The syntax is as follows:

DynamicParam {<statement-list>}

In the statement list, use an If statement to specify the

conditions under which the parameter is available in the function.

Use the New-Object cmdlet to create a

System.Management.Automation.RuntimeDefinedParameter object to
represent the parameter and specify its name.

You can also use a New-Object command to create a

System.Management.Automation.ParameterAttribute object to represent
attributes of the parameter, such as Mandatory, Position, or
ValueFromPipeline or its parameter set.

The following example shows a sample function with standard

parameters named Name and Path, and an optional dynamic parameter
named DP1.The DP1 parameter is in the PSet1 parameter set and has
a type of Int32. The DP1 parameter is available in the Sample
function only when the value of the Path parameter contains "HKLM:",
indicating that it is being used in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry
drive.

function Get-Sample {
[CmdletBinding()]
Param ([String]$Name, [String]$Path)

DynamicParam
{
if ($path -match ".*HKLM.*:")
{
$attributes = new-object
System.Management.Automation.ParameterAttribute
$attributes.ParameterSetName = "__AllParameterSets"
$attributes.Mandatory = $false
$attributeCollection = new-object `
-Type
System.Collections.ObjectModel.Collection[System.Attribute]
$attributeCollection.Add($attributes)

$dynParam1 = new-object `
-Type
System.Management.Automation.RuntimeDefinedParameter("dp1", [Int32],
$attributeCollection)

$paramDictionary = new-object `
-Type
System.Management.Automation.RuntimeDefinedParameterDictionary
$paramDictionary.Add("dp1", $dynParam1)
return $paramDictionary
}
}
}

For more information, see "RuntimeDefinedParameter Class" in

the MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) library at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=145130.

Switch Parameters
Switch parameters are parameters with no parameter value. They
are effective only when they are used and have only one effect.

For example, the -NoProfile parameter of PowerShell.exe is

a switch parameter.

To create a switch parameter in a function, specify the Switch type

in the parameter definition.

For example:
Param ([Switch]<ParameterName>)
-or-
Param
(
[parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
[Switch]
$<ParameterName>
)

Switch parameters are easy to use and are preferred over Boolean
parameters, which have a more difficult syntax.

For example, to use a switch parameter, the user types the parameter
in the command.
-IncludeAll

To use a Boolean parameter, the user types the parameter and a Boolean
value.
-IncludeAll:$true

When creating switch parameters, choose the parameter name carefully.

Be sure that the parameter name communicates the effect of the parameter
to the user, and avoid ambiguous terms, such as Filter or Maximum, that
might imply that a value is required.

SEE ALSO
about_Functions
about_Functions_Advanced
about_Functions_Advanced_Methods
about_Functions_CmdletBindingAttribute
about_Functions_OutputTypeAttribute