Exposing the Thriller of PowerShell Objects • The Lonely Administrator

A number of weeks in the past, I used to be engaged on content material for a brand new PowerShell course for Pluralsight. The topic was objects. Everyone knows the significance of working with objects in PowerShell. Hopefully, you additionally know that the output you get in your display screen from operating a PowerShell command shouldn’t be the entire story. Formatted presentation is separate from the underlying objects within the pipeline. That’s why you will need to know how you can use Get-Member to find how an object is outlined.

In my course, I used to be in a piece overlaying static strategies. These are object strategies that don’t require an occasion of the item. In most conditions, if you need to invoke an object’s methodology, you want an occasion of the item.

$d = Get-Date
$d.AddDays(45)

Get-Date creates a [DateTime] object, which has an AddDays() methodology. However the [DateTime] class has strategies you’ll be able to invoke that don’t require an occasion. These are static strategies.

PS C:> [DateTime]::IsLeapYear(2024)
True

Discovering static strategies isn’t simple. You should utilize Get-Member, however provided that you have already got an occasion of the item.

However what do you do with a category like [Math]? There’s no option to pipe that to Get-Member.

Get-TypeMember

I spotted I needed an alternative choice to Get-Member, so I wrote Get-TypeMember.

Specify a kind identify to find an object’s native members. The command is not going to present you members added by PowerShell.

Static entries will probably be displayed in inexperienced.

The operate writes its personal kind of object to the pipeline, though it’s not uncovered as a publically accessible class.

PS C:> Get-Typemember datetime -Title is* | Choose *

Sort         : System.DateTime
Title         : IsDaylightSavingTime
MemberType   : Methodology
PropertyType :
ReturnType   : System.Boolean
FieldType    :
IsStatic     : False
Syntax       : $obj.IsDaylightSavingTime()
TypeName     : System.DateTime

Sort         : System.DateTime
Title         : IsLeapYear
MemberType   : Methodology
PropertyType :
ReturnType   : System.Boolean
FieldType    :
IsStatic     : True
Syntax       : $obj.IsLeapYear([Int32]yr)
TypeName     : System.DateTime

I included a customized format file with an alternate desk view.

I constructed the Syntax property worth as a code snippet you may minimize and paste.

Right here’s the place this command is helpful.

PS C:> (Get-Typemember math -Title spherical).Syntax | Choose-Object -unique
$obj.Spherical([Decimal]d)
$obj.Spherical([Decimal]d,[Int32]decimals)
$obj.Spherical([Decimal]d,[MidpointRounding]mode)
$obj.Spherical([Decimal]d,[Int32]decimals,[MidpointRounding]mode)
$obj.Spherical([Double]a)
$obj.Spherical([Double]worth,[Int32]digits)
$obj.Spherical([Double]worth,[MidpointRounding]mode)
$obj.Spherical([Double]worth,[Int32]digits,[MidpointRounding]mode)

My operate is meant to complement Get-Member, not change it.

Get It

Need to attempt it out? Get-TypeMember It’s a part of the PSScriptTools module, which you’ll set up from the PowerShell Gallery. The operate will work in Home windows PowerShell and PowerShell 7, together with cross-platform.

I hope you’ll let me know what you assume.