{"id":712,"date":"2015-11-20T12:52:02","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T07:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/?p=712"},"modified":"2015-11-20T12:52:02","modified_gmt":"2015-11-20T07:22:02","slug":"powershell-do-not-use-write-host","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/?p=712","title":{"rendered":"PowerShell – Do Not use Write-Host!!!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Problem Statement:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>People often use Write-Host in their script, but it is considered harmful<\/a>. Use other options instead.<\/p>\n

Solution:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Write-Host is always the wrong thing to do while writing or reviewing the Powershell scripts because it interferes with automation. So, rather than using Write-Host try using any one of the following commandlets as per your requirement:<\/p>\n

\u2666\u00a0Write-Debug<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
    \n
  • The Write-Debug cmdlet writes debug messages to the console from a script or command.<\/li>\n
  • The text foreground color will be CYAN.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Used when you want to run your Powershell script in debug mode.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>A pop window will display after write-Debug command is hit and script want move forward until you press any of the option given in the popup window.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \"Write-Debug\"<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Write-Debug<\/strong> command in your script, will invoke only if you have specified -Debug<\/strong> while calling\u00a0the script.<\/li>\n
    • Example:<\/strong>\n
      PS C:\\>Write-Debug \"Cannot open file.\" -debug<\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \u2666\u00a0Write-Error<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
        \n
      • Write an object to the error pipeline. Write-Error messages along with other information such as an id, object data, and suggested actions.<\/li>\n
      • Specifies the category of the error. The default value is NotSpecified.<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Example:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        Write-Error -Message \"Error: Too many input values.\" -Category InvalidArgument<\/pre>\n
        \u00a0\u2666\u00a0Write-Information<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
          \n
        • Write-Information lets you add an informational message to the stream and specifies how Windows PowerShell handles information stream data for a command.<\/li>\n
        • The $InformationPreference preference variable<\/strong> value determines whether the message you provide to Write-Information is displayed at the expected point in a script\u2019s operation.<\/li>\n
        • Because the default value of this variable is SilentlyContinue<\/strong>, by default, informational messages are not shown.<\/li>\n
        • Example:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          function Test-Info\n       { \n         Get-Process P*\n         Write-Information \"Here you go\"\n       }\nTest-Info 6> Info.txt<\/pre>\n
          \u2666\u00a0Write-Output<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
            \n
          • The Write-Output cmdlet sends the specified object down the pipeline to the next command. If the command is the last command in the pipeline, the object is displayed in the console.<\/li>\n
          • This cmdlet is typically used in scripts to display strings and other objects on the console. However, because the default behavior is to display the objects at the end of a pipeline, it is generally not necessary to use the cmdlet. For example, “get-process | write-output” is equivalent to “get-process”.<\/li>\n
          • Example:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            write-output \"test output\" | get-member<\/pre>\n
            \u2666\u00a0Write-Progress<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
              \n
            • The Write-Progress cmdlet displays a progress bar in a Windows PowerShell command window that depicts the status of a running command or script.<\/li>\n
            • You can select the indicators that the bar reflects and the text that appears above and below the progress bar.<\/li>\n
            • Example:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
              for ($i = 1; $i -le 100; $i++ )\n{write-progress -activity \"Search in Progress\" -status \"$i% Complete:\" -percentcomplete $i;}<\/pre>\n
              \u2666\u00a0Write-Verbose<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
                \n
              • The Write-Verbose cmdlet writes text to the verbose message stream in Windows PowerShell. Typically, the verbose message stream is used to deliver information about command processing that is used for debugging a command.<\/li>\n
              • By default, the verbose message stream is not displayed, but you can display it by changing the value of the $VerbosePreference variable<\/strong> or using the Verbose common parameter in any command.<\/li>\n
              • Example:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                $VerbosePreference = \"Continue\"\nPS C:\\>Write-Verbose \"Copying file $filename\"<\/pre>\n
                \u2666\u00a0Write-Warning<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
                  \n
                • The Write-Warning cmdlet writes a warning message to the Windows PowerShell host.<\/li>\n
                • The response to the warning depends on the value of the user’s $WarningPreference variable<\/strong> and the use of the WarningAction common parameter.<\/li>\n
                • Example:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
                  write-warning \"This is only a test warning.\"<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
                  Problem Statement:\u00a0People often use Write-Host in their script, but it is considered harmful. Use other options instead. Solution:\u00a0Write-Host is always[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pramodsingla.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}