<\/p>\n
![\"Hey,](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/02\/q-for-powertip.jpg\" "\\"Hey,")
Hey, Scripting Guy! When you give examples of using the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet to explore the members of something in Windows PowerShell it seems so easy. The problem is that when I use it, things do not seem so easy. Sometimes it works, and other times it provides totally bogus information. Can you help me discover what I am doing wrong?<\/p>\n
— PN<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking of retro classics, PN your question reminds me of the things that bugged me when I was just learning Windows PowerShell, and that is the seemingly inconsistent behavior of the Get-Member<\/b> Windows PowerShell cmdlet. If I assign an integer to a variable, and then pipeline<\/a> that variable to the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet it correctly detects the item as an instance of the System.Int32<\/b> .NET Framework class (int32<\/b> is the class, System<\/b> is the namespace) and displays the members (methods, properties, events). The Int32<\/b> class does not expose any properties or events. (One thing that this shows is that by default Windows PowerShell treats an integer as an int32<\/b>). This is seen here. <\/p>\n PS C:\\> $int = 5 TypeName: System.Int32<\/p>\n Name MemberType Definition PS C:\\><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If I want to view the static members I use the Get-Member<\/b> Windows PowerShell cmdlet with the -static<\/b> switch as seen here.<\/p>\n PS C:\\> $int | Get-Member -Static<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n TypeName: System.Int32<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Name MemberType Definition<\/span><\/p>\n —- ———- ———-<\/span><\/p>\n Equals Method static bool Equals(System.Object objA, System.Object o…<\/span><\/p>\n Parse Method static int Parse(string s), static int Parse(string s,…<\/span><\/p>\n ReferenceEquals Method static bool ReferenceEquals(System.Object objA, System…<\/span><\/p>\n TryParse Method static bool TryParse(string s, System.Int32&, mscorlib…<\/span><\/p>\n MaxValue Property static System.Int32 MaxValue {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n MinValue Property static System.Int32 MinValue {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n PS C:\\><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n But what happens when I store an array of integers in a variable named $array<\/i>? As seen here, the Get-Member<\/b> Windows PowerShell cmdlet reports that I have an Int32<\/b>. <\/p>\n PS C:\\> $array = 1,2,3,4 TypeName: System.Int32<\/p>\n Name MemberType Definition PS C:\\><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If I have an array that contains a mixture of integers and strings, Get-Member<\/b> will report that it contains both types. This is shown here.<\/p>\n PS C:\\> $mixArray = 1,2,”string”,3<\/span><\/p>\n PS C:\\> $mixArray | Get-Member<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n TypeName: System.Int32<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Name MemberType Definition<\/span><\/p>\n —- ———- ———-<\/span><\/p>\n CompareTo Method int CompareTo(System.Object value), int CompareTo(int value)<\/span><\/p>\n Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj), bool Equals(int obj)<\/span><\/p>\n GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()<\/span><\/p>\n GetType Method type GetType()<\/span><\/p>\n GetTypeCode Method System.TypeCode GetTypeCode()<\/span><\/p>\n ToString Method string ToString(), string ToString(string format), string …<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n TypeName: System.String<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Name MemberType Definition<\/span><\/p>\n —- ———- ———-<\/span><\/p>\n Clone Method System.Object Clone()<\/span><\/p>\n CompareTo Method int CompareTo(System.Object value), int Co…<\/span><\/p>\n Contains Method bool Contains(string value)<\/span><\/p>\n CopyTo Method System.Void CopyTo(int sourceIndex, char[]…<\/span><\/p>\n EndsWith Method bool EndsWith(string value), bool EndsWith…<\/span><\/p>\n Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj), bool Equal…<\/span><\/p>\n GetEnumerator Method System.CharEnumerator GetEnumerator()<\/span><\/p>\n GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()<\/span><\/p>\n GetType Method type GetType()<\/span><\/p>\n GetTypeCode Method System.TypeCode GetTypeCode()<\/span><\/p>\n IndexOf Method int IndexOf(char value), int IndexOf(char …<\/span><\/p>\n IndexOfAny Method int IndexOfAny(char[] anyOf), int IndexOfA…<\/span><\/p>\n Insert Method string Insert(int startIndex, string value)<\/span><\/p>\n IsNormalized Method bool IsNormalized(), bool IsNormalized(Sys…<\/span><\/p>\n LastIndexOf Method int LastIndexOf(char value), int LastIndex…<\/span><\/p>\n LastIndexOfAny Method int LastIndexOfAny(char[] anyOf), int Last…<\/span><\/p>\n Normalize Method string Normalize(), string Normalize(Syste…<\/span><\/p>\n PadLeft Method string PadLeft(int totalWidth), string Pad…<\/span><\/p>\n PadRight Method string PadRight(int totalWidth), string Pa…<\/span><\/p>\n Remove Method string Remove(int startIndex, int count), …<\/span><\/p>\n Replace Method string Replace(char oldChar, char newChar)…<\/span><\/p>\n Split Method string[] Split(Params char[] separator), s…<\/span><\/p>\n StartsWith Method bool StartsWith(string value), bool Starts…<\/span><\/p>\n Substring Method string Substring(int startIndex), string S…<\/span><\/p>\n ToCharArray Method char[] ToCharArray(), char[] ToCharArray(i…<\/span><\/p>\n ToLower Method string ToLower(), string ToLower(System.Gl…<\/span><\/p>\n ToLowerInvariant Method string ToLowerInvariant()<\/span><\/p>\n ToString Method string ToString(), string ToString(System….<\/span><\/p>\n ToUpper Method string ToUpper(), string ToUpper(System.Gl…<\/span><\/p>\n ToUpperInvariant Method string ToUpperInvariant()<\/span><\/p>\n Trim Method string Trim(Params char[] trimChars), stri…<\/span><\/p>\n TrimEnd Method string TrimEnd(Params char[] trimChars)<\/span><\/p>\n TrimStart Method string TrimStart(Params char[] trimChars)<\/span><\/p>\n Chars ParameterizedProperty char Chars(int index) {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n Length Property System.Int32 Length {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n PS C:\\><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n All this information is well and good, but I thought I had an array. Where is that information? There are, as you may know, two ways of using the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet. The first way, the way I use it most frequently, involves piping an object to the cmdlet. The second way is to pass the object to the inputobject <\/i>parameter. This technique is illustrated here with the associated output. <\/p>\n PS C:\\> $array = 1,2,3,4<\/span><\/p>\n PS C:\\> Get-Member -InputObject $array<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n TypeName: System.Object[]<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Name MemberType Definition<\/span><\/p>\n —- ———- ———-<\/span><\/p>\n Count AliasProperty Count = Length<\/span><\/p>\n Address Method System.Object&, mscorlib, Version=2.0.0.0, Culture=n…<\/span><\/p>\n Clone Method System.Object Clone()<\/span><\/p>\n CopyTo Method System.Void CopyTo(array array, int index), System.V…<\/span><\/p>\n Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj)<\/span><\/p>\n Get Method System.Object Get(int )<\/span><\/p>\n GetEnumerator Method System.Collections.IEnumerator GetEnumerator()<\/span><\/p>\n GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()<\/span><\/p>\n GetLength Method int GetLength(int dimension)<\/span><\/p>\n GetLongLength Method long GetLongLength(int dimension)<\/span><\/p>\n GetLowerBound Method int GetLowerBound(int dimension)<\/span><\/p>\n GetType Method type GetType()<\/span><\/p>\n GetUpperBound Method int GetUpperBound(int dimension)<\/span><\/p>\n GetValue Method System.Object GetValue(Params int[] indices), System…<\/span><\/p>\n Initialize Method System.Void Initialize()<\/span><\/p>\n Set Method System.Void Set(int , System.Object )<\/span><\/p>\n SetValue Method System.Void SetValue(System.Object value, int index)…<\/span><\/p>\n ToString Method string ToString()<\/span><\/p>\n IsFixedSize Property System.Boolean IsFixedSize {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n IsReadOnly Property System.Boolean IsReadOnly {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n IsSynchronized Property System.Boolean IsSynchronized {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n Length Property System.Int32 Length {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n LongLength Property System.Int64 LongLength {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n Rank Property System.Int32 Rank {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n SyncRoot Property System.Object SyncRoot {get;}<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n PS C:\\><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At first brush, it seems that the command has not worked as intended. After all, it says that it is a System.Object[]<\/b>. But the square brackets tell me that I have an array, and if I compare the results with the members detailed for the System.Array<\/a><\/b> .NET Framework class on MSDN<\/a> shown in the following figure, it shows that I am in fact, working with an instance of a System.Array<\/b>. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n All the properties are surfaced through the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet. One thing that seems to be amiss is that the methods seem to be missing. The key to understanding the results that I have obtained is in realizing that I am working with an instance of the System.Array<\/b> class. Instance members (properties and methods) are available as soon as an instance of the class has been created. Static members are available without having to create an instance of the class. As discussed yesterday<\/a>, static members in MSDN are indicated with a big red “S”. <\/p>\n The static members of the System.Array<\/b> .NET Framework class are seen here. <\/p>\n PS C:\\> [system.array] | Get-Member -Static<\/p>\n TypeName: System.Array<\/p>\n Name MemberType Definition PS C:\\><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The methods on MSDN that are not marked with a big red “S” are shown largely in the display of the System.Object[]<\/b> output. <\/p>\n PN, that is all there is to using Get-Member<\/b> to discover hidden members. I encourage you to play around with the output, and compare results with the class descriptions on MSDN. .NET Framework week will continue tomorrow when I will talk about additional ways to explore classes using the Get-Member<\/b> cmdlet. <\/p>\n I invite you to follow me on Twitter<\/a> or Facebook<\/a>. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com<\/a> or post them on the Official Scripting Guys Forum<\/a>. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: Learn how to use the Windows PowerShell Get-Member cmdlet to explore the .NET Framework in this interactive how-to post. Hey, Scripting Guy! When you give examples of using the Get-Member cmdlet to explore the members of something in Windows PowerShell it seems so easy. The problem is that when I use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[66,51,3,4,45],"class_list":["post-16561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-net-framework","tag-getting-started","tag-scripting-guy","tag-scripting-techniques","tag-windows-powershell"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":" Summary: Learn how to use the Windows PowerShell Get-Member cmdlet to explore the .NET Framework in this interactive how-to post. Hey, Scripting Guy! When you give examples of using the Get-Member cmdlet to explore the members of something in Windows PowerShell it seems so easy. The problem is that when I use […]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Hey,](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/02\/a-for-powertip.jpg\" "\\"Hey,")
Hello PN, Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. It is early in the morning, and there is fog hanging close to the ground. Last night the wind howled, the leaves rustled, and the rain came down like a heavy mist for most of the night. At times, the moon was peeking from behind the high clouds. It was a cool night, figuratively and literally. I am sipping on a cup of English Breakfast tea<\/a> with a cinnamon stick<\/a> in it, and munching on a freshly baked slice of pumpkin bread<\/a>. I have my Zune HD<\/a> cranked up and it is blasting some classic James Brown<\/a>. It is a retro morning as I weed my way through some of the questions sent to Scripter@Microsoft.Com<\/a>. <\/p>\n
PS C:\\> $int | Get-Member<\/p>\n
—- ———- ———-
CompareTo Method int CompareTo(System.Object value), int CompareTo(int value)
Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj), bool Equals(int obj)
GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()
GetType Method type GetType()
GetTypeCode Method System.TypeCode GetTypeCode()
ToString Method string ToString(), string ToString(string format), string …<\/p>\n
PS C:\\> $array | Get-Member<\/p>\n
—- ———- ———-
CompareTo Method int CompareTo(System.Object value), int CompareTo(int value)
Equals Method bool Equals(System.Object obj), bool Equals(int obj)
GetHashCode Method int GetHashCode()
GetType Method type GetType()
GetTypeCode Method System.TypeCode GetTypeCode()
ToString Method string ToString(), string ToString(string format), string …<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2019\/02\/4401.HSG-11-09-10-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
—- ———- ———-
AsReadOnly Method static System.Collections.ObjectModel.ReadOnlyCollecti…
BinarySearch Method static int BinarySearch(array array, System.Object val…
Clear Method static System.Void Clear(array array, int index, int l…
ConstrainedCopy Method static System.Void ConstrainedCopy(array sourceArray, …
ConvertAll Method static TOutput[] ConvertAll[TInput, TOutput](TInput[] …
Copy Method static System.Void Copy(array sourceArray, array desti…
CreateInstance Method static array CreateInstance(type elementType, int leng…
Equals Method static bool Equals(System.Object objA, System.Object o…
Exists Method static bool Exists[T](T[] array, System.Predicate[T] m…
Find Method static T Find[T](T[] array, System.Predicate[T] match)
FindAll Method static T[] FindAll[T](T[] array, System.Predicate[T] m…
FindIndex Method static int FindIndex[T](T[] array, System.Predicate[T]…
FindLast Method static T FindLast[T](T[] array, System.Predicate[T] ma…
FindLastIndex Method static int FindLastIndex[T](T[] array, System.Predicat…
ForEach Method static System.Void ForEach[T](T[] array, System.Action…
IndexOf Method static int IndexOf(array array, System.Object value), …
LastIndexOf Method static int LastIndexOf(array array, System.Object valu…
ReferenceEquals Method static bool ReferenceEquals(System.Object objA, System…
Resize Method static System.Void Resize[T](T[]& array, int newSize)
Reverse Method static System.Void Reverse(array array), static System…
Sort Method static System.Void Sort(array array), static System.Vo…
TrueForAll Method static bool TrueForAll[T](T[] array, System.Predicate[…<\/p>\n