{"id":5201,"date":"2015-07-04T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-04T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2015\/07\/04\/weekend-scripter-welcome-to-the-powershell-information-stream\/"},"modified":"2019-02-18T09:47:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:47:13","slug":"weekend-scripter-welcome-to-the-powershell-information-stream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/weekend-scripter-welcome-to-the-powershell-information-stream\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend Scripter: Welcome to the PowerShell Information Stream"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/b>: Learn about the Windows PowerShell information stream in this guest post by June Blender.<\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. Today we have another guest blog post by Honorary Scripting Guy and Sapien technical evangelist, June Blender. Take it away June…<\/p>\n

Note<\/strong>  This post is updated on August 3, 2015 for the Windows PowerShell 5.0.10240 preview. A previous version described the information stream features in Windows PowerShell 5.0.10018. This post introduces the new information stream in Windows PowerShell 5.0, and it explains the issue it tries to solve and its elegant solution.<\/p>\n

In March 2014, I wrote a Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog post, Understanding Streams, Redirection, and Write-Host in PowerShell<\/a>, which explained the output streams in Windows PowerShell.<\/p>\n

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The outlier in the stream world has always been the much-maligned Write-Host<\/a> cmdlet. Windows PowerShell inventor, Jeffrey Snover decried it as Write-Host Considered Harmful<\/a>. Famously, in his 2012 Scripting Games commentary, Stop Using Write-Host!<\/a>, Windows PowerShell MVP and first follower, Don Jones, proclaimed that Write-Host<\/b> kills puppies. That’s a lot of high-powered condemnation for a cmdlet.<\/p>\n

It’s all about to change. With the advent of the information stream in Windows PowerShell 5.0, Write-Host<\/b> is being redeemed. Actually, it's being, well…mainstreamed. And, Windows PowerShell 5.0 includes a new cmdlet, Write-Information<\/a>, that has the benefits of Write-Host<\/b> without the costs.<\/p>\n

Write-Host and streams<\/h2>\n

The root of the problem is that in Windows PowerShell versions 1.0 through 4.0, Write-Host <\/b>output doesn’t go to a stream. It goes straight to the host program, such as the console, ISE, or PowerShell Studio. What happens then is determined by the host program, and it might vary.<\/p>\n

Because Write-Host<\/b> doesn't go to a stream, if you put Write-Host<\/b> in a script, the end-user can't suppress it, can't save it, and can't redirect it.<\/p>\n