Update-MgDevice - issue with changing accountEnabled status [duplicate] - azure

I'm struggling to understand the outputs of the below function
function testApp
{
param(
[string] $appName,
[switch] $sw = $false,
[string[]] $test,
[string[]] $test2
)
Write-Host $appName - $sw - $test - $test2
}
testApp -appName "TestApp" -sw $true -test "one", "two" -test2 "three","four"
Output: TestApp - True - one two - three four
testApp -appName "TestApp" -sw $true -test "one", "two"
Output: TestApp - True - one two - True
The first output is as expected. But I cannot understand why the second output has "True" for the test2 array when I did not pass it. Can anyone help me in understanding the reason for the behavior? Thanks.

To summarize and complement the helpful comments on the question by Lee_Dailey, Matthew and mclayton:
[switch] parameters in PowerShell (aka flags in other shells):
switch parameters are meant to imply $true vs. $false by their presence in an invocation: e.g., passing -sw by itself signals $true, whereas omitting -sw signals $false.
It is possible to pass a Boolean value explicitly, for the purpose of passing a programmatically determined value; e.g.: -sw:$var
Note the required : following the switch name, which tells PowerShell that the Boolean value belongs to the switch parameter; without it, PowerShell thinks the value is a positional argument meant for a different parameter (see below).
Caveat: Commands may interpret -sw:$false differently from omitting -sw; a prominent example is is the use of common parameter -Confirm:$false to override the effective $ConfirmPreference value.
If you need to make this distinction in your own code, use $PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('sw') -and -not $sw to detect the -sw:$false case.
Do not assign a default value to a switch parameter variable: while technically possible, the convention is that switches default to $false (which is a [switch] instance's default value anyway); that is, a [switch] parameter should always have opt-in logic.
A [switch] parameter variable effectively behaves like a Boolean value in most contexts:
That is, you can say if ($sw) { ... }, for instance.
If you need to access the wrapped Boolean value explicitly, access the .IsPresent property (note that the property name is somewhat confusing, because in a -sw:$false invocation the switch is still present, but its value, as reflected in .IsPresent, is $false).
An example of where .IsPresent is needed is the use of a Boolean as an implicit array index, notably to emulate a ternary conditional[1]: ('falseValue', 'trueValue')[$sw.IsPresent]; without the .IsPresent, the effective Boolean value wouldn't be recognized as such and wouldn't automatically be mapped to index 0 (from $false) or 1 (from $true).
Ultimately, your problem was that you thought $true was an argument for -sw, whereas it became a positional argument implicitly bound to the -test2 parameter.
[switch] parameters never need a value, so the next argument becomes a separate, positional argument - unless you explicitly indicate that the argument belongs to the switch by following the switch name with :, as shown above.[2]
Positional vs. named argument passing in PowerShell:
Terminology note: For conceptual clarity the term argument is used to refer to a value passed to a declared parameter. This avoids the ambiguity of using parameter situationally to either refer to the language construct that receives a value vs. a given value.
Named argument passing (binding) refers to explicitly placing the target parameter name before the argument (typically separated by a space, but alternatively also and / or by :); e.g., -AppName foo.
The order in which named arguments are passed never matters.
Positional (unnamed) argument passing refers to passing an argument without preceding it by the name of its target parameter; e.g., foo.
The passing is positional in the sense that the relative position (order) among other unnamed arguments determines what target parameter is implied.
[switch] parameters are the exception in that they:
are typically passed by name only (-sw), implying value $true, and if a value is passed, require : to separate the name from the value.
never support positional binding.
You may combine named passing with positional passing, in which case the named arguments are bound first, after which the positional ones are then considered (in order) for binding to the not-yet-bound parameters.
PowerShell functions are simple functions by default. In order to exercise control over positional binding, use of the [CmdletBinding()] and / or [Parameter()] attributes is necessary (see below), which invariably turn a simple function into an advanced function.
Making a simple function an advanced one has larger behavioral implications (mostly beneficial ones), which are detailed in this answer.
By default, PowerShell functions accept positional arguments for any parameter (other than those of type [switch]), in the order in which the parameters were declared.
Additionally, simple functions accept arbitrary additional arguments for which no parameters were declared, which are collected in the automatic $args array variable.
To prevent your function from accepting any positional arguments by default, place a [CmdletBinding(PositionalBinding=$false, ...)] attribute above the param(...) block.
Since this makes your function an advanced one, this also disables passing arbitrary additional arguments ($args no longer applies and isn't populated).
As an aside: when you implement a cmdlet (a command implemented as a binary, typically via C#), this behavior is implied.
To selectively support positional arguments, decorate individual parameter declarations with a [Parameter(Position=<n>, ...)] attribute (e.g, [Parameter(Position=0)] [string] $Path)
Note: Whether you start your numbering with 0 or 1 doesn't matter, as long as the numbers used reflect the desired ordering among all positional parameters; 0 is advisable as a self-documenting convention, because it is unambiguous.
Attribute [Parameter(Position=<n>)] is an explicit opt-in that selectively overrides [CmdletBinding(PositionalBinding=$false)]: that is, the latter disables positional binding unless explicitly indicated by individual parameter declarations; in fact, the latter is implied by the former, in that once you use one [Parameter(Position=<n>)] attribute, you must use it on all other parameters you want to bind positionally as well.
[1] Note that PowerShell [Core] 7.0+ supports ternary conditionals natively: $sw ? 'trueValue' : 'falseValue'
[2] In effect, [switch] parameters are the only type for which PowerShell supports an optional argument. See this answer for more information.

Related

Order of using positional and keyword arguments

Apparently, if you need to use both keyword and positional arguments while calling your function, you have to use the positional argument first. But the following code results in an error;
def greet(first_name, l_name):
print(f'Hi, {first_name} {last_name}!')
greet('Holmes',
first_name='Harry')
So does it mean that if you're using both, you have to use the positional argument first in the required order, and only then the keyword argument?
Positional arguments must be passed in order as declared in the function. So if you pass three positional arguments, they must go to the first three arguments of the function, and those three arguments can't be passed by keyword. If you want to be able to pass the first argument out of order by keyword, all your arguments must be passed by keyword (or not at all, if they have defaults).
If it helps, Python's binding mechanism is roughly:
Assign positional arguments one by one to sequential parameters of the function. These parameters are now set.
Assign keyword arguments to remaining parameters in any order. If one of the keyword arguments matches an argument already assigned positionally (or the same keyword argument is passed twice), it's an error.
In your case, what this means is that:
greet('Holmes', first_name='Harry')
first binds 'Holmes' to first_name. Then it saw you tried to pass first_name again as a keyword argument and objected.

When do values passed to a parameter require quotes?

I have been working with Exchange Online unified groups and Microsoft Teams teams in powershell: New-UnifiedGroup, Set-UnifiedGroup, Get-UnifiedGroup, New-Team, Get-Team etc. I have been creating groups and teams from PowerShell.
I am interested in understanding a bit better when a value for a parameter requires quotes and when it does not.
When I import from CSV, it seems the values are automatically interpreted as strings. When I supply them to a parameter that requires a string, the value does not require quotes even if it has spaces e.g New-UnifiedGroup -DisplayName $item.displayName does not require quotes even when the display name has spaces.
But when I want to create a team from an existing group, and I get the ID of the group, the group id requires quotes: New-Teams -GroupId "$group.ExternalDirectoryObjectId". In this case the parameter -GroupId requires a string value, although the ExternalDirectoryObjectId that it requires is not a string.
Is there a rule that a value does not require quotes if it is a string, and a string value is expected? Does it help to declare a variable as a string before passing it to a parameter that requires a string? For example, if I have a $path variable, I usually have to provide it as -Path "$path". If I declared the path as [String]$path =, would I then not need to use the quotes in -Path $path
Generally, only ever use quoting in PowerShell to explicitly pass a value as a string ([string]).
String literals require quoting if they contain any of the following: spaces or, more generally, PowerShell metacharacters[1], and commands or expressions as part of a larger string (which must then be enclosed in $(...) - see below).
To pass the value of a variable, one of its properties, or even the result of a method call on it, you do not need quoting in PowerShell, which will pass the resulting value with its original data type; however, when the value is bound to its target parameter, PowerShell may automatically convert it to the parameter's type.
If the target parameter is [string]-typed (as is the case with New-Team's -GroupId parameter), PowerShell will automatically convert any non-string argument to a string, essentially by calling .ToString() on it[2]. If the resulting string isn't the right representation, you must perform explicit stringification, by way of an expression or command.
E.g., both -GroupId $groupId and -GroupId $group.ExternalDirectoryObjectId would work - even if the resulting string contains embedded spaces or other PowerShell metacharacters.
If you need to pass an object's property, a method call, or any type of command or expression as part of a larger string, enclose the argument in "..." and use $(...), the subexpression operator around the expression / command (e.g., "$($group.ExternalDirectoryObjectId)/more"; referencing a variable by itself inside "..." does not require $(...)).
"$group.ExternalDirectoryObjectId" definitely does not work as intended, because only variable reference $group by itself is recognized - and stringified - whereas the .ExternalDirectoryObjectId part is treated literally - see first link below for why.
Further reading:
Overview of PowerShell's expandable strings (string interpolation, "...")
String literals in PowerShell (bottom section)
How unquoted tokens are parsed as arguments.
[1] The metacharacters are (some only need quoting if at the start of the argument):
<space> ' " ` , ; ( ) { } | & < > # #
[2] The exact stringification rules, where culture-sensitivity factors in as well, are detailed in this answer.
Generally, PowerShell has a very flexible automatic type-conversion system whose rules are complex and not explicitly documented - a peek at the source code may help.
PowerShell always tries to automatically convert a given value to the target type, where the target type may be dictated by a parameter's type or the (usually) LHS operand of an operator-based expression (e.g., 42 + "1" yields 43).
That's strange. Usually you only need quotes to pass a literal string that has a space in it.
get-childitem -path 'foo 2'
I can pass an object property without quotes usually:
$a = [pscustomobject]#{path = 'foo 2'}
get-childitem -path $a.path
This is more rare, but if a string looks like an array element, I've found I have to quote it:
select-xml -XPath "//*[#a='hi']" -Path file.xml
Even using something like an integer works without quotes, because it can be 'coerced' into a string.

Perl6 - What is the $: for in some subroutine Signatures

I came across this error message in another question and I would like to know what is the meaning of the $: part of the signature, please?
Cannot resolve caller index(Str: Str, Any); none of these signatures match:
(Str:D $: Cool:D $needle, *%_)
(Str:D $: Str:D $needle, *%_)
(Str:D $: Cool:D $needle, Cool:D $pos, *%_)
(Str:D $: Str:D $needle, Int:D $pos, *%_)
The $: is two distinct unrelated tokens, a $ and a :, that have been smooshed together.
The $ represents a single item1 aka a scalar2.
The single item / scalar hasn't been given a name, so there's no way to reference it. And there's already enough of a parameter (the Str:D) to let you and the compiler know that this parameter is a scalar (a single string). Either way, the $ is redundant and Elizabeth has made a related change.
The : is a special parameter separator. (The usual parameter separator is a comma ,.)
It may only be used immediately after the first parameter of a method or standalone signature. It may not be used in the signature of a routine that is not a method.
If used as a parameter separator after the first parameter in a signature, it marks that parameter as corresponding to a method's "invocant".
(If not used, the invocant parameter is implicit.)
The corresponding invocant argument will arrive anyway, and be aliased to self, whether or not the signature explicitly lists an invocant parameter. But if the invocant parameter is explicitly specified, it's possible to give it an additional/alternate name and/or explicitly constrain its type.
Crazy over-the-top footnotes for added entertainment. If they confuse you, just forget you ever read them.
1 A single item refers to data that is naturally a single thing, like the number 42, OR data that is naturally a composite thing (like an array) that is being treated like it's a single thing (like an array). (Did you see what I did there?) I like to point out the mnemonic that a $ symbol is like an S (for single) overlaid with an I (for item), or vice-versa. To me this represents the idea of emphasizing the single item nature of any data, hiding any plural aspect even if it's actually an array or other composite data item.
2 "scalar" is a traditional computing term. Wikipedia's Scalar disambiguation page lists "Variable (computing), or scalar, an atomic quantity that can hold only one value at a time" as a definition. Also, a single item aka scalar (all lowercase) is often/usually a Scalar (uppercase S), a special case of a single item that's a Single Item container that contains a Single Item (which can be composite data being treated as a single thing).
The : mark the first argument as an invocant.
my $word = "bananarama";
say $word.index( "r", 0 );
In this case, it indicates the invocant is going to be treated as an scalar, since it's constrained by a single $

Lambda commands for tracing tkinter variables [duplicate]

Python has classes for Tkinter variables StringVar(), BooleanVar(), etc. These all share the methods get(), set(string), and trace(mode, callback). The callback function passed as the second argument to trace(mode, callback) is passed four arguments, self, n, m, x.
For an example of a BooleanVar() these appear to be '', 'PYVAR0', 'w'.
The third argument x appears to be the mode that triggered the trace, in my case the variable was changed. However, what is the first variable that appears to be an empty string? What is the second, if I had to guess I'd say some internal name for the variable?
The first argument is the internal variable name. You can use this name as an argument to the tkinter getvar and setvar methods. If you give your variable a name (eg: StringVar(name='foo')) this will be the given name, otherwise it will be a name generated for you by tkinter (eg: PYVAR0)
If the first argument represents a list variable (highly unlikely in tkinter), the second argument will be an index into that list. If it is a scalar variable, the second argument will be the empty string.
The third argument is the operation, useful if you are using the same method for reading, writing and/or deleting the variable. This argument tells you which operation triggered the callback. It will be one of "read", "write", or "unset".
Tkinter is a python wrapper around a tcl/tk interpreter. The definitive documentation for variable traces can be found here: http://tcl.tk/man/tcl8.5/TclCmd/trace.htm#M14. Though, this only documents how the internal trace works, the tkinter wrapper sometimes massages the data.
The first argument is the name of the variable, but is not "useless" since you can set it when you declare the variable, e.g.:
someVar = IntVar(name="Name of someVar")
When you check the first argument in the trace callback it will equal "Name of someVar". Using the name to distinguish between variables, you can then bind the same handler to trace changes to any number of variables, rather than needing a separate handler for each variable.

Call by name/reference/value

Can someone explain call by name, reference, and value in depth and also compare them to each other?
Simple examples would be great as well. I am really focused on call by name, it feels like it's very similar to call by reference.
call by name : in call by name actual argument is not evaluated at the place of function calling rather they replace all the instance of corresponding formal parameters in text.
Actual argument are evaluated as many times as required.
Actual argument are evaluated within "caller" environment (if needed) :

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