1.Boolean
A "true" or "false" value. This type doesn't include any significant methods or properties. Note that PowerShell includes built-in variables named trueandfalse that represent the two possible Boolean values:
PS C:/> [boolean]$b = $true PS C:/> $b True PS C:/>
2.DateTime
A date, time, or date-and-time value. Note that all DateTime values include both a date and a time component. If you don't specify a date or a time, then that portion of the value is typically set to zero when the value is stored. Methods and properties include:
| AddDays AddHours AddMilliseconds AddMinutes AddMonths AddSeconds AddTicks AddYears |
Adds the specified interval to the value. To subtract a value, specify a negative interval. Note that the type does include a Subtract() method; from within a PowerShell script one of these "Add" methods is generally easier to work with. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.adddays(1) Sunday, January 02, 2000 3:00:00 PM
| GetDateTimeFormats |
Returns all possible string representations of the value. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.getdatetimeformats() 1/1/2000 1/1/00 01/01/00 01/01/2000 00/01/01 2000-01-01 01-Jan-00 Saturday, January 01, 2000 January 01, 2000 Saturday, 01 January, 2000 01 January, 2000 Saturday, January 01, 2000 3:00 PM Saturday, January 01, 2000 03:00 PM Saturday, January 01, 2000 15:00 Saturday, January 01, 2000 15:00 January 01, 2000 3:00 PM January 01, 2000 03:00 PM
(output truncated in this example)
| IsDaylightSavingTime |
Indicates whether this instance of DateTime is within the Daylight Saving Time range for the current time zone. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.isdaylightsavingtime() False
| ToFileTime ToFileTimeUTC |
Converts the value to a Windows file time. The "UTC" version provides a Universal Time Constant version of the value. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.tofiletimeutc() 125912124000000000 PS C:/> $d.tofiletime() 125912412000000000
| ToLocalTime |
Converts the value to a local time. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.tolocaltime() Saturday, January 01, 2000 7:00:00 AM
| ToLongDateString ToLongTimeString ToShortDateString ToShortTimeString |
Converts the value to the appropriate date or time format. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.tolongdatestring() Saturday, January 01, 2000 PS C:/> $d.toshortdatestring() 1/1/2000
| ToUniversalTime |
Converts the value to a Universal Time Constant (UTC), taking time zone changes into account. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.touniversaltime() Saturday, January 01, 2000 11:00:00 PM
3.Double
A double-precision floating point number, capable of including fractions. Can store values ranging from negative 1.79769313486232e308 to positive 1.79769313486232e308. Methods and properties include:
ToString |
Returns a string representation of the value. |
PS C:/> [double]$d = 123.456789 PS C:/> $d.tostring() 123.456789
| Day DayOfWeek DayOfYear Hour Millisecond Minute Month Second Ticks TimeOfDay Year |
Returns only the specified portion of the value. |
PS C:/> [datetime]$d = "1/1/2000 3:00 PM" PS C:/> $d.day 1 PS C:/> $d.month 1 PS C:/> $d.dayofweek Saturday PS C:/> $d.timeofday Days : 0 Hours : 15 Minutes : 0 Seconds : 0 Milliseconds : 0 Ticks : 540000000000 TotalDays : 0.625 TotalHours : 15 TotalMinutes : 900 TotalSeconds : 54000 TotalMilliseconds : 54000000
5.String
A string of text characters. Methods and properties include:
| Clone |
Returns a reference to this instance of String. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello" PS C:/> $a hello PS C:/> $b = $a.clone() PS C:/> $b hello PS C:/> $a hello PS C:/> $b = "world" PS C:/> $b world PS C:/> $a hello PS C:/>
| Contains |
Returns a value indicating whether the specified String object occurs within this string. |
PS> [string]$a = "hello"
PS> $a.contains("e")
True
| EndsWith |
Determines whether the end of an instance of String matches a specified string. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello"
PS C:/> $a.endswith("lo")
True
| Equals |
Determines whether two String objects have the same value. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello" PS C:/> [string]$b = "world" PS C:/> $a.equals($b) False
| IndexOf |
Reports the index of the first occurrence of a String or one or more characters within this string. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello"
PS C:/> $a.indexof("l")
2
| Insert |
Inserts a specified instance of String at a specified index position in this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello" PS C:/> $b = $a.insert(2,"-st-") PS C:/> $b he-st-llo
| LastIndexOf |
Reports the index position of the last occurrence of a specified Unicode character or String within this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello"
PS C:/> $a.lastindexof("l")
3
| Length |
Gets the number of characters in this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "Hello" PS C:/> $a.length 5
| PadRight |
Left-aligns the characters in this string, padding the right with spaces or a specified Unicode character for a specified total length. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello" PS C:/> "-" + $a.padright(8) + "-" -hello -
| Remove |
Deletes a specified number of characters from this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello" PS C:/> $a.remove(3,2) hel
| Replace |
Replaces all occurrences of a specified Unicode character or String in this instance with another specified Unicode character or String. |
| Split |
Returns a String array containing the substrings in this instance that are delimited by elements of a specified Char or String array. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "one,two,three"
PS C:/> $b = $a.split(",")
PS C:/> $b[0]
one
PS C:/> $b[1]
two
PS C:/> $b[2]
three
| StartsWith |
Determines whether the beginning of an instance of String matches a specified string. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello"
PS C:/> $a.startswith("f")
False
| Substring |
Retrieves a substring from this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello" PS C:/> $a.substring(2,3) llo
| ToCharArray |
Copies the characters in this instance to a Unicode character array. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "hello" PS C:/> $b = $a.tochararray() PS C:/> $b[0] h PS C:/> $b[4] o
| ToLower |
Returns a copy of this String converted to lowercase. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = "Hello" PS C:/> $a.tolower() hello
| ToUpper |
Returns a copy of this String converted to uppercase. |
| Trim |
Removes all occurrences of a set of specified characters from the beginning and end of this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = " hello " PS C:/> "-" + $a.trim() + "-" -hello-
| TrimEnd |
Removes all occurrences of a set of characters specified in an array from the end of this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = " hello " PS C:/> "-" + $a.trimend() + "-" - hello-
| TrimStart |
Removes all occurrences of a set of characters specified in an array from the beginning of this instance. |
PS C:/> [string]$a = " hello " PS C:/> "-" + $a.trimstart() + "-" -hello -
7.Advanced Types
PowerShell also includes support for a number of advanced types that we don't cover. These include:
XML (System.Xml.XmlDocument)
Scriptblock (System.Management.Automation.Scriptblock)
These are very advanced classes, particularly in the case of the XML type, that require a good bit of instruction to utilize.
Because manipulating these types within a PowerShell script is outside the scope of what most Windows administrators do,
we've elected not to include these types. However, given the .NET Framework class names (shown in parentheses),
you can easily research these at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library if you find you have need of them.
8.All Types
In case you're interested in the complete list of available types, here it is:
[int] - Integer
[int[]] - Integer array
[long] - Long integer
[long[]] - Long integer array
[string] - String of characters
-
[string[]] - String array
[char] - Single character
[char[]] - Array of characters
[bool] - True or False; [Boolean] is also valid
[bool[]] - Array of Boolean values
[byte] - Byte value
[double] - Double-precision floating number
[decimal] - Decimal number
[float] - Floating number
[single] - Single-precision floating number
[regex] - Regular expression; the .NET Framework class is System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex
[array] - array
[xml] - XML document; the .NET Framework class is System.Xml.XmlDocument
[scriptblock] - a script block; the .NET Framework class is System.Management.Automation.ScriptBlock
[hashtable] - a hashtable or associative array; the .NET Framework class is System.Collections.Hashtable
[ref] - a PowerShell reference; the .NET Framework class is System.Management.Automation.PSReference
[psobject] - a PowerShell object; the .NET Framework class is System.Management.Automation.PSObject
[wmi] - a WMI object; the .NET Framework class is System.Management.ManagementObject
[wmisearcher] - a WMI Searcher object; the .NET Framework class is System.Management.ManagementObjectSearcher
[wmiclass] - a WMI class; the .NET Framework class is System.Management.ManagementClass
