about_Assignment_Operators

Short description

Describes how to use operators to assign values to variables.

Long description

Assignment operators assign one or more values to a variable. The equals sign (=) is the PowerShell assignment operator. PowerShell also has the following compound assignment operators: +=, -=, *=, %=, ++, --, ??=. Compound assignment operators perform operations on the values before the assignment.

Syntax

The syntax of the assignment operators is as follows:

  • <assignable-expression> <assignment-operator> <value>

Assignable expressions include variables and properties. The value can be a single value, an array of values, or a command, expression, or statement.

The increment and decrement operators are unary operators. Each has prefix and postfix versions.

  • <assignable-expression><operator>
  • <operator><assignable-expression>

The value of the assignable expression must be a number or it must be convertible to a number.

Using the assignment operator

Variables are named memory spaces that store values. You store the values in variables using the assignment operator =. The new value can replace the existing value of the variable, or you can append a new value to the existing value. For example, the following statement assigns the value PowerShell to the $MyShell variable:

$MyShell = "PowerShell"

When you assign a value to a variable in PowerShell, the variable is created if it didn't already exist. For example, the first of the following two assignment statements creates the $a variable and assigns a value of 6 to $a. The second assignment statement assigns a value of 12 to $a. The first statement creates a new variable. The second statement changes only its value:

$a = 6
$a = 12

Variables in PowerShell don't have a specific data type unless you cast them. When a variable contains only one object, the variable takes the data type of that object. When a variable contains a collection of objects, the variable has the System.Object data type. Therefore, you can assign any type of object to the collection. The following example shows that you can add process objects, service objects, strings, and integers to a variable without generating an error:

$a = Get-Process
$a += Get-Service
$a += "string"
$a += 12

Because the assignment operator = has a lower precedence than the pipeline operator |, parentheses aren't required to assign the result of a command pipeline to a variable. For example, the following command sorts the services on the computer and then assigns the sorted services to the $a variable:

$a = Get-Service | Sort-Object -Property name

You can also assign the value created by a statement to a variable, as in the following example:

$a = if ($b -lt 0) { 0 } else { $b }

This example assigns zero to the $a variable if the value of $b is less than zero. It assigns the value of $b to $a if the value of $b isn't less than zero.

To assign an array (multiple values) to a variable, separate the values with commas, as follows:

$a = "apple", "orange", "lemon", "grape"

To assign a hash table to a variable, use the standard hash table notation in PowerShell. Type an at sign @ followed by key/value pairs that are separated by semicolons ; and enclosed in braces { }. For example, to assign a hashtable to the $a variable, type:

$a = @{one=1; two=2; three=3}

To assign hexadecimal values to a variable, precede the value with 0x. PowerShell converts the hexadecimal value (0x10) to a decimal value (in this case, 16) and assigns that value to the $a variable. For example, to assign a value of 0x10 to the $a variable, type:

$a = 0x10

To assign an exponential value to a variable, type the root number, the letter e, and a number that represents a multiple of 10. For example, to assign a value of 3.1415 to the power of 1,000 to the $a variable, type:

$a = 3.1415e3

PowerShell can also convert kilobytes KB, megabytes MB, and gigabytes GB into bytes. For example, to assign a value of 10 kilobytes to the $a variable, type:

$a = 10kb

Using compound assignment operators

Compound assignment operators perform numeric operations on the values before the assignment.

Important

Compound assignment operators don't use dynamic scoping. The variable is always in the current scope.

In the following example, the variable $x is defined in the global scope. The braces create a new scope. The variable $x inside the braces is a new instance and not a copy of the global variable.

$x = 1 # Global scope
& { $x += 1; $x }
1

When you use the regular assignment operator, you get a copy of the variable from the parent scope. But notice that $x in the parent scope is not changed.

$x = 1 # Global scope
& { $x = $x + 1; $x }
"Global `$x = $x"
2
Global $x = 1

The assignment by addition operator

The assignment by addition operator += either increments the value of a variable or appends the specified value to the existing value. The action depends on whether the variable has a numeric or string type and whether the variable contains a single value (a scalar) or multiple values (a collection).

The += operator combines two operations. First, it adds, and then it assigns. Therefore, the following statements are equivalent:

$a += 2
$a = ($a + 2)

When the variable contains a single numeric value, the += operator increments the existing value by the amount on the right side of the operator. Then, the operator assigns the resulting value to the variable. The following example shows how to use the += operator to increase the value of a variable:

$a = 4
$a += 2
$a
6

When the value of the variable is a string, the value on the right side of the operator is appended to the string, as follows:

$a = "Windows"
$a += " PowerShell"
$a
Windows PowerShell

When the value of the variable is an array, the += operator appends the values on the right side of the operator to the array. Unless the array is explicitly typed by casting, you can append any type of value to the array, as follows:

$a = 1,2,3
$a += 2
$a
1
2
3
2

and

$a += "String"
$a
1
2
3
2
String

When the value of a variable is a hash table, the += operator appends the value on the right side of the operator to the hash table. However, because the only type that you can add to a hash table is another hash table, all other assignments fail.

For example, the following command assigns a hash table to the $a variable. Then, it uses the += operator to append another hash table to the existing hash table, effectively adding a new key-value pair to the existing hash table. This command succeeds, as shown in the output:

$a = @{a = 1; b = 2; c = 3}
$a += @{mode = "write"}
$a
Name                           Value
----                           -----
a                              1
b                              2
mode                           write
c                              3

The following command attempts to append an integer "1" to the hash table in the $a variable. This command fails:

$a = @{a = 1; b = 2; c = 3}
$a += 1
InvalidOperation:
Line |
   2 |  $a += 1
     |  ~~~~~~~
     | A hash table can only be added to another hash table.

The assignment by subtraction operator

The assignment by subtraction operator -= decrements the value of a variable by the value that's specified on the right side of the operator. This operator can't be used with string variables, and it can't be used to remove an element from a collection.

The -= operator combines two operations. First, it subtracts, and then it assigns. Therefore, the following statements are equivalent:

$a -= 2
$a = ($a - 2)

The following example shows how to use of the -= operator to decrease the value of a variable:

$a = 8
$a -= 2
$a
6

You can also use the -= assignment operator to decrease the value of a member of a numeric array. To do this, specify the index of the array element that you want to change. In the following example, the value of the third element of an array (element 2) is decreased by 1:

$a = 1,2,3
$a[2] -= 1
$a
1
2
2

You can't use the -= operator to delete the values of a variable. To delete all the values that are assigned to a variable, use the Clear-Item or Clear-Variable cmdlets to assign a value of $null or "" to the variable.

$a = $null

To delete a particular value from an array, use array notation to assign a value of $null to the particular item. For example, the following statement deletes the second value (index position 1) from an array:

$a = 1,2,3
$a
1
2
3
$a[1] = $null
$a
1
3

To delete a variable, use the Remove-Variable cmdlet. This method is useful when the variable is explicitly cast to a particular data type, and you want an untyped variable. The following command deletes the $a variable:

Remove-Variable -Name a

The assignment by multiplication operator

The assignment by multiplication operator *= multiplies a numeric value or appends the specified number of copies of the string value of a variable.

When a variable contains a single numeric value, that value is multiplied by the value on the right side of the operator. For example, the following example shows how to use the *= operator to multiply the value of a variable:

$a = 3
$a *= 4
$a
12

In this case, the *= operator combines two operations. First, it multiplies, and then it assigns. Therefore, the following statements are equivalent:

$a *= 2
$a = ($a * 2)

When a variable contains a string value, PowerShell appends the specified number of strings to the value, as follows:

$a = "file"
$a *= 4
$a
filefilefilefile

To multiply an element of an array, use an index to identify the element that you want to multiply. For example, the following command multiplies the first element in the array (index position 0) by 2:

$a[0] *= 2

The assignment by division operator

The assignment by division operator /= divides a numeric value by the value that's specified on the right side of the operator. The operator can't be used with string variables.

The /= operator combines two operations. First, it divides, and then it assigns. Therefore, the following two statements are equivalent:

$a /= 2
$a = ($a / 2)

For example, the following command uses the /= operator to divide the value of a variable:

$a = 8
$a /=2
$a
4

To divide an element of an array, use an index to identify the element that you want to change. For example, the following command divides the second element in the array (index position 1) by 2:

$a[1] /= 2

The assignment by modulus operator

The assignment by modulus operator %= divides the value of a variable by the value on the right side of the operator. Then, the %= operator assigns the remainder (known as the modulus) to the variable. You can use this operator only when a variable contains a single numeric value. You can't use this operator when a variable contains a string variable or an array.

The %= operator combines two operations. First, it divides and determines the remainder, and then it assigns the remainder to the variable. Therefore, the following statements are equivalent:

$a %= 2
$a = ($a % 2)

The following example shows how to use the %= operator to save the modulus of a quotient:

$a = 7
$a %= 4
$a
3

The increment and decrement operators

The increment operator ++ increases the value of a variable by 1. When you use the increment operator in a simple statement, no value is returned. To view the result, display the value of the variable, as follows:

$a = 7
++$a
$a
8

To force a value to be returned, enclose the variable and the operator in parentheses, as follows:

$a = 7
(++$a)
8

The increment operator can be placed before (prefix) or after (postfix) a variable. The prefix version of the operator increments a variable before its value is used in the statement, as follows:

$a = 7
$c = ++$a
$a
8
$c
8

The postfix version of the operator increments a variable after its value is used in the statement. In the following example, the $c and $a variables have different values because the value is assigned to $c before $a changes:

$a = 7
$c = $a++
$a
8
$c
7

The decrement operator -- decreases the value of a variable by 1. As with the increment operator, no value is returned when you use the operator in a simple statement. Use parentheses to return a value, as follows:

$a = 7
--$a
$a
6
(--$a)
5

The prefix version of the operator decrements a variable before its value is used in the statement, as follows:

$a = 7
$c = --$a
$a
6
$c
6

The postfix version of the operator decrements a variable after its value is used in the statement. In the following example, the $d and $a variables have different values because the value is assigned to $d before $a changes:

$a = 7
$d = $a--
$a
6
$d
7

Null-coalescing assignment operator

The null-coalescing assignment operator ??= assigns the value of its right-hand operand to its left-hand operand only if the left-hand operand evaluates to null. The ??= operator doesn't evaluate its right-hand operand if the left-hand operand evaluates to non-null.

$x = $null
$x ??= 100
$x
100

For more information, see Null-coalescing operator.

Microsoft .NET types

By default, when a variable has only one value, the value that's assigned to the variable determines the data type of the variable. For example, the following command creates a variable that has the System.Int32 type:

$a = 6

To find the .NET type of a variable, use the GetType method and its FullName property. Be sure to include the parentheses after the GetType method name, even though the method call has no arguments:

$a = 6
$a.GetType().FullName
System.Int32

To create a variable that contains a string, assign a string value to the variable. To indicate that the value is a string, enclose it in quotation marks, as follows:

$a = "6"
$a.GetType().FullName
System.String

If the first value that's assigned to the variable is a string, PowerShell treats all operations as string operations and casts new values to strings. This occurs in the following example:

$a = "file"
$a += 3
$a
file3

If the first value is an integer, PowerShell treats all operations as integer operations and casts new values to integers. This occurs in the following example:

$a = 6
$a += "3"
$a
9

You can cast a new scalar variable as any .NET type by placing the type name in brackets that precede either the variable name or the first assignment value. When you cast a variable, you are defining the type of data that can be stored in the variable.

For example, the following command casts the variable as a string type:

[string]$a = 27
$a += 3
$a
273

The following example casts the first value, instead of casting the variable:

$a = [string]27

You can't recast the data type of an existing variable if its value can't be converted to the new data type.

$a = "string"
[int]$a
InvalidArgument: Cannot convert value "string" to type "System.Int32". Error:
"The input string 'string' was not in a correct format."

To change the data type, you must replace its value, as follows:

[int]$a = 3

In addition, when you precede a variable name with a data type, the type of that variable is locked unless you explicitly override the type by specifying another data type. If you try to assign a value that's incompatible with the existing type, and you don't explicitly override the type, PowerShell displays an error, as shown in the following example:

$a = 3
$a = "string"
[int]$a = 3
$a = "string"
MetadataError:
Line |
   2 |  $a = "string"
     |  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     | Cannot convert value "string" to type "System.Int32". Error: "The input
string 'string' was not in a correct format."
[string]$a = "string"

In PowerShell, the data types of variables that contain multiple items in an array are handled differently from the data types of variables that contain a single item. Unless a data type is specifically assigned to an array variable, the data type is always System.Object []. This data type is specific to arrays.

Sometimes, you can override the default type by specifying another type. For example, the following command casts the variable as a string [] array type:

[string []] $a = "one", "two", "three"

PowerShell variables can be any .NET data type. In addition, you can assign any fully qualified .NET data type that's available in the current process. For example, the following command specifies a System.DateTime data type:

[System.DateTime]$a = "5/31/2005"

The variable will be assigned a value that conforms to the System.DateTime data type. The value of the $a variable would be the following:

Tuesday, May 31, 2005 12:00:00 AM

Assigning multiple variables

In PowerShell, you can assign values to multiple variables using a single command. The first element of the assignment value is assigned to the first variable, the second element is assigned to the second variable, the third element to the third variable. This is known as multiple assignment.

For example, the following command assigns the value 1 to the $a variable, the value 2 to the $b variable, and the value 3 to the $c variable:

$a, $b, $c = 1, 2, 3

If the assignment value contains more elements than variables, all the remaining values are assigned to the last variable. For example, the following command contains three variables and five values:

$a, $b, $c = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Therefore, PowerShell assigns the value 1 to the $a variable and the value 2 to the $b variable. It assigns the values 3, 4, and 5 to the $c variable. To assign the values in the $c variable to three other variables, use the following format:

$d, $e, $f = $c

This command assigns the value 3 to the $d variable, the value 4 to the $e variable, and the value 5 to the $f variable.

If the assignment value contains fewer elements than variables, the remaining variables are assigned the value $null. For example, the following command contains three variables and two values:

$a, $b, $c = 1, 2

Therefore, PowerShell assigns the value 1 to the $a variable and the value 2 to the $b variable. The $c variable is $null.

You can also assign a single value to multiple variables by chaining the variables. For example, the following command assigns a value of "three" to all four variables:

$a = $b = $c = $d = "three"

In addition to using an assignment operation to set a variable value, you can also use the Set-Variable cmdlet. For example, the following command uses Set-Variable to assign an array of 1, 2, 3 to the $a variable.

Set-Variable -Name a -Value 1, 2, 3

See also