Hey everyone! I'm running into a strange issue with my PowerShell function that's supposed to parse XML data and return an array of custom objects. The problem is that when I call the function, I get an extra item at the beginning of the array. Instead of just the parsed data, I get the complete un-parsed content as the first item, making the total count 21 instead of the expected 20 objects. I've tried using both a foreach loop and a fixed-size array, and the results are the same. I even attempted to type the output using a custom PSClass, but that led to a script error. I've debugged the return statement in VSCode, and according to that, the function only outputs 20 objects. However, once it's assigned outside of the function's scope, it adds the extra item. I'm careful to clear my variables before each initialization and have normalized the XML input by removing unnecessary whitespace. Am I just overthinking this, or has anyone experienced something similar? Thanks for your help!
3 Answers
It sounds like you might be unintentionally tapping into the $Matches automatic variable. Just to clarify, when you use this variable, $Matches[0] typically gives you the entire string. You might want to only use $Matches[1] or higher if that's the case. Check if that’s part of your function's logic.
You've got a point there about scope. If you're calling your function without it being fully loaded in memory or referencing external variables, that can really mess things up. PowerShell works differently from typical OOP as it allows you to use global variables, but this can lead to confusion. Also, be careful with your return keyword; PowerShell automatically sends everything to the pipeline, so you could be picking up more than you intended if you're not managing your variable scope well.
Yeah, it's important to assign your variables properly and avoid unnecessary variable removals if you're just going to reassign right after.
It looks like part of the issue might be due to your function design. You have variables outside of a parameter block, which could lead to the function inadvertently inheriting values from the outer scope. Make sure all your parameters are neatly grouped in a param() block. This should help prevent any unintentional variable bleed.
Good catch! Wrapping parameters in a param() block can really help clarify what your function expects.
Got it! I’ll implement that and see if it fixes the issue.
Thanks for the tips! I think I'll revise my function to ensure proper scoping and check my variable references.