MSH LANGUAGE QUICK START
Arithmetic Operators (also see Unary and String operators)+ addition, concatenation
multiplication, string repetition
Array ComparisonReturn all elements equal to 3: 1,2,3,5,3,2 –eq 3
Other operators: -gt, -le, -ge
NB: Arrays are zero-based.
Associative Arrays (Hashtables)$hash = @{ } Create empty hashtable
Boolean Values$true = 1 –eq 1 Assigns True to $true
break (scripting)
The “break” commands exits a loop. Example:
Comments
This is a comment.
$a = “this
Case Insensitive variants:
-imatch, -inotmatch, -ilike, -inotlike, -ieq, -ine, -igt, -ige, -ilt, -ile
The continue statement continues the next iteration of a loop without breaking out of it. Example:
This line is never reached.
Dot Sourcing
Dot sourcing allows running functions, script blocks, and scripts in the current scope rather than a local one. Example:
If MyFunction sets a variable, it is set in the current scope rather than the function’s local scope.
The MSH escape character is the backwards apostrophe, or . To make a character literal, precede it with . To specify a ` use ``.
Special escape sequences0 (null) a (alert)b (backspace) f (form feed)n (new line) r (carriage return)t (tab) v (vertical quote)
Execution Order
MSH attempts to resolve commands in the following order: aliases, functions, cmdlets, scripts, executables, normal files
:label] for (initializer; condition; iterator) {}
Example:
:label] foreach (identifier in pipeline or collection) {}
Example:
On the command-line, the closing brace must be on the same line as elseif and else. This restriction does not exist for scripts
The & operator can be used to invoke the contents of an object. Example:
Method Calls
Methods can be called on objects. Examples:
Static Methods may not be called
**The above is old. You can call statics easily - aka.
Variables are case insensitive and case preserving.$$ contains the last token of last line input into the shell
Object Properties
An object’s properties can be referenced directly with the “.” operator.
In MSH, operators are evaluated in the following precedence:
() {}, @
$, !, ], ., &, ++ --, Unary + -, * / %, Binary + -, Comparison
Operators, -and –or, |, > >>, =
The > and >> operators redirect command output to files. The > operator creates a new file or truncates and existing one, while the >> operator appends to an existing file. Example:
The return command exits the current script or function and returns a value. Example:
Commands and expressions can be stored in a script block object and executed later. Example:
MSH commands can be stored in and executed from script files. The file extension for MSH scripts is “.msh”. Parameters can be passed to a script and a script can return a value.
Example:
String constants:
String operators+ Concatenate two strings
Repeat a string some number of times
Examples:
$var = “word2”" {"Multi-match Exact1 " + $_ } ” {“Previous Break terminated the matching”}
$var = “word1”,“word2”,“word3”
Execute a block of code in a terminating error condition. Example:
Indicate that a number is positive
Indicate that a number is negative
@$a = [int]“3”@@6 @
Examples:
Scope may be either global, local or script
