PowerShell Parameters Part II - ValidateSet and ValidatePattern

By: Tim Smith | Updated: 2016-04-19 | Comments (2) | Related: > PowerShell

Problem

We've been passing many of our PowerShell scripts to developers and DBAs to use and wanted to know some of the basics for parameter validation to limit ranges as well as enforce the standards in our environment.

Solution

In the previous tip on PowerShell parameter validation, we looked at parameters limits on strings, integers and validating scripts with valid file locations.

In this tip, we'll look at some other enhancements to validating parameters, which will allow us to pass scripts to DBAs and/or developers, to prevent errors or mistakes when running scripts. We'll look at restricting numbers and strings to a set, along with restricting both to follow certain regular expression patterns, and wrapping it up with allowing some parameters to be mandatory while others can be optional.

PowerShell ValidateSet

Whether using strings or integers, we can limit what values enter functions by using ValidateSet. Let's first look at using it with integers:

Function Pass-Set {
    Param(
        [ValidateSet(2801,2823)][int]$specificinteger
    )
    Process
    {
        Write-Host "It must be one of two numbers; in this case $specificinteger."
    }
}

When we try to call the function, notice how PowerShell's intellisense tries to limit what we can do:

PowerShell intellisense tries to limit what parameters can be passed

Still, we can call the function with an invalid integer - in this case 1234 and we receive the error, Pass-Set : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'specificinteger'. The argument "1234" does not belong to the set "2801,2823" specified by the ValidateSet attribute. Supply an argument that is in the set and then try the command again. We can throttle string ranges too using the same ValidateSet:

Function Pass-Set {
    Param(
        [ValidateSet("oro","plata")][string]$specificstring
    )
    Process
    {
        Write-Host "It must be one of two words; in this case $specificstring."
    }
}

Intellisense will also try to prevent us from entering an invalid value when we call the function and if we pass in an invalid parameter - in this case "word" - we'll get a similar error, Pass-Set : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'specificstring'. The argument "word" does not belong to the set "oro,plata" specified by the ValidateSet attribute. Supply an argument that is in the set and then try the command again.

PowerShell ValidatePattern

PowerShell also allows us to add more complexity for validating parameters for our scripts with ValidatePattern, which looks at regular expressions that enter the script and checks if they are valid. With this, let's start with a simple example where all our development servers must start with DV- and then carry at least seven digits.

Function Pass-Pattern {
    Param(
        [ValidateLength(10,10)][ValidatePattern("[D][V][-]\d{7}")][string]$pattern
    )
    Process
    {
        Write-Host "You entered $pattern."
    }
}

Which of the below will pass?

Pass-Pattern -pattern "DV-123"
Pass-Pattern -pattern "DV-7814698"
Pass-Pattern -pattern "A1"
Pass-Pattern -pattern "DVx1234567"
Pass-Pattern -pattern "DV-VeryCool"
Pass-Pattern -pattern "ABCDV-1475135"

Only the second call meets the requirement of the regular expression pattern and length of the string - 10 character. This also highlights that we can combine parameter validation; for instance, if I pass in the below parameter, I get the length error:

Pass-Pattern -pattern "DV-78146981"

Using this validation can be very useful for object validation and enforcing naming convention. We can take our parameter validation a step further, requiring some parameters, while not requiring others. In the below script, server is mandatory, while database is not; a practical example of this is a loop with the SQL management objects for every database versus one database:

Function Pass-Server {
    Param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][ValidatePattern("^DV-\d{7}")][string]$server
        , [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)][ValidateLength(2,30)][string]$database
    )
    Process
    {
        if ($database -ne "")
        {
            Write-Host "You entered $server and $database."
        }
        else
        {
            Write-Host "You entered $server."
        }
    }
}


Pass-Server -server "DV-7814698"
Pass-Server -server "DV-7814698" -database "LCNRatings"

This script doesn't allow us to pass in something that's incorrect according to our validation:

Pass-Server -server "ABCDEFG"
Pass-Server -server "DV-7814698" -database "H"

The first throws an error indicating that we violated the regular expression pattern, while the other throws an error stating that we passed in a database value that's too small. This allows us to stack further validation if we need for certain development situations.

The above parameter validation approaches help restrict anything from entering a script, though be careful about being too script in a manner that doesn't match your environment. For example, while environments tend to have a naming convention for servers, many of them don't follow their own naming convention, so validate that it's enforced before applying these, as you may miss out on events for a server you should be monitoring.

Next Steps

For pieces of our application or database that follow strict guidelines, we can use restrictions in these parameters to pass off scripts to developers and DBAs that will follow the guidelines.
For regular expressions, touch up on some regular expression patterns to ensure that the validation is correct.
Check out this previous tip Validating PowerShell Parameters - Part I

About the author

Tim Smith works as a DBA and developer and also teaches Automating ETL on Udemy.

This author pledges the content of this article is based on professional experience and not AI generated.

View all my tips

Article Last Updated: 2016-04-19