Can someone explain why IF statements fails when enclosed in () without a variable? See example below:

$x = 5
$y = 6

Fails

( if ($x -eq $y) { "Match" } ELSE { "No Match" }  )

Works

if ($x -eq $y) { "Match" } ELSE { "No Match" }  

( $xy = if ($x -eq $y) { "Match" } ELSE { "No Match" }  )

Returned Error

if : The term 'if' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.

When importing a module that uses expressions to define custom powershell classes, if a class definition references two or more previously defined, custom powershell classes, PowerShell runtime throws an "Could not load type" exception.

Version: PowerShell 5.1, Windows 10
Code to reproduce:
The below code can either be put into into a module file or run directly in a powershell window:

Invoke-Expression @'

enum EnumOne {

    One = 1

    Two = 2

    Three = 3

    Four = 4

}

'@


Invoke-Expression @'

class ClassOne {

    [string]$Property1

    ClassOne([string]$prop1) {

        $this.Property1 = $prop1

    }

}

'@

Invoke-Expression @'

class ClassTwo {

    [ClassOne]$ClassOne

    [EnumOne]$Enum

    ClassTwo([ClassOne]$one, [EnumOne]$enum) {

        $this.ClassOne = $one

        $this.Enum = $enum

    }

}

'@

Error Output:

Invoke-Expression : At line:1 char:1

+ class ClassTwo {

+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Error during creation of type "ClassTwo". Error message:

Could not load type 'EnumOne' from assembly '⧹powershell, 

Version=0.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'.

At line:1 char:1

+ Invoke-Expression @'

+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [Invoke-Expression], 

ParseException

    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : TypeCreationError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.InvokeExpressionCommand

Entering this reproducibly hangs Windows PowerShell 5.1:

$r = iwr 'https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=austin.code-gnu-global'
$r

Here's what one gets with Set-PSDebug -Trace 2:

> $r
DEBUG: 94+ >>>> {
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock><DynamicParam>'
DEBUG: 97+ >>>> $getCommand = $executionContext.InvokeCommand.GetCmdlet(
DEBUG: ! SET $getCommand = 'Get-Command'.
DEBUG: 99+ >>>> $foreachObject = $executionContext.InvokeCommand.GetCmdlet(
DEBUG: ! SET $foreachObject = 'ForEach-Object'.
DEBUG: 101+ >>>> $whereObject = $executionContext.InvokeCommand.GetCmdlet(
DEBUG: ! SET $whereObject = 'Where-Object'.
DEBUG: 107+ >>>> $command = & $getCommand Out-Default -Type Cmdlet
DEBUG: ! SET $command = 'Out-Default'.
DEBUG: 108+ >>>> $targetParameters = @{}
DEBUG: ! SET $targetParameters = 'System.Collections.Hashtable'.
DEBUG: 109+ >>>> $PSBoundParameters.GetEnumerator() |
DEBUG: 118+ >>>> $argList = @($targetParameters.GetEnumerator() |
DEBUG: 118+ $argList = @( >>>> $targetParameters.GetEnumerator() |
DEBUG: ! SET $argList = ''.
DEBUG: 123+ >>>> $command = $null
DEBUG: ! SET $command = ''.
DEBUG: 126+ >>>> $command = & $getCommand Out-Default -Type Cmdlet `
DEBUG: ! SET $command = 'Out-Default'.
DEBUG: 134+ >>>> $dynamicParams = @($command.Parameters.GetEnumerator() |
DEBUG: 134+ $dynamicParams = @( >>>> $command.Parameters.GetEnumerator() |
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject >>>> { $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { >>>> $.Value.IsDynamic })
DEBUG: 135+ & $whereObject { $.Value.IsDynamic >>>> })
DEBUG: ! SET $dynamicParams = ''.
DEBUG: 139+ if ( >>>> $dynamicParams.Length -gt 0)
DEBUG: 154+ >>>> }
DEBUG: 13+ >>>> {
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock><Begin>'
DEBUG: 19+ >>>> $foreachObject = $executionContext.InvokeCommand.GetCmdlet(
DEBUG: ! SET $foreachObject = 'ForEach-Object'.
DEBUG: 22+ >>>> $wrappedCmd = $ExecutionContext.InvokeCommand.GetCommand(
DEBUG: ! SET $wrappedCmd = 'Out-Default'.
DEBUG: 28+ >>>> $targetParameters = @{}
DEBUG: ! SET $targetParameters = 'System.Collections.Hashtable'.
DEBUG: 29+ >>>> $PSBoundParameters.GetEnumerator() |
DEBUG: 38+ >>>> $newPipeline = { & $wrappedCmd @targetParameters }
DEBUG: ! SET $newPipeline = ' & $wrappedCmd @targetParameters '.
DEBUG: 39+ >>>> $finalPipeline = $newPipeline.ToString()
DEBUG: ! SET $finalPipeline = ' & $wrappedCmd @targetParameters '.
DEBUG: 43+ >>>> $steppablePipeline = [ScriptBlock]::Create(
DEBUG: ! SET $steppablePipeline = 'System.Management.Automation.SteppablePipel...'.
DEBUG: 45+ >>>> $steppablePipeline.Begin($PSCmdlet)
DEBUG: 49+ >>>> }
DEBUG: 1+ >>>> $r
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock>'
DEBUG: 52+ >>>> {
DEBUG: ! CALL function '<ScriptBlock><Process>'
DEBUG: 56+ if( >>>> ($ -is [System.IO.DirectoryInfo]) -or ($ -is [System.IO.FileInfo]))
DEBUG: 62+ elseif( >>>> $ -is [System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController])
DEBUG: 68+ elseif( >>>> $ -is [Microsoft.Powershell.Commands.MatchInfo])
DEBUG: 74+ >>>> $steppablePipeline.Process($)

Moving to PS7 is not an option since I need $r.ParsedHTML

I really think there is a bug in Where-Object with $_.LastAccessTime
It always returns Last Write Time, NOT Last Access Time. However, Select-Object works..

Sample -
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path c:\ | Where-Object {$_.LastAccessTime -le (Get-Date).AddDays(1)}

Result -

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

...list of files...

I have tested with PowerShell 2.0 (Windows 2008 R2) 4.0 (Windows 2012 R2) and 5.1 (Windows 2016 and Windows 10).

It WORKS as expected on Powershell 2.0

However, this sample works, but I am unable to finger out how to do anything (like Remove-Item) with the results.

< save the below as a .ps1 file and pass 2 parameters, c:\ and 1 >
Param([string[]]$path, [int]$numberDays)
$cutOffDate = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$numberDays)
Get-childItem -Path $path -recurse -force | where {!$.PsIsContainer} | Select Fullname,LastAccessTime | Where-Object {$.LastAccessTime -ile $cutOffDate }

Win Server 2019 (Azure VM)

For non-exist dir, powershell print a Windows Defender path.

Something interesting:

1. It's fine without "-Recurse" (see the 2nd command in above screenshot)




2. It's limited to certain path. C:\non-exist-dir cause different output from C:\Program Files\non-exist-dir while D:\non-exist-dir is fine.



3. There's no issue with existing dir.

I guess somehow Windows Defender kicks in during powershell execution and did some strange relocation?

Here's the full log in text form:

PS C:&gt; Get-ChildItem "${Env:ProgramFiles}/non-exist-dir" -Recurse
Get-ChildItem : Access to the path 'C:\Program Files\Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection\Classification\Configuration' is denied.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-ChildItem "${Env:ProgramFiles}/non-exist-dir" -Recurse
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (C:\Program File...n\Configuration:String) [Get-ChildItem], UnauthorizedAccessException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : DirUnauthorizedAccessError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

PS C:&gt; Get-ChildItem "${Env:ProgramFiles}/non-exist-dir"
Get-ChildItem : Cannot find path 'C:\Program Files\non-exist-dir' because it does not exist.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-ChildItem "${Env:ProgramFiles}/non-exist-dir"
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (C:\Program Files\non-exist-dir:String) [Get-ChildItem], ItemNotFoundException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : PathNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

PS C:&gt; Get-ChildItem "C:\Program Files\non-exist-dir" -Recurse
Get-ChildItem : Access to the path 'C:\Program Files\Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection\Classification\Configuration' is denied.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-ChildItem "C:\Program Files\non-exist-dir" -Recurse
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (C:\Program File...n\Configuration:String) [Get-ChildItem], UnauthorizedAccessException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : DirUnauthorizedAccessError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

PS C:&gt; $PSVersionTable

Name Value

PSVersion 5.1.17763.1432
PSEdition Desktop
PSCompatibleVersions {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}
BuildVersion 10.0.17763.1432
CLRVersion 4.0.30319.42000
WSManStackVersion 3.0
PSRemotingProtocolVersion 2.3
SerializationVersion 1.1.0.1

PS C:&gt; Get-ChildItem "C:\non-exist-dir" -Recurse
Get-ChildItem : Access to the path 'C:\Program Files\Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection\Classification\Configuration' is denied.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-ChildItem "C:\non-exist-dir" -Recurse
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (C:\Program File...n\Configuration:String) [Get-ChildItem], UnauthorizedAccessException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : DirUnauthorizedAccessError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

Get-ChildItem : Access to the path 'C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\WMI\RtBackup' is denied.
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-ChildItem "C:\non-exist-dir" -Recurse
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo          : PermissionDenied: (C:\Windows\Syst...es\WMI\RtBackup:String) [Get-ChildItem], UnauthorizedAccessException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : DirUnauthorizedAccessError,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

Get-ChildItem : Access is denied
At line:1 char:1
+ Get-ChildItem "C:\non-exist-dir" -Recurse
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Get-ChildItem], UnauthorizedAccessException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.UnauthorizedAccessException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

PS C:&gt; Get-ChildItem "D:\non-exist-dir" -Recurse
PS C:&gt; echo $?
True
PS C:&gt; Get-ChildItem "C:\Program Files\gflags" -Recurse

Directory: C:\Program Files\gflags

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

d----- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM bin
d----- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM include
d----- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM lib

Directory: C:\Program Files\gflags\bin

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 171008 gflags.dll
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 2355200 gflags.pdb
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 757760 gflagsdeclaretest.pdb
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 170496 gflagsnothreads.dll
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 2347008 gflagsnothreads.pdb
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 618496 gflagsstripflagstest.pdb
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 3100672 gflagsunittest-main.pdb
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 3100672 gflagsunittest.pdb
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 3100672 gflagsunittest_main.pdb

Directory: C:\Program Files\gflags\include

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

d----- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM gflags

Directory: C:\Program Files\gflags\include\gflags

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 31243 gflags.h
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 5882 gflagscompletions.h
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 5522 gflagsdeclare.h
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 4173 gflags_gflags.h

Directory: C:\Program Files\gflags\lib

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

d----- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM cmake
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 29946 gflags.lib
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 30848 gflags_nothreads.lib

Directory: C:\Program Files\gflags\lib\cmake

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

d----- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM gflags

Directory: C:\Program Files\gflags\lib\cmake\gflags

Mode LastWriteTime Length Name

-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 689 gflags-config-version.cmake
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 6408 gflags-config.cmake
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 1481 gflags-nonamespace-targets-release.cmake
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 3942 gflags-nonamespace-targets.cmake
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 1561 gflags-targets-release.cmake
-a---- 9/14/2020 3:08 PM 3994 gflags-targets.cmake

PS C:&gt;

Put this directly into the Office 365 Admin console if you are forcing us to use something that never works unless you've become a professional with it AND get all the updates on all the changes that happen in just a single month, so put it directly in Office 365 just like Azure has and YOU keep it updated with the right libraries and modules and all that so when we need to run a command, we don't have to search for 45 minutes to get it going, or when you need to run tech support, you know the platform it's running on because it's yours, not ours.

I just typed my password into a chatroom because although it looked like the PowerShell window had focus, I was entering a password where there is zero feedback. If I had seen a placeholder appear per character like text boxes on websites, I would have been able to tell that the text I was typing was not going to the right window.

When typing into a password field, I would like to see feedback with something like ******, each * representing a character I typed.

This is something you can enable with other shells like in this article about Linux, and would possibly have prevented me from publicly sharing my password with a group of people.

https://www.tecmint.com/show-asterisks-sudo-password-in-linux/