PowerShell Isn't Parsing Data as Expected // Basic PowerShell Operator Question

Question

I have a pretty nooby question regarding the proper usage of certain operators.

I am writing a script that pulls data out of a CSV. The script asks the user to enter a location # and then is supposed to output the IP of their server.

The script works as expected except on rows where the location number also has other text in it like numbers or special characters.

Here is an example CSV to illustrate my problem:

Loc#,State,Server IP
1,NY,10.0.0.1
2,CA,10.0.0.2
3,WA,10.0.0.3
4 (inp),KY,10.0.0.4

My script looks something like this:

$CSV = import-csv C:\users\Self\MyProject.csv

$location = read-host "enter the location #"

foreach( $row in $CSV){

if($row.loc# -eq $location)
{
write-host $row.'Server IP'
}

Now, this script works as expected unless the user chooses location 4. If the users chooses location 4, then the $location variable is left blank.

Ok, this makes a little bit of sense since I'm using the -eq operator. But even if I use the -contains operator I get the same results.

Here is another way of showing my problem:

$number = "10 ten"

 if ($number -contains "10"){ (Write-Host "true")} else{ write-host "false"}

false

Now, why isn't the output showing as "true" since that $number variable does indeed contain "10"?

Any help is much appreciated, Thanks

user_15339544 · Answer

As it seems, Location can have a random value and not only digits, normally you could use -match as Mahmoud Moawad pointed out in his comment, however this could also bring you problems since there is no specific pattern you can follow there is also no clear way of how you can filter the specific value. What I would personally do is give the user a list where he can choose the Location by Index:

$csv = Import-Csv C:\users\Self\MyProject.csv
$csv.foreach({
    begin
    {
        '- Choose a location:'
        $i = 0
        $map = @{}
    }
    process
    {
        $map[(++$i)] = $_
        "[$i] - {0}" -f $_.'Loc#'
    }
})
$question = { Read-Host 'Index' }
while($true)
{
    $index = (& $question) -as [int]
    if($index -ge 1 -and $index -le $csv.Count)
    {
        break
    }
    'Input must be between 1 and {0}!!' -f $csv.Count
}
$map[$index].'Server IP'

As for why -contains is not showing you $true on your condition, the Containment Operators will look for an exact match of an element:

'10 ten' -contains '10'               # => False
'10 ten' -contains '10 ten'           # => True
'9 nine', '10 ten' -contains '10 ten' # => True

PowerShell Isn't Parsing Data as Expected // Basic PowerShell Operator Question

1 Answers