#PSTip Convert PowerShell Data File to an Object

Note: This tip requires PowerShell 4.0 or later.

Before PowerShell 4.0, if we had to convert the hash table in a PSD1 file into an object representation, we either used the Import-LocalizedData cmdlet (not really meant for this purpose) or other means.

The Invoke-Expression cmdlet can be evil if you don’t know what’s inside the hash table string and can cause serious security issues. There are of course other methods such as a method I used in my PSBookmark module. I just put the hash table string in a .PS1 file and dot-source the PS1 to create an object. However, there are other better ways to achieve this.

Using Argument Transformation

With PowerShell 4.0 we don’t need all these. For PowerShell DSC, Microsoft introduced a new attribute called ArgumentToConfigurationDataTransformation. This is used when compiling a DSC configuration. Here is how I use it.

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function Get-ConfigurationDataAsObject
{
    [CmdletBinding()]
    Param (
        [Parameter(Mandatory)]
        [Microsoft.PowerShell.DesiredStateConfiguration.ArgumentToConfigurationDataTransformation()]
        [hashtable] $ConfigurationData    
    )
    return $ConfigurationData
}

The beauty of this method is that you can supply a .PSD1 file path and the contents (valid hash table string) gets transformed into an object.

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PS C:\> Get-ConfigurationDataAsObject -ConfigurationData C:\Documents\Github\PSBookmark\PSBookmark.psd1 -Verbose

Name                           Value
----                           -----
Copyright                      All Rights Reserved                                                   
Description                    Adds the capability to create location bookmarks for easier access.
PrivateData                    {PSData}
CompanyName                    PowerShell Magazine
GUID                           298a7c5c-d670-4093-bae2-0d6c2935a182
Author                         Ravikanth Chaganti
FunctionsToExport              {Save-LocationBookmark, Set-LocationBookmarkAsPWD, Get-LocationBookmark, Remove-LocationBookm...
VariablesToExport              *
RootModule                     PSBookmark.psm1
AliasesToExport                {goto, save, glb, rlb}
CmdletsToExport                *
ModuleVersion                  1.0.1

Using AST

Converting a hashtable string to an object can be done using AST as well. The following code snippet shows that.

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$script = 'C:\documents\Github\psbookmark\psbookmark.psd1'
$scriptAST = [System.Management.Automation.Language.Parser]::ParseFile($script,[ref]$null,[ref]$null)
$hashTables = $scriptAST.FindAll({$args[0] -is [System.Management.Automation.Language.HashtableAst]}, $true)
$hashTables[0].SafeGetValue()

Finally, using the Import-PowerShellDataFile cmdlet

In PowerShell 5.0, there is a new cmdlet called Import-PowerShellDataFile which wraps the AST way of generating an object from the hashtable string.

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PS C:\> Import-PowerShellDataFile -Path 'C:\documents\Github\psbookmark\psbookmark.psd1'
Name                           Value 
----                           -----
Copyright                      All Rights Reserved 
Description                    Adds the capability to create location bookmarks for easier access.   
PrivateData                    {PSData}
CompanyName                    PowerShell Magazine                   
GUID                           298a7c5c-d670-4093-bae2-0d6c2935a182       
Author                         Ravikanth Chaganti
FunctionsToExport              {Save-LocationBookmark, Set-LocationBookmarkAsPWD, Get-LocationBookmark, Remove-LocationBookmark}                         
VariablesToExport              *                         
RootModule                     PSBookmark.psm1                        
AliasesToExport                {goto, save, glb, rlb}          
CmdletsToExport                *     
ModuleVersion                  1.0.1

 

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