CODEWITHSUNDEEP
powershellparametersnullable
alx9r
alx9r

Reputation: 4209

Why does passing $null to a parameter with AllowNull() result in an error?

Consider the following code:

function Test
{
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param
    (
        [parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
        [AllowNull()]
        [String]
        $ComputerName
    ) 
    process{}
}

Test -ComputerName $null

Based on the official documentation for AllowNull I was expecting that $ComputerName could either be [string] or $null. However, running the above code results in the following error:

[14,24: Test] Cannot bind argument to parameter 'ComputerName' because it is an empty string.

Why doesn't passing $null for $ComputerName work in this case?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 5384

Answers (3)

Grady Patterson
Grady Patterson

Reputation: 1

As noted, when cast to a [string], $null becomes an empty string (""). To avoid this, one option is to type the param as an object - then in the body test first for $null, then check that $MyParam.GetType().Name is "String".

Upvotes: 0

user4003407
user4003407

Reputation: 22102

$null, when converted to [string], return empty string not $null:

[string]$null -eq $null # False
[string]$null -eq [string]::Empty # True

If you want to pass $null for [string] parameter you should use [NullString]::Value:

[string][NullString]::Value -eq $null # True
Test -ComputerName ([NullString]::Value)

Upvotes: 8

Aaron Jensen
Aaron Jensen

Reputation: 26719

You also need to add the [AllowEmptyString()] attribute if you plan on allowing nulls and empty strings.

function Test
{
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param
    (
        [parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
        [AllowNull()]
        [AllowEmptyString()]
        [String]
        $ComputerName
    ) 
    process{}
}

Test -ComputerName $null

Upvotes: 3

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