CODEWITHSUNDEEP
powershellcaml
Ninja Cowgirl
Ninja Cowgirl

Reputation: 11251

CAML query filtering where clause

I have the following caml within powershell. If I hardcode the $month in the CAML Query then it works. Is the syntax I am using proper?

write-host $month
$CAML = '<Where>
         <Eq>
            <FieldRef Name="Period" />
            <Value Type="Text">$month</Value>
         </Eq>
        </Where>'

Upvotes: 0

Views: 2572

Answers (3)

Mathias R. Jessen
Mathias R. Jessen

Reputation: 174660

In PowerShell, strings are either expandable (like interpolatable strings in perl), or literal.

Anything enclosed in double-quotes (") is expandable, whereas single-quotes (') are used for string literals, as in your case.

$month = 'Jan'
"First month is $month" # This will result in: First month is Jan
'First month is $month' # This will result in: First month is $month

For multi-line strings, use a here-string (usually called here-docs in other languages). Same rules apply:

$CAML = @"
<Where>
  <Eq>
    <FieldRef Name="Period" />
    <Value Type="Text">$month</Value>
  </Eq>
</Where>
"@

If you want to use a string literal (ie. if the string contains other special characters or literal $s that you want to preserve) but you need to insert a specific variable value, use the -f format operator as shown by @jisaak:

$CAML = @'
<Where>
  <Eq>
    <FieldRef Name="Period" />
    <Value Type="Text">{0}</Value>
  </Eq>
</Where>
'@ -f $month

To learn more about string expansion and quoting, please see Get-Help about_Quoting_Rules

Upvotes: 2

Ninja Cowgirl
Ninja Cowgirl

Reputation: 11251

Thanks Jissak. Just wanted to share following code as this one works too.

$CAML = "<Where>
             <Eq>
                <FieldRef Name='Period' />
                <Value Type='Text'>$($month)</Value>
             </Eq>
            </Where>"

Upvotes: 0

Martin Brandl
Martin Brandl

Reputation: 58971

Your variable don't get replaced because you are using single quotes. You can either, use double quotes, or a format string (alias -f):

write-host $month
$CAML = '<Where>
         <Eq>
            <FieldRef Name="Period" />
            <Value Type="Text">{0}</Value>
         </Eq>
        </Where>' -f $month

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions