Hey, Scripting Guy! Weekend Scripter: Conversion Module, Part 1
Microsoft Scripting Guy Ed Wilson here. Well, this is truly a historic day for a number of reasons. The first reason is that this is the first Saturday column in Scripting Guy history! The second historic occasion is that we finally got snow in Charlotte, North Carolina. This second reason is not really historical—we get snow in Charlotte from time to time—but this snow has been long awaited, much anticipated, and truly appreciated. As seen in the following image, even Dr. Scripto got into the spirit of things as he attempted to make a snow person.
Because we received all the snow and had freezing temperatures, I decided I would like to share the information with my friend Georges who lives in Quebec. When sharing such information with my friends outside the United States, I consider it polite to translate the measurements into metric. I was looking through my conversion functions that we discussed back in December’s Hey, Scripting Guy! Why Would I Even Want to Use Functions in My Windows PowerShell Scripts? post , and I decided it would be more convenient to convert the functions into a module, rather than needing to dot-source the file each time I wanted to access them.
The ConversionFunctions.ps1 script is seen here.
ConversionFunctions.ps1
Function Script:ConvertToMeters($feet)
{
“$feet feet equals $($feet*.31) meters”
} #end ConvertToMeters
Function Script:ConvertToFeet($meters)
{
“$meters meters equals $($meters * 3.28) feet”
} #end ConvertToFeet
Function Script:ConvertToFahrenheit($celsius)
{
“$celsius celsius equals $((1.8 * $celsius) + 32 ) fahrenheit”
} #end ConvertToFahrenheit
Function Script:ConvertTocelsius($fahrenheit)
{
“$fahrenheit fahrenheit equals $( (($fahrenheit – 32)/9)*5 ) celsius”
} #end ConvertTocelsius
Function Script:ConvertToMiles($kilometer)
{
“$kilometer kilometers equals $( ($kilometer *.6211) ) miles”
} #end convertToMiles
Function Script:ConvertToKilometers($miles)
{
“$miles miles equals $( ($miles * 1.61) ) kilometers”
} #end convertToKilometers
So how did I create a module from my conversion functions?
1. The first thing I did was copy all of the functions into a blank Windows PowerShell ISE window.
2. Next, I renamed all of the functions.
3. I then created a template so that I could add help to each of the functions.
4. Last, I used my Copy-Module.ps1 script to install the newly created module onto my system.
Here is the help template I used:
HelpTemplate.txt
<#
.Synopsis
Converts into
.Example
ConvertTo-
Converts 1 into
.Parameter
The to be converted
.Notes
NAME: ConvertTo-
AUTHOR: Ed Wilson
LASTEDIT: 1/31/2010
KEYWORDS:
.Link
Http://www.ScriptingGuys.com
#Requires -Version 2.0
#>
After renaming the functions, and adding help to each function, I saved the module as ConversionModule.psm1. The complete ConversionModule.psm1 module is seen here.
ConversionModule.psm1
Function ConvertTo-Meters
{
<#
.Synopsis
Converts feet into meters
.Example
ConvertTo-Meters 1
Converts 1 foot into meters
.Parameter feet
The number of feet to be converted
.Notes
NAME: ConvertTo-Meters
AUTHOR: Ed Wilson
LASTEDIT: 1/31/2010
KEYWORDS:
.Link
Http://www.ScriptingGuys.com
#Requires -Version 2.0
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true,Position = 0,valueFromPipeline=$true)]
$feet
) #end param
“$feet feet equals $($feet*.31) meters”
} #end ConvertTo-Meters
Function ConvertTo-Feet
{
<#
.Synopsis
Converts meters into feet
.Example
ConvertTo-Feet 1
Converts 1 meter into feet
.Parameter meters
The number of meters to be converted into feet
.Notes
NAME: ConvertTo-Feet
AUTHOR: Ed Wilson
LASTEDIT: 1/31/2010
KEYWORDS:
.Link
Http://www.ScriptingGuys.com
#Requires -Version 2.0
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true,Position = 0,valueFromPipeline=$true)]
$meters
) #end param
“$meters meters equals $($meters * 3.28) feet”
} #end ConvertTo-Feet
Function ConvertTo-Fahrenheit
{
<#
.Synopsis
Converts celsius into fahrenheit
.Example
ConvertTo-Fahrenheit 1
Converts 1 degree celsius into fahrenheit
.Parameter celsius
The temperature to be converted into fahrenheit
.Notes
NAME: ConvertTo-Fahrenheit
AUTHOR: Ed Wilson
LASTEDIT: 1/31/2010
KEYWORDS:
.Link
Http://www.ScriptingGuys.com
#Requires -Version 2.0
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true,Position = 0,valueFromPipeline=$true)]
$celsius
) #end param
“$celsius celsius equals $((1.8 * $celsius) + 32 ) fahrenheit”
} #end ConvertTo-Fahrenheit
Function ConvertTo-celsius
{
<#
.Synopsis
Converts fahrenheit into celsius
.Example
ConvertTo-Celsius 1
Converts 1 degree fahrenheit into celsius
.Parameter fahrenheit
The temperature to be converted
.Notes
NAME: ConvertTo-Celsius
AUTHOR: Ed Wilson
LASTEDIT: 1/31/2010
KEYWORDS:
.Link
Http://www.ScriptingGuys.com
#Requires -Version 2.0
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true,Position = 0,valueFromPipeline=$true)]
$fahrenheit
) #end param
“$fahrenheit fahrenheit equals $( (($fahrenheit – 32)/9)*5 ) celsius”
} #end ConvertT-ocelsius
Function ConvertTo-Miles
{
<#
.Synopsis
Converts kilometers into miles
.Example
ConvertTo-Miles
Converts 1 kilometer into miles
.Parameter kilometer
The distance to be converted
.Notes
NAME: ConvertTo-Miles
AUTHOR: Ed Wilson
LASTEDIT: 1/31/2010
KEYWORDS:
.Link
Http://www.ScriptingGuys.com
#Requires -Version 2.0
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true,Position = 0,valueFromPipeline=$true)]
$kilometer
) #end param
“$kilometer kilometers equals $( ($kilometer *.6211) ) miles”
} #end convertToMiles
Function ConvertTo-Kilometers
{
<#
.Synopsis
Converts miles into Kilometers
.Example
ConvertTo-Kilometers 1
Converts 1 mile into kilometers
.Parameter miles
The distance to be converted
.Notes
NAME: ConvertTo-Kilometers
AUTHOR: Ed Wilson
LASTEDIT: 1/31/2010
KEYWORDS:
.Link
Http://www.ScriptingGuys.com
#Requires -Version 2.0
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true,Position = 0,valueFromPipeline=$true)]
$miles
) #end param
“$miles miles equals $( ($miles * 1.61) ) kilometers”
} #end convertTo-Kilometers
After I saved the ConversionModule.psm1 file, I used my Copy-Modules.ps1 script to install my new module. After the module is installed, I like to use the Get-Module cmdlet to ensure it has been properly installed. I also like to import the module by using the Import-Module cmdlet to import the module into the current Windows PowerShell session. I then use the Get-Command cmdlet to see which commands have been exported by the module. This is seen here:
PS C:> C:fsoCopy-Modules.ps1
cmdlet Copy-Modules.ps1 at command pipeline position 1
Supply values for the following parameters:
path: c:fso
PS C:> Get-Module -ListAvailable
ModuleType Name ExportedCommands
———- —- —————-
Script BasicFunctions {}
Script ConversionModule {}
Script DotNet {}
Manifest FileSystem {}
Manifest IsePack {}
Manifest PowerShellPack {}
Manifest PSCodeGen {}
Manifest PSImageTools {}
Manifest PSRSS {}
Manifest PSSystemTools {}
Manifest PSUserTools {}
Manifest TaskScheduler {}
Manifest WPK {}
Manifest ActiveDirectory {}
Manifest AppLocker {}
Manifest BitsTransfer {}
Manifest FailoverClusters {}
Manifest GroupPolicy {}
Manifest NetworkLoadBalancingCl… {}
Manifest PSDiagnostics {}
Manifest TroubleshootingPack {}
PS C:> Import-Module conversion*
PS C:> Get-Command -Module conversion*
CommandType Name Definition
———– —- ———-
Function ConvertTo-celsius param($fahrenheit)…
Function ConvertTo-Fahrenheit param($celsius)…
Function ConvertTo-Feet param($meters)…
Function ConvertTo-Kilometers &
nbsp; param($miles)…
Function ConvertTo-Meters param($feet)…
Function ConvertTo-Miles param($kilometer)…
PS C:>
The last thing I do is check the Get-Help function to ensure it is working with my new commands. This is seen here:
PS C:> Get-Help ConvertTo-kilometers
NAME
ConvertTo-Kilometers
SYNOPSIS
Converts miles into Kilometers
SYNTAX
ConvertTo-Kilometers [-miles] <Object> [<CommonParameters>]
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