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Parameters & Properties

To summarize the differences between passing parameters and properties to the Invoke-psake function:

  • Parameters and "properties" can both be passed to the Invoke-psake function simultaneously
  • Parameters are set before any "properties" blocks are run
  • Properties are set after all "properties" blocks have run

Parameters​

You can pass parameters to your build script using the "parameters" parameter of the Invoke-psake function. The following is an example:

Invoke-psake .\parameters.ps1 -parameters @{"p1"="v1";"p2"="v2"}

The example above runs the build script called "parameters.ps1" and passes in parameters 'p1' and 'p2' with values 'v1' and 'v2'. The parameter value for the "parameters" parameter (say that 10 times really fast!) is a PowerShell hashtable where the name and value of each parameter is specified. Note: You don't need to use the "$" character when specifying the parameter names in the hashtable.

parameters.ps1
properties {
  $my_property = $p1 + $p2
}

task default -depends TestParams

task TestParams {
  Assert ($my_property -ne $null) '$my_property should not be null'
}

Properties​

You can override a property in your build script using the properties parameter of the Invoke-psake function. The following is an example:

Invoke-psake .\properties.ps1 -properties @{"x"="1";"y"="2"}

The example above runs the build script called "properties.ps1" and passes in parameters 'x' and 'y' with values '1' and '2'. The parameter value for the "properties" parameter is a PowerShell hashtable where the name and value of each property is specified. Note: You don't need to use the "$" character when specifying the property names in the hashtable.

The "properties.ps1" build script looks like this:

properties {
 $x = $null
 $y = $null
 $z = $null
}

task default -depends TestProperties

task TestProperties {
  Assert ($x -ne $null) "x should not be null"
  Assert ($y -ne $null) "y should not be null"
  Assert ($z -eq $null) "z should be null"
}

The value of $x should be 1 and $y should be 2 by the time the "TestProperties" task is executed. The value of $z was not over-ridden so it should still be $null.