PowerShell Cmdlet Help for Add-TypeNAME Add-Type SYNOPSIS Adds a Microsoft .NET Framework type (a class) to a Windows PowerShell session. SYNTAX Add-Type -AssemblyName Add-Type [-Name] ssembly ] [-IgnoreWarnings] [-PassThru] [ Add-Type [-Path] Add-Type [-TypeDefinition] [-Language {CSharp | CSharpVersion3 | VisualBasic | JScript}] [-OutputAssembly DESCRIPTION The Add-Type cmdlet lets you define a .NET Framework class in your Windows PowerShell session. You can then instant iate objects (by using the New-Object cmdlet) and use the objects, just as you would use any .NET Framework object. If you add an Add-Type command to your Windows PowerShell profile, the class will be available in all Windows Pow erShell sessions. You can specify the type by specifying an existing assembly or source code files, or you can specify the source cod e inline or saved in a variable. You can even specify only a method and Add-Type will define and generate the class . You can use this feature to make Platform Invoke (P/Invoke) calls to unmanaged functions in Windows PowerShell. I f you specify source code, Add-Type compiles the specified source code and generates an in-memory assembly that con tains the new .NET Framework types. You can use the parameters of Add-Type to specify an alternate language and compiler (CSharp is the default), compi ler options, assembly dependencies, the class namespace, the names of the type, and the resulting assembly. PARAMETERS -AssemblyName Specifies the name of an assembly that includes the types. Add-Type takes the types from the specified assembly . This parameter is required when you are creating types based on an assembly name. Enter the full or simple name (also known as the "partial name") of an assembly. Wildcard characters are permit ted in the assembly name. If you enter a simple or partial name, Add-Type resolves it to the full name, and the n uses the full name to load the assembly. This parameter does not accept a path or file name. To enter the path to the assembly dynamic-link library (DLL ) file, use the Path parameter. Required? true Position? named Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? true -CodeDomProvider Specifies a code generator or compiler. Add-Type uses the specified compiler to compile the source code. The de fault is the CSharp compiler. Use this parameter if you are using a language that cannot be specified by using the Language parameter. The CodeDomProvider that you specify must be able to generate assemblies from source code. Required? false Position? named Default value CSharp compiler Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -CompilerParameters Specifies the options for the source code compiler. These options are sent to the compiler without revision. This parameter allows you to direct the compiler to generate an executable file, embed resources, or set comman d-line options, such as the "/unsafe" option. This parameter implements the CompilerParameters class (System.Co deDom.Compiler.CompilerParameters). Required? false Position? named Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -IgnoreWarnings [ Ignores compiler warnings. Use this parameter to prevent Add-Type from handling compiler warnings as errors. Required? false Position? named Default value False Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -Language Specifies the language used in the source code. Add-Type uses the language to select the correct code compiler . Valid values are "CSharp", "CSharpVersion3", "VisualBasic", and "JScript". "CSharp" is the default. Required? false Position? named Default value CSharp Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -MemberDefinition Specifies new properties or methods for the class. Add-Type generates the template code that is required to sup port the properties or methods. You can use this feature to make Platform Invoke (P/Invoke) calls to unmanaged functions in Windows PowerShell. For more information, see the examples. Required? true Position? 2 Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -Name Specifies the name of the class to create. This parameter is required when generating a type from a member defi nition. The type name and namespace must be unique within a session. You cannot unload a type or change it. If you need to change the code for a type, you must change the name or start a new Windows PowerShell session. Otherwise, the command fails. Required? true Position? 1 Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -Namespace Specifies a namespace for the type. If this parameter is not included in the command, the type is created in the Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.AddT ype.AutoGeneratedTypes namespace. If the parameter is included in the command with an empty string value or a v alue of $null, the type is generated in the global namespace. Required? false Position? named Default value Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.AddType.AutoGeneratedTypes Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -OutputAssembly Generates a DLL file for the assembly with the specified name in the location. Enter a path (optional) and file name. Wildcard characters are permitted. By default, Add-Type generates the assembly only in memory. Required? false Position? named Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? true -OutputType Specifies the output type of the output assembly. Valid values are Library, ConsoleApplication, and WindowsApp lication. By default, no output type is specified. This parameter is valid only when an output assembly is specified in the command. Required? false Position? named Default value None Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -PassThru [ Returns a System.Runtime object that represents the types that were added. By default, this cmdlet does not gen erate any output. Required? false Position? named Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -Path Specifies the path to source code files or assembly DLL files that contain the types. If you submit source code files, Add-Type compiles the code in the files and creates an in-memory assembly of t he types. The file name extension specified in the value of Path determines the compiler that Add-Type uses. If you submit an assembly file, Add-Type takes the types from the assembly. To specify an in-memory assembly or the global assembly cache, use the AssemblyName parameter. Required? true Position? 1 Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -ReferencedAssemblies Specifies the assemblies upon which the type depends. By default, Add-Type references System.dll and System.Man agement.Automation.dll. The assemblies that you specify by using this parameter are referenced in addition to t he default assemblies. Required? false Position? named Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -TypeDefinition Specifies the source code that contains the type definitions. Enter the source code in a string or here-string, or enter a variable that contains the source code. For more information about here-strings, see about_Quoting_ Rules. Include a namespace declaration in your type definition. If you omit the namespace declaration, your type might have the same name as another type or the shortcut for another type, causing an unintentional overwrite. For e xample, if you define a type called "Exception", scripts that use "Exception" as the shortcut for System.Except ion will fail. Required? true Position? 1 Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false -UsingNamespace Specifies other namespaces that are required for the class. This is much like the Using keyword in C#. By default, Add-Type references the System namespace. When the MemberDefinition parameter is used, Add-Type als o references the System.Runtime.InteropServices namespace by default. The namespaces that you add by using the UsingNamespace parameter are referenced in addition to the default namespaces. Required? false Position? named Default value Accept pipeline input? false Accept wildcard characters? false This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug, ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable, OutBuffer and OutVariable. For more information, type, "get-help about_commonparameters". INPUTS None You cannot pipe objects to Add-Type. OUTPUTS None or System.RuntimeType When you use the PassThru parameter, Add-Type returns a System.RuntimeType object that represents the new type. Otherwise, this cmdlet does not generate any output. NOTES The types that you add exist only in the current session. To use the types in all sessions, add them to your W indows PowerShell profile. For more information about the profile, see about_Profiles. Type names (and namespaces) must be unique within a session. You cannot unload a type or change it. If you nee d to change the code for a type, you must change the name or start a new Windows PowerShell session. Otherwise, the command fails. The CodeDomProvider class for some languages, such as IronPython and JSharp, does not generate output. As a res ult, types written in these languages cannot be used with Add-Type. This cmdlet is based on the CodeDomProvider class. For more information about this class, see the Microsoft .NE T Framework SDK. -------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 -------------------------- C:\PS>$source = @" public class BasicTest { public static int Add(int a, int b) { return (a + b); } public int Multiply(int a, int b) { return (a * b); } } "@ C:\PS> Add-Type -TypeDefinition $source C:\PS> [BasicTest]::Add(4, 3) C:\PS> $basicTestObject = New-Object BasicTest C:\PS> $basicTestObject.Multiply(5, 2) Description ----------- These commands add the BasicTest class to the session by specifying source code that is stored in a variable. The t ype has a static method called Add and a non-static method called Multiply. The first command stores the source code for the class in the $source variable. The second command uses the Add-Type cmdlet to add the class to the session. Because it is using inline source code , the command uses the TypeDefinition parameter to specify the code in the $source variable. The remaining commands use the new class. The third command calls the Add static method of the BasicTest class. It uses the double-colon characters (::) to s pecify a static member of the class. The fourth command uses the New-Object cmdlet to instantiate an instance of the BasicTest class. It saves the new o bject in the $basicTestObject variable. The fifth command uses the Multiply method of $basicTestObject. -------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 -------------------------- C:\PS>[BasicTest] | get-member C:\PS> [BasicTest] | get-member -static C:\PS> $basicTestObject | get-member C:\PS> [BasicTest] | get-member TypeName: System.RuntimeType Name MemberType Definition ---- ---------- ---------- Clone Method System.Object Clone() Equals Method System.Boolean Equals FindInterfaces Method System.Type[] FindInt ... C:\PS> [BasicTest] | get-member -static TypeName: BasicTest Name MemberType Definition ---- ---------- ---------- Add Method static System.Int32 Add(Int32 a, Int32 b) Equals Method static System.Boolean Equals(Object objA, ReferenceEquals Method static System.Boolean ReferenceEquals(Obj C:\PS> $basicTestObject | get-member TypeName: BasicTest Name MemberType Definition ---- ---------- ---------- Equals Method System.Boolean Equals(Object obj) GetHashCode Method System.Int32 GetHashCode() GetType Method System.Type GetType() Multiply Method System.Int32 Multiply(Int32 a, Int32 b) ToString Method System.String ToString() Description ----------- These commands use the Get-Member cmdlet to examine the objects that the Add-Type and New-Object cmdlets created in the previous example. The first command uses the Get-Member cmdlet to get the type and members of the BasicTest class that Add-Type added to the session. The Get-Member command reveals that it is a System.RuntimeType object, which is derived from the S ystem.Object class. The second command uses the Static parameter of Get-Member to get the static properties and methods of the BasicTes t class. The output shows that the Add method is included. The third command uses Get-Member to get the members of the object stored in the $BasicTestObject variable. This wa s the object instance that was created by using the New-Object cmdlet with the $BasicType class. The output reveals that the value of the $basicTestObject variable is an instance of the BasicTest class and that i t includes a member called Multiply. -------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 -------------------------- C:\PS>$accType = add-type -assemblyname accessib* -passthru Description ----------- This command adds the classes from the Accessibility assembly to the current session. The command uses the Assembly Name parameter to specify the name of the assembly. The wildcard character allows you to get the correct assembly e ven when you are not sure of the name or its spelling. The command uses the PassThru parameter to generate objects that represent the classes that are added to the sessio n, and it saves the objects in the $accType variable. -------------------------- EXAMPLE 4 -------------------------- C:\PS>add-type -path c:\ps-test\Hello.vb [VBFromFile]::SayHello(", World") # From Hello.vb Public Class VBFromFile Public Shared Function SayHello(sourceName As String) As String Dim myValue As String = "Hello" return myValue + sourceName End Function End Class C:\PS> [VBFromFile]::SayHello(", World") Hello, World Description ----------- This example uses the Add-Type cmdlet to add the VBFromFile class that is defined in the Hello.vb file to the curre nt session. The text of the Hello.vb file is shown in the command output. The first command uses the Add-Type cmdlet to add the type defined in the Hello.vb file to the current session. The command uses the path parameter to specify the source file. The second command calls the SayHello function as a static method of the VBFromFile class. -------------------------- EXAMPLE 5 -------------------------- C:\PS>$signature = @" [DllImport("user32.dll")] public static extern bool ShowWindowAsync(IntPtr hWnd, int nCmdShow); "@ $showWindowAsync = Add-Type -memberDefinition $signature -name "Win32ShowWindowAsync" -namespace Win32Functions -pa ssThru # Minimize the Windows PowerShell console $showWindowAsync::ShowWindowAsync((Get-Process -id $pid).MainWindowHandle, 2) # Restore it $showWindowAsync::ShowWindowAsync((Get-Process -id $pid).MainWindowHandle, 4) Description ----------- The commands in this example demonstrate how to call native Windows APIs in Windows PowerShell. Add-Type uses the P latform Invoke (P/Invoke) mechanism to call a function in User32.dll from Windows PowerShell. The first command stores the C# signature of the ShowWindowAsync function in the $signature variable. (For more inf ormation, see "ShowWindowAsync Function" in the MSDN library at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=143643.) To ensure that the resulting method will be visible in a Windows PowerShell session, the "public" keyword has been add ed to the standard signature. The second command uses the Add-Type cmdlet to add the ShowWindowAsync function to the Windows PowerShell session a s a static method of a class that Add-Type creates. The command uses the MemberDefinition parameter to specify the method definition saved in the $signature variable. The command uses the Name and Namespace parameters to specify a name and namespace for the class. It uses the PassT hru parameter to generate an object that represents the types, and it saves the object in the $showWindowAsync vari able. The third and fourth commands use the new ShowWindowAsync static method. The method takes two parameters, the windo w handle, and an integer specifies how the window is to be shown. The third command calls ShowWindowAsync. It uses the Get-Process cmdlet with the $pid automatic variable to get the process that is hosting the current Windows PowerShell session. Then it uses the MainWindowHandle property of the current process and a value of "2", which represents the SW_MINIMIZE value. To restore the window, the fourth command use a value of "4" for the window position, which represents the SW_RESTO RE value. (SW_MAXIMIZE is 3.) -------------------------- EXAMPLE 6 -------------------------- C:\PS>Add-Type -MemberDefinition $jsMethod -Name "PrintInfo" -Language JScript Description ----------- This command uses the Add-Type cmdlet to add a method from inline JScript code to the Windows PowerShell session. I t uses the MemberDefinition parameter to submit source code stored in the $jsMethod variable. It uses the Name vari able to specify a name for the class that Add-Type creates for the method and the Language parameter to specify the JScript language. -------------------------- EXAMPLE 7 -------------------------- C:\PS>Add-Type -Path FSharp.Compiler.CodeDom.dll C:\PS> Add-Type -Path FSharp.Compiler.CodeDom.dll C:\PS> $provider = New-Object Microsoft.FSharp.Compiler.CodeDom.FSharpCodeProvider C:\PS> $fSharpCode = @" let rec loop n = if n <= 0 then () else begin print_endline (string_of_int n); loop (n-1) end "@ C:\PS> $fsharpType = Add-Type -TypeDefinition $fSharpCode -CodeDomProvider $provider -PassThru | where { $_.IsPubli c } C:\PS> $fsharpType::loop(4) 4 3 2 1 Description ----------- This example shows how to use the Add-Type cmdlet to add an FSharp code compiler to your Windows PowerShell session . To run this example in Windows PowerShell, you must have the FSharp.Compiler.CodeDom.dll that is installed with t he FSharp language. The first command in the example uses the Add-Type cmdlet with the Path parameter to specify an assembly. Add-Type gets the types in the assembly. The second command uses the New-Object cmdlet to create an instance of the FSharp code provider and saves the resul t in the $provider variable. The third command saves the FSharp code that defines the Loop method in the $FSharpCode variable. The fourth command uses the Add-Type cmdlet to save the public types defined in $fSharpCode in the $fSharpType vari able. The TypeDefinition parameter specifies the source code that defines the types. The CodeDomProvider parameter specifies the source code compiler. The PassThru parameter directs Add-Type to return a Runtime object that represents the types and a pipeline operato r (|) sends the Runtime object to the Where-Object cmdlet, which returns only the public types. The Where-Object fi lter is used because the FSharp provider generates non-public types to support the resulting public type. The fifth command calls the Loop method as a static method of the type stored in the $fSharpType variable. RELATED LINKS Online version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135195 Add-Member New-Object |