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powershellsplitcontainswhere-object

How to filter elements from an array made by spliting a string?

When I do ($env:path).split(";"), there are many elements containing the string bin. I want to have a list of them. I try:

($env:path).split(";") | Where-Object {$_ -contains "bin" }

But there is no result. If I change the operator to -notcontains, it lists all paths, regardless of containing the string or not. How to make this works?

Solution

  • You are using the wrong comparison operator.

    -contains checks if a Collection(array\list\etc) contains one specific element.

    @('Z', 'A', 'Q', 'M') -contains 'A' returns $true

    But you are working with the single strings of the array: you therefore need to use either -like(for simple wildcard matching) or -match(for regular expression matching)

    so ($env:path).split(';') | Where-Object { $_ -match 'bin' }

    Also, in more powershell-y way $env:path -split ';' | Where-Object { $_ -match 'bin' }

    EDIT: and this is to go even further beyond! $env:path -split ';' -Match 'bin' (thanks @iRon)

    (note I made the matching as simple as possible as example, you'll need to test if it works correctly for your needs)

    More about Comparison Operators