PowerShell Class — A Use Case For The Printers

PowerShell Class is a not-very-well-known hidden gem among the admins. It’s not perfect, but the benefits are obvious when you find a place to adapt it.

Intro

Yes, PowerShell has been capable of defining classes since version 5.1, which was released on August 2nd, 2016, seven years ago!

Although classes are a fundamental aspect of all object-oriented programming languages, PowerShell is a “late adopter” in this regard, so many people may not be familiar with this feature or have even heard of it.

In my recent side project, I had the opportunity to work with PowerShell classes, and I found it to be both challenging and enjoyable.

By creating objects with rich attributes and powerful methods, I was able to take full control of the code I was writing. I’d like to share my experience with PowerShell classes with others.

How does Class work in PowerShell?

Defining a PowerShell Class:

class Animal {
    # Attributes
    [string]$Name
    [string]$Species
    
    # Constructor
    Animal([string]$Name, [string]$Species) {
        $this.Name = $Name
        $this.Species = $Species
     }
    
    # Method
    [string]whoami() {
        return "$($this.Name) is a $($this.Species)"
    }
}

Using it:

# Calling it
$dog = [Animal]::new("BoBo","Hasky")
$dog.whoami()

# Output
"BoBo is a…