Powershell function doesn't return data

Question

Before posting, I looked at PowerShell function doesn't produce output and Function not Returning Data both links didn't help.

I have a function named getState. When I call it, nothing is returned. When I run the debugger, I can see the var $state getting set with "foo" but the getter doesn't return the value of $state.

Here's the code:

$Global:state

function setState {
  param(
    [string]$s
  )
  $state = $s
}

function getState {
  return $state
}

setState ("foo")

Write-host getState

How can I get the line Write-host getState to show foo? Thanks!

The statement Write-Host getstate writes getstate. It will not call the function with that name — Gert Jan Kraaijeveld
– Gert Jan Kraaijeveld, Commented Feb 24, 2019 at 17:19
It is possible: place the function call between parentheses: Write-Host (getstate). Then getstate is interpreted first, as function call, and the return value of the function is used as parameter for Write-Host. Without the parentheses getstate is just a string parameter for Write-Host — Gert Jan Kraaijeveld
– Gert Jan Kraaijeveld, Commented Feb 24, 2019 at 21:52

Gert Jan Kraaijeveld · Accepted Answer · 2019-02-24 17:25:17Z

2

If you want to be sure the global var is used in the functions, specify it as global.

Try this:

$Global:state = $null

function setState {
  param(
    [string]$s
  )
  $Global:state = $s
}

function getState {
  return $Global:state
}

setState ("foo")

getState

answered Feb 24, 2019 at 17:25

Gert Jan Kraaijeveld

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