Native cmdlets optional/dynamic arguments/parameters

Question

Hi,

Instead of doing this:

$AddGW   = $True
$Adapter = Get-NetAdapter | ? { $_.InterfaceDescription -match "Intel" }

if( $AddGW -eq $True ) {
	$Adapter | New-NetIPAddress -IPAddress 1.1.1.10 -PrefixLength 24 -DefaultGateway 1.1.1.1
} else {
	$Adapter | New-NetIPAddress -IPAddress 1.1.1.10 -PrefixLength 24
} 

Can you do this - basically optional/dynamic parameters. Unfortunately Set-NetIPAddress doesn't have a -DefaultGateway parameter

$AddGW   = $True
$Adapter = Get-NetAdapter | ? { $_.InterfaceDescription -match "Intel" }
$Adapter | New-NetIPAddress -IPAddress 1.1.1.10 -PrefixLength 24 ( if $AddGW -eq $True ) { -DefaultGateway 1.1.1.1 }

Answer 1

Perhaps not exactly, but this way works for both versions of PowerShell:

$AddGW   = $True
$Adapter = Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.InterfaceDescription -match "Intel" }

$props = @{
    IPAddress = '1.1.1.10'
    PrefixLength = '24'
}
if ($AddGw){
    $props['DefaultGateway'] = '1.1.1.1'
}
$Adapter | New-NetIPAddress @props

Answer 2

Hello Lanky,

Thank you for your question and for reaching out with your question today.

In PowerShell, you can use splatting to achieve optional/dynamic parameters for cmdlets. Splatting allows you to pass a collection of parameter names and their values as a single variable to a cmdlet. This way, you can conditionally include or exclude parameters based on your requirements.

Here's how you can modify your code using splatting to make the -DefaultGateway parameter optional:

$AddGW = $True

$Adapter = Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.InterfaceDescription -match "Intel" }

# Define the common parameters that are always used

$parameters = @{

    IPAddress = "********"

    PrefixLength = 24

}

# Add the DefaultGateway parameter if $AddGW is true

if ($AddGW) {

    $parameters.Add("DefaultGateway", "1.1.1.1")

}

$Adapter | New-NetIPAddress @parameters

In this code, we first define a hashtable $parameters that includes the common parameters -IPAddress and -PrefixLength, which are always used. Then, we conditionally add the -DefaultGateway parameter to the hashtable if the variable $AddGW is $True. Finally, we use splatting (@parameters) to pass the parameters to the New-NetIPAddress cmdlet.

With this approach, you can easily add or remove optional parameters without having to repeat the entire command. The code remains concise and easier to manage.

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