AvoidUsingPositionalParameters

Severity Level: Information

Description

This rule detects when commands are called with three or more positional parameters instead of using named parameters. Using positional parameters reduces code readability and can introduce errors. It's possible that a future version of the cmdlet could change in a way that'll break existing scripts if they rely on parameter position.

For simple cmdlets with only a few positional parameters, the risk is much smaller. To prevent this rule from being too noisy, don't supply three or more parameters. A simple example where the risk of using positional parameters is negligible is Test-Path $Path.

Use full parameter names when calling commands.

Example

Noncompliant

Get-Command ChildItem Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Compliant

Get-Command -Noun ChildItem -Module Microsoft.PowerShell.Management

Configure rule

Rules = @{
    PSAvoidUsingPositionalParameters = @{
        CommandAllowList = 'Join-Path', 'MyCmdletOrScript'
        Enable           = $true
    }
}

Parameters

CommandAllowList

This parameter specifies commands or scripts to be excluded from this rule. It accepts a string array. The default value is @().

Enable

This parameter controls whether ScriptAnalyzer checks the code against this rule. It accepts a boolean value. To disable this rule, set this parameter to $false. The default value is $true.