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Version: v6

New-ShouldAssertion

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SYNOPSIS​

Creates the assertion helper object used to author custom Should-* assertions.

SYNTAX​

New-ShouldAssertion [-Caller] <PSCmdlet> [[-Actual] <Object>] [[-Buffer] <Object[]>] [-As <string>]

DESCRIPTION​

New-ShouldAssertion returns a small helper object (conventionally stored in $assert) that gives a custom assertion the same building blocks the built-in Should-* assertions use: pipeline input collection, consistent value formatting, diagnostic input hints, and the shared failure path that powers soft assertions.

Call it once at the top of your assertion, passing the assertion's own $PSCmdlet, its -Actual value and $Input, then use the returned object's methods:

  • Actual() returns the value to assert on, collected from either the pipeline or the -Actual parameter. The -As parameter (Scalar (default), ExactType, Collection or CollectionItems) selects both unrolling and the wording of the input hint.
  • Fail(message [, data]) reports a failure. message may contain <expected>, <actual>, <expectedType>, <actualType>, <because> and any <key> present in data. data is a hashtable whose Expected, Actual, Because and Hint entries are treated specially; all other entries become message tokens. Hint overrides the default input hint with your own text, appended as Hint: <text>. Whether this throws immediately or records the failure and continues (a soft assertion) is decided by the caller's -ErrorAction or the Should.ErrorAction configuration, exactly like the built-in assertions.
  • Hint() returns the diagnostic input hint (or $null), for assertions that need to inspect it before deciding how to fail.
  • Format(value) formats a value the same way Pester does in assertion messages.
  • EnsureScalar(expected) returns expected unchanged, or throws when it is a collection, guarding assertions that only make sense against a single value.
  • IsCollection(value) returns whether a value is treated as a collection.

A passing result is implicit: an assertion passes simply by returning without calling Fail(). There is nothing to call at the end, and custom assertions still work inside a mock -ParameterFilter automatically.

EXAMPLES​

EXAMPLE 1​

function Should-BeAwesome {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param (
        [Parameter(ValueFromPipeline)] $Actual,
        [Parameter(Position = 0)]      $Expected = 'Awesome',
        [string] $Because
    )
    end {
        $assert = New-ShouldAssertion -Caller $PSCmdlet -Actual $Actual -Buffer $Input
        $Actual = $assert.Actual()

      if ($Actual -ne $Expected) {
            $assert.Fail(
                'Expected <expected>,<because> but got <actual>.',
                @{ Expected = $Expected; Because = $Because })
        }
    }
}

'lame' | Should-BeAwesome

Defines and uses a custom assertion. Because it goes through the shared failure path, it supports -Because, soft assertions via -ErrorAction, and mock parameter filters for free.

EXAMPLE 2​

# A shared helper backing several of your own assertions. Thread the calling assertion's own
# $PSCmdlet and $Input into New-ShouldAssertion so pipeline detection, the input hint and the
# soft/hard -ErrorAction decision all resolve against the real assertion -- no matter how many
# wrapper layers sit in between.
function Invoke-MyEquals {
    param ([System.Management.Automation.PSCmdlet] $Cmdlet, $Actual, $Buffer, $Expected)

$assert = New-ShouldAssertion -Caller $Cmdlet -Actual $Actual -Buffer $Buffer
    $value = $assert.Actual()
    if ($value -ne $Expected) {
        $assert.Fail('Expected <expected> but got <actual>.', @{ Expected = $Expected })
    }
}

function Should-Equal {
    [CmdletBinding()]
    param ([Parameter(ValueFromPipeline)] $Actual, [Parameter(Position = 0)] $Expected)
    end { Invoke-MyEquals -Cmdlet $PSCmdlet -Actual $Actual -Buffer $Input -Expected $Expected }
}

Factors common assertion logic into one helper reused by several Should-* assertions. Nothing keys off the assertion's name, so the helper does not need to know which assertion called it; everything keys off the single $PSCmdlet you pass as -Caller. Passing the user-facing assertion's $PSCmdlet and $Input down keeps the input hint, pipeline detection and -ErrorAction behaviour identical to an unwrapped assertion, at any wrapping depth.

PARAMETERS​

-Actual​

The assertion's -Actual value. Pass it even when the value usually arrives from the pipeline; it is $null in that case and the pipeline $Input is used instead.

Type: System.Object
DefaultValue: ''
SupportsWildcards: false
Aliases: []
ParameterSets:
- Name: (All)
  Position: 1
  IsRequired: false
  ValueFromPipeline: false
  ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName: false
  ValueFromRemainingArguments: false
DontShow: false
AcceptedValues: []
HelpMessage: ''

-As​

How the input is collected: Scalar (default) and ExactType unroll a single piped value, Collection and CollectionItems keep it as a collection. The value also selects the wording of the diagnostic hint shown when the assertion fails; use None for an assertion that compares the whole input structurally (like Should-BeEquivalent) and so has no input-shape gotcha to hint about.

Type: System.String
DefaultValue: Scalar
SupportsWildcards: false
Aliases: []
ParameterSets:
- Name: (All)
  Position: Named
  IsRequired: false
  ValueFromPipeline: false
  ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName: false
  ValueFromRemainingArguments: false
DontShow: false
AcceptedValues: []
HelpMessage: ''

-Buffer​

The assertion function's $Input. Holds the values received from the pipeline. Pass $Input even when the assertion is usually called with -Actual; it is empty in that case.

Type: System.Object[]
DefaultValue: ''
SupportsWildcards: false
Aliases: []
ParameterSets:
- Name: (All)
  Position: 2
  IsRequired: false
  ValueFromPipeline: false
  ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName: false
  ValueFromRemainingArguments: false
DontShow: false
AcceptedValues: []
HelpMessage: ''

-Caller​

The $PSCmdlet of the assertion function. Used to reach the caller's session state (so soft assertions and the mock parameter filter behave correctly) and to recover the original pipeline input for hints.

Type: System.Management.Automation.PSCmdlet
DefaultValue: ''
SupportsWildcards: false
Aliases: []
ParameterSets:
- Name: (All)
  Position: 0
  IsRequired: true
  ValueFromPipeline: false
  ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName: false
  ValueFromRemainingArguments: false
DontShow: false
AcceptedValues: []
HelpMessage: ''

CommonParameters​

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutBuffer, -OutVariable, -PipelineVariable, -ProgressAction, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

INPUTS​

OUTPUTS​

ShouldAssertion​

NOTES​

VERSION​

This page was generated using comment-based help in Pester 6.1.0.