Variable scope in Powershell

Question

I am new to Powershell and I have noticed something that I can't quite understand.

Given two scripts:

#Script 1
$test = "This is a test"
& ".\script2.ps1"

#Script 2
Write-Host $test

When I run script1 "This is a test" is printed.

My question is: why can script2 see the variable defined in script1 when the variable isn't defined as global?

The only reason I can think of is that script2 isn't called but just imported by '&' but I'm not sure this is corret.

PowerShell uses dynamic scoping (instead of lexical scoping, as most other languages like C# do). A child scope copies the variables of the parent scope, so it can read their values but can't modify them directly (for reference type variables, it can modify properties though). — zett42
– zett42, Commented Sep 26, 2022 at 12:54

mklement0 · Accepted Answer · 2022-09-26 13:59:05Z

4

Here & is the Call operator.

The call operator executes in a child scope and the calling scope is the parent scope. Quoting from the documentation,

The functions or scripts you call may call other functions, creating a hierarchy of child scopes whose root scope is the global scope. Unless you explicitly make the items private, the items in the parent scope are available to the child scope.

edited Sep 26, 2022 at 13:59

mklement0

452k68 gold badges727 silver badges986 bronze badges

answered Sep 26, 2022 at 12:04

user459872

25.9k4 gold badges51 silver badges74 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Variable scope in Powershell

1 Answer 1

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related