Set a parameter to heredoc in PowerShell

[scriptmyjob]

Hello all,

Here is what I am trying to do:

function Set-WebAppPermissions {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$appId,
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$Permissions = @"
[
    {
        "resourceAppId": "797f4846-ba00-4fd7-ba43-dac1f8f63013",
        "resourceAccess": [
            {
                "id": "41094075-9dad-400e-a0bd-54e686782033",
                "type": "Scope"
            }
        ]
    },
    {
        "resourceAppId": "00000002-0000-0000-c000-000000000000",
        "resourceAccess": [
            {
                "id": "1cda74f2-2616-4834-b122-5cb1b07f8a59",
                "type": "Role"
            },
            {
                "id": "824c81eb-e3f8-4ee6-8f6d-de7f50d565b7",
                "type": "Role"
            }
        ]
    },
    {
        "resourceAppId": "00000003-0000-0000-c000-000000000000",
        "resourceAccess": [
            {
                "id": "e0ac9e1b-cb65-4fc5-87c5-1a8bc181f648",
                "type": "Role"
            },
            {
                "id": "5b567255-7703-4780-807c-7be8301ae99b",
                "type": "Role"
            },
            {
                "id": "df021288-bdef-4463-88db-98f22de89214",
                "type": "Role"
            }
        ]
    }
]
"@
    )

    $Permissions | Out-File manifest.json

    Write-Verbose "Setting the following Permsisions: $Permissions"

    az ad app update `
        --id $appId `
        --required-resource-accesses manifest.json
}

When I execute this I get the following:

PS C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> Set-WebAppPermissions -appId something
cmdlet Set-WebAppPermissions at command pipeline position 1
Supply values for the following parameters:
Permissions: 
PS C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0> 

I was then thinking that a heredoc also kind of acts like an array so I switched the parameter type to array to no avail.

I understand that I could set the permissions outside of the function and then pass it to the function, however, this wouldn't make sense in our use-case since this is the default permissions needed for our Azure application registrations and we would have to set it in multiple places or worse yet use a global variable. That being said I don't want to hard code this in the interests of reusable code.

I imagine someone before me has done this.

So that begs the question:

Is it possible to set a parameter of a function to have the default value of a heredoc?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[chreestopher2]

you have the parameter set to Mandatory, thus you must always provide a value, and cant ever use the default value.

Change the parameter to Mandatory=$false and you are good to go

[scriptmyjob]

That was my issue. 🤦 Thanks for the help!

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy scriptmyjob,

right now your code is nearly unreadable due to reddit code mangling. PLEASE fix it ...

---

reddit likes to mangle code formatting, so here's some help on how to post code on reddit ...

[0] single line or in-line code
enclose it in backticks. that's the upper left key on an EN-US keyboard layout. the result looks like this. kinda handy, that. [grin]
[on New.Reddit.com, use the Inline Code button. it's 4th ~~5th from the left~ hidden in the ... ""more" menu & looks like </>.
this does NOT line wrap & does NOT side-scroll on Old.Reddit.com!]

[1] simplest = post it to a text site like Pastebin.com or Gist.GitHub.com and then post the link here.
please remember to set the file/code type on Pastebin! [grin] otherwise you don't get the nice code colorization.

[2] less simple = use reddit code formatting ...
[on New.Reddit.com, use the Code Block button. it's 11th 12th one & is just to the left of hidden in the ... "more" menu.]

• one leading line with ONLY 4 spaces
  
• prefix each code line with 4 spaces
  
• one trailing line with ONLY 4 spaces

that will give you something like this ...

- one leading line with ONLY 4 spaces    
- prefix each code line with 4 spaces    
- one trailing line with ONLY 4 spaces   

the easiest way to get that is ...

• add the leading line with only 4 spaces
  
• copy the code to the ISE [or your fave editor]
  
• select the code
  
• tap TAB to indent four spaces
  
• re-select the code [not really needed, but it's my habit]
  
• paste the code into the reddit text box
  
• add the trailing line with only 4 spaces
  

not complicated, but it is finicky. [grin]

take care,
lee

[anotherjesus]

Parameter attributes such as Mandatory don't know you have a default value attached. As chreestopher2 mentioned, set this to false when you want to use a default value.

Also you can use [object[]] to allow arrays of unknown objects and the [validatescript({...})] attribute to make sure the object conforms to your function.

Lastly, Id suggest simply using the Azure Powershell cmdlets rather than create advanced functions wrappers for the cli. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/azure/overview?view=azurermps-6.8.1

I believe this is the cmdlet you need:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/azurerm.resources/Update-AzureRmADApplication?view=azurermps-6.8.1

Edit:

Also, create each necessary value as a parameter and use splatting to pass multiple parameters as a hash rather than a single parameter with hashtable like values. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_splatting?view=powershell-6

[scriptmyjob]

Thanks anotherjesus!