Parameters

Parameters are the input values that we pass to a cmdlet. For example, if we have to get the time zone, we can use the following cmdlet:

Get-TimeZone

This cmdlet gets the current time zone or a list of available time zones.

These are the parameters:

• [-Id]: Specifies, as a string array, the ID or IDs of the time zones that this cmdlet gets
• [-ListAvailable]: Indicates that this cmdlet gets all available time zones
• [-Name]: Specifies, as a string array, the name or names of the time zones that this cmdlet gets

We can use this command with or without these parameters:

Get-TimeZone

The following screenshot shows the output for the preceding command:

We can use this command with the Name parameter:

Get-TimeZone -Name "*pac*"

The following screenshot shows the output for the preceding command:

We can use this command with the ListAvailable parameter:

Get-TimeZone -ListAvailable

The following screenshot shows the output for the preceding command:

In PowerShell, variables are always prefixed by the character $ and can include any alphanumeric character or underscore in their names. We can store the output from a cmdlet in a variable and use it later on in other cmdlets or for other purposes in the script, such as writing to the host, using it for comparison, or creating another variable, such as this, for example:

$timeZone = Get-TimeZone
Write-Host "The current time zone is " $timeZone

The following screenshot shows the output for the preceding command: