What does $($variableName) mean in expandable strings in PowerShell?
powershell, string-interpolation, syntax
Solution
The syntax helps with evaluating the expression inside it.
$arr = @(1,2,3)
$msg1 = "$arr.length"
echo $msg1 # prints 1 2 3.length - .length was treated as part of the string
$msg2 = "$($arr.length)"
echo $msg2 # prints 3
You can read more at http://ss64.com/ps/syntax-operators.html
Problem
I've seen a number of example scripts online that use this. Most recently, I saw it in a script on automating TFS: ``` [string] $fields = "Title=$($taskTitle);Description=$($taskTitle);Assigned To=$($assignee);" $fields += "Area Path=$($areaPath);Iteration Path=$($iterationPath);Discipline=$($taskDisciplineArray[$i]);Priority=$($i+1);" $fields += "Estimate=$($taskEstimateArray[$i]);Remaining Work=$($taskRemainingArray[$i]);Completed Work=$($tasktaskCompletedArray[$i])" ``` From what I can tell, `$($taskTitle)` seems to be equivalent to `$taskTitle`. Am I missing something? Is there any reason to use the parentheses and extra dollar sign?