How to create a new System.Xml.Linq.XElement with PowerShell

Question

I want to create an XML DOM programmatically using the System.Xml.Linq objects. I'd rather not parse a string or load a file from disk to create the DOM. In C# this is easy enough, but trying to do this in PowerShell does not seem possible. Option 1: Doesn't work ``` $xlinq = [Reflection.Assembly]::Load("System.Xml.Linq, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089") $el = new-Object System.Xml.Linq.XElement "foo" ``` This gives the following error: ``` new-Object : Cannot convert argument "0", with value: "foo", for "XElement" to type "System.Xml.Linq.XElement": "Cannot convert value "foo" to type "System.Xml.Linq.XElement". Error: "Data at the root level is invalid. Line 1, position 1."" ``` Option 2: Doesn't work ``` $xlinq = [Reflection.Assembly]::Load("System.Xml.Linq, Version=3.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089") $xname = New-Object System.Xml.Linq.XName "foo" $el = new-Object System.Xml.Linq.XElement $xname ``` It gives this error: ```…

Accepted Answer

```
"XName does not contain any public constructors. Instead, this class provides an implicit conversion from String that allows you to create an XName."
```

Base on this you can cast `String` to `XName`:

```
$xname = [System.Xml.Linq.XName]"foo"

$xname.GetType()

IsPublic IsSerial Name                                     BaseType
-------- -------- ----                                     --------
True     True     XName                                    System.Object
```

then:

```
$el = new-Object System.Xml.Linq.XElement $xname
$el

FirstAttribute :
HasAttributes  : False
HasElements    : False
IsEmpty        : True
LastAttribute  :
Name           : foo
NodeType       : Element
Value          :
FirstNode      :
LastNode       :
NextNode       :
PreviousNode   :
BaseUri        :
Document       :
Parent         :
LineNumber     : 0
LinePosition   : 0
```

How to create a new System.Xml.Linq.XElement with PowerShell

Solution

Problem