Take a look at this:

`# version 1 Get-Content computers.txt | ForEach-Object { $os = Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem -comp $_ $bios = Get-WmiObject Win32_BIOS -comp $_ $props = @{computername=$_; osversion=$os.version; biosserial=$bios.serialnumber} New-Object PSObject -Prop $props }

version 2

$computers = Get-Content computers.txt foreach ($computer in $computers) { $os = Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem -comp $computer $bios = Get-WmiObject Win32_BIOS -comp $computer $props = @{computername=$computer; osversion=$os.version; biosserial=$bios.serialnumber} New-Object PSObject -Prop $props } `These two snippets do the same thing. The first uses a more “pipeline” style approach, and I’ve personally never felt the urge to do that in a script. Probably habit - I come from the VBScript world, so a construct like foreach($x in $y) is natural for me. I’ve seen folks get into that “pipeline” approach inside a script and get into trouble, and if I’m scripting I often prefer to use the more formal, structured approach of the version 2 snippet.
What’re your thoughts? For me, version 1 has some downsides - forcing yourself into that pipeline structure can be limiting, and I find the approach in version 2 to be more readable and a bit easier to follow. Frankly, I’m never a fan of having to mentally track what’s in $.
(Which brings up a sidebar: I tend to evaluate a script’s goodness based on how well I can understand what it does without running it. That’s a common criteria, in fact, and one I personally think helps aid in debugging as well as maintaining scripts.)
_
Anyway… discuss!
[boilerplate greatdebate]