How to return string value from an array, based on another variable?

Question

I have the following code and would like to return the string value for aaa, depending on what is in the ADProps.physicalDeliveryOfficeName supplied to the GetOfficeLocation function.

The switch seems to do what it should but it won't return the string value, perhaps I am referencing it incorrectly when outputting $a["aaa"]?

$global:newcastle = @{
"Value 1 newcastle" = @{
    "aaa" = "newcastle string";
    }
}

$global:london = @{
"Value 1 london" = @{
    "aaa" = "london string";
    }
}

$global:heathrow = @{
"Value 1 heathrow" = @{
    "aaa" = "heathrow string";
    }
}

$ADProps=@{
    'physicalDeliveryOfficeName'= "heathrow airport";
}

function GetOfficeLocation ($office) {
    switch ( $office )
    {
    "newcastle" {$location = "newcastle"; break}
    "london city" {$location = "london"; break}
    "heathrow airport" {$location = "heathrow"; break}
    }
    return $location
}

$a = GetOfficeLocation($ADProps.physicalDeliveryOfficeName)
$a["aaa"]

Result is that nothing gets output to the console.

Desired result in this example would be for this to be displayed: heathrow string

Effectively I am trying to determine which @global variable to choose and then access its members from then on.

edit

How do I return the value heathrow string, based on passing heathrow airport as a parameter into the GetOfficeLocation function? I would also like to be able to return newcastle string or london string by changing the input accordingly.

$a - will return 'heathrow', not sure what you are trying to achieve. i can understand what you are trying to do but have a feeling there is some serious overengineering happening here — 4c74356b41
– 4c74356b41, Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 10:05
@4c74356b41 This is a sample that I have simplified purely for posting here, in order to replicate the functionality on a basic level. The actual code contains various global arrays containing lists of Active Directory OU's. These are split by office location and further by department but there is only one element in each sub-array (the aaa bit). I'm importing a CSV with names, job titles, office location, department, etc, then trying to determine which OU to place a new user in. There is unfortunately too much code to post here but if I can figure out this bit, I can make it work. — Syntax Error
– Syntax Error, Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 10:18
whatever you are trying to do doesnt make sense after reading this question, can you edit it to make it understandable — 4c74356b41
– 4c74356b41, Commented Oct 5, 2018 at 10:32

Kirill Pashkov · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-05 10:56:20Z

2

You could reach this using hashtable. Like so:

$HashTable = @{
    'newcastle' = 'newcastle';
    'london city' = 'london';
    'heathrow airport' = 'heathrow';
}

$ADProps=@{
    'physicalDeliveryOfficeName'= "heathrow airport";
}

Calling key 'heathrow airport' will return its corresponding value heathrow

$HashTable[$ADProps.physicalDeliveryOfficeName]
heathrow

answered Oct 5, 2018 at 10:56

Kirill Pashkov

3,2461 gold badge19 silver badges22 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

4c74356b41 · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-05 10:39:23Z

1

i think what you are trying to do is something like this:

heathrow = @{
    aaa = "heathrow string"
}
$a = GetOfficeLocation($ADProps.physicalDeliveryOfficeName)
(Get-Variable -Name $a).value.aaa

but i dont know, code is completely not clear

edited Oct 5, 2018 at 10:39

answered Oct 5, 2018 at 10:34

4c74356b41

71.4k7 gold badges118 silver badges155 bronze badges

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

How to return string value from an array, based on another variable?

2 Answers 2

Comments

Comments

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

Comments

Comments

Related