Logical Operators

 

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Operators that can be used in the Windows PowerShell to support statements that test for multiple conditions

 

LONG DESCRIPTION

In some cases, you will want to test for multiple conditions within your statement. For example, you might want to check which two variables are equal and whether one of those variables is greater than 20. In order to test more than one condition within a statement, you can use logical operators to link conditions together. When you use a logical operator, PowerShell evaluates each condition individually and then evaluates the statement as a whole, based on the logical operator.

 

PowerShell supports the following logical operators:

 

Operator	Description	Example	Results
-and	logical and	(1 -eq 1) -and (1 -eq 2)	false
-or	logical or	(1 -eq 1) -or (1 -eq 2)	true
-not	logical not	(1 -eq 1) -and -not (2 -gt 2)	true
!	logical not	(1 -eq 1) -and !(2 -gt 2)	true

 

To use a logical operator, simply insert it into the statement between the conditions. For instance, the following statement evaluates two conditions and links them with the -and logical operator:

 

 

When PowerShell processes this statement, it evaluates the first condition (varA -eq $varB). If the values in the two variables are equal, the condition evaluates to true. Next the second condition ($varB -gt 20) is evaluated. If the variable is greater than 20, that condition evaluates to true.

 

Because the -and operator is used to connect the conditions, both conditions must evaluate to true. If they do, the statement as a whole evaluates to true and the first code block runs, otherwise the second code block runs.

 

You can also use the -or operator in place of the -and operator. In that case, either one of the two conditions or both of the conditions must evaluate to true.

 

SEE ALSO

For information about if statements, enter the following command at the PowerShell command prompt:

 

 

For information about comparison operators, enter the following command at the PowerShell command prompt: