Switch with wildcard and regex in PowerShell - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What does the -Wildcard parameter do in a PowerShell switch statement?

It allows the switch statement to match input strings using wildcard patterns like * and ?, similar to file name matching.

beginner

How do you enable regex matching in a PowerShell switch statement?

Use the -Regex parameter with switch. This makes the statement treat each case as a regular expression pattern.

intermediate

What is the difference between -Wildcard and -Regex in a PowerShell switch?

-Wildcard uses simple wildcard patterns like * and ?. -Regex uses full regular expressions, which are more powerful and flexible but more complex.

beginner

Write a simple PowerShell switch statement using -Wildcard to match strings ending with '.txt'.

switch -Wildcard ($file) { '*.txt' { "Text file found: $file" } default { "Other file: $file" } }

intermediate

Explain why you might choose -Regex over -Wildcard in a switch statement.

You choose -Regex when you need complex pattern matching, like matching specific character sets, repetitions, or positions, which wildcards cannot handle.

Which parameter enables wildcard pattern matching in a PowerShell switch statement?

A -Exact

B -Regex

C -Pattern

D -Wildcard

The -Wildcard parameter allows matching using wildcard patterns like * and ?.

What does the -Regex parameter do in a PowerShell switch statement?

A Matches input using regular expressions

B Matches exact strings only

C Ignores case sensitivity

D Matches only numbers

The -Regex parameter treats each case as a regular expression pattern for matching.

Which of these is a valid wildcard pattern to match any string ending with '.log'?

A .*\.log

B *.log

C log*

D ?log

The pattern *.log matches any string ending with '.log' using wildcards.

In a switch statement with -Regex, which pattern matches strings starting with 'Error'?

A ?Error

B *Error

C ^Error

D Error$

The regex pattern ^Error matches strings that start with 'Error'.

What happens if no case matches in a PowerShell switch statement?

A The default block runs if defined

B The script throws an error

C The switch repeats automatically

D The script exits immediately

If no case matches, the default block runs if it is defined.

Describe how to use the switch statement in PowerShell with wildcard matching. Include an example.

Think about matching file extensions or simple patterns.

Explain the benefits of using -Regex in a PowerShell switch statement compared to -Wildcard.

Consider pattern complexity and flexibility.