Report generation automation in PowerShell - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

💻 Command Output

intermediate

Output of CSV report generation script

What is the output of this PowerShell script that generates a CSV report from a list of users?

PowerShell

 $users = @(
    @{Name='Alice'; Age=30; Department='HR'},
    @{Name='Bob'; Age=25; Department='IT'},
    @{Name='Charlie'; Age=35; Department='Finance'}
)
$users | Export-Csv -Path 'report.csv' -NoTypeInformation
Get-Content 'report.csv' | Select-Object -First 3

A

"\"Name\",\"Age\",\"Department\""
"\"Alice\",30,\"HR\""
"\"Bob\",25,\"IT\""

B

Name,Age,Department
Alice,30,HR
Bob,25,IT

C

Name Age Department
Alice 30 HR
Bob 25 IT

D

"Name,Age,Department"
"Alice,30,HR"
"Bob,25,IT"

💡 Hint

Think about how Export-Csv formats the output with quotes and commas.

Export-Csv outputs CSV with quoted headers and values by default. The -NoTypeInformation removes type info but quotes remain.

📝 Syntax

intermediate

Correct syntax for filtering report data

Which option correctly filters a list of processes to include only those with CPU usage greater than 10 and exports to a CSV report?

A Get-Process | Filter-Object { $_.CPU > 10 } | Export-Csv -Path 'high_cpu.csv' -NoTypeInformation

B Get-Process | Where { CPU > 10 } | Export-Csv 'high_cpu.csv' -NoTypeInformation

C Get-Process | Where-Object CPU -gt 10 | Export-Csv -Path 'high_cpu.csv'

D Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.CPU -gt 10 } | Export-Csv -Path 'high_cpu.csv' -NoTypeInformation

💡 Hint

Remember the correct cmdlet and syntax for filtering objects in PowerShell.

Where-Object with script block { $_.CPU -gt 10 } is the correct syntax. Other options have wrong cmdlet names or syntax errors.

🔧 Debug

advanced

Identify the error in report generation script

What error will this script produce when run, and why? $services = Get-Service $services | Where-Object Status -eq 'Running' | Export-Csv -Path 'running_services.csv' -NoTypeInformation

PowerShell

$services = Get-Service
$services | Where-Object Status -eq 'Running' | Export-Csv -Path 'running_services.csv' -NoTypeInformation

A TypeError: Cannot compare Status property directly without script block

B No error, script runs and exports running services

C SyntaxError: Missing script block in Where-Object

D RuntimeError: Export-Csv path not found

💡 Hint

Check the syntax of Where-Object usage.

Where-Object requires a script block { } for conditions. Writing 'Where-Object Status -eq 'Running'' is invalid syntax.

🚀 Application

advanced

Automate report generation with date-stamped filename

Which script correctly generates a report of disk usage and saves it with a filename including the current date in YYYY-MM-DD format?

A

$date = Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd'
Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem | Select-Object Name,Free,Used | Export-Csv -Path "disk_report_$date.csv" -NoTypeInformation

B

$date = Get-Date -Format 'dd-MM-yyyy'
Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem | Select Name,Free,Used | Export-Csv -Path "disk_report_$date.csv"

C

$date = Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd'
Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem | Select-Object Name,Free,Used | Export-Csv -Path 'disk_report_$date.csv' -NoTypeInformation

D

$date = Get-Date -Format 'yyyy-MM-dd'
Get-PSDrive -PSProvider FileSystem | Select-Object Name,Free,Used | Export-Csv -Path 'disk_report_date.csv' -NoTypeInformation

💡 Hint

Check date format and variable interpolation in strings.

Option A uses correct date format and double quotes for variable expansion in filename. Others have wrong format or no variable expansion.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

Understanding pipeline behavior in report automation

In a PowerShell script that generates a report, what happens if you place Export-Csv before filtering the data with Where-Object in the pipeline?

A The script will fail with a pipeline error because Export-Csv must be last.

B The CSV file will contain all data before filtering, so the report is not filtered.

C The CSV file will be empty because Export-Csv clears the pipeline.

D The filtering will still apply after Export-Csv, so the report is filtered correctly.

💡 Hint

Think about how pipelines process commands in order.

PowerShell pipelines process commands left to right. Export-Csv outputs data at that point, so filtering after it does not affect the CSV content.