Naming Custom PowerShell Functions: Best Practices and Conventions

Why Naming Conventions Are Important

Adhering to naming conventions in PowerShell is crucial for several reasons:

• Readability: Clear and descriptive names make it easier for others (and yourself) to understand what the function does.
• Consistency: Following a consistent naming pattern helps maintain uniformity across your scripts and modules.
• Discoverability: Properly named functions are easier to find and use, especially when working with large codebases or shared modules.
• Compliance: PowerShell has built-in guidelines and best practices that, when followed, can help avoid common pitfalls and errors.

PowerShell Naming Conventions

Verb-Noun Naming Pattern

PowerShell functions should follow the Verb-Noun naming pattern. This convention helps clearly define what the function does (verb) and what it acts upon (noun).

• Verb: Describes the action the function performs. PowerShell has a set of approved verbs that you should use to maintain consistency.
• Noun: Describes the object or resource the function is acting upon. Nouns should be singular and descriptive.

Approved Verbs

PowerShell provides a list of approved verbs to ensure consistency and predictability. Some common approved verbs include:

• Get: Retrieve data or information.
• Set: Modify or configure data.
• New: Create a new resource or object.
• Remove: Delete a resource or object.
• Start: Begin an operation or process.
• Stop: End an operation or process.
• Test: Verify or check a condition.

You can view the full list of approved verbs by running the following command in PowerShell:

Get-Verb

When running Get-Verb it will also return a description of every Verb to help select the correct verb for your function.
If you think there is no correct verb for your function, ask yourself why that is. True, it will not always feel like a perfect match, but after writing hunderds of functions in my career and expecting hunderds more to come I have yet to run into any real naming problems when selecting a verb.

Examples of Properly Named Functions

Here are some examples of custom PowerShell functions that follow the Verb-Noun naming convention:

• Get-UserProfile: Retrieves user profile information.
• Set-UserProfile: Modifies user profile information.
• New-DatabaseEntry: Creates a new entry in a database.
• Remove-DatabaseEntry: Deletes an entry from a database.
• Start-BackupProcess: Initiates a backup process.
• Stop-BackupProcess: Terminates a backup process.
• Test-Connection: Checks the status of a network connection.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

• Avoid using unapproved verbs: Stick to the list of approved verbs to ensure consistency and avoid confusion.
• Be specific with nouns: Use clear and descriptive nouns to accurately represent the resource or object the function acts upon.
• Avoid abbreviations: While it might be tempting to use abbreviations to shorten function names, it can make your code less readable and harder to understand.

Conclusion

Naming your custom PowerShell functions according to the Verb-Noun convention and using approved verbs is essential for writing clear, consistent, and maintainable scripts. By following these best practices, you can ensure that your functions are easily understandable, discoverable, and compliant with PowerShell standards.