Introduction to PowerShell Concatenate String
String Concatenation is the process of combining one or more strings. In PowerShell, string concatenation is primarily achieved by using the “+” operator. There are also other ways like enclosing the strings inside double quotes, using a join operator or using the -f operator.
Syntax:
Basically, the ‘+’ operator is used to concatenate strings. Let’s see a sample example below:
Input:
Write-Host "String Concat in Powershell"
Write-Host "Basic Example"
$str1="My name is vignesh."
$str2="Am from chennai"
Write-Host "Concatenated text is below"
$str1+$str2
Output:
Examples of PowerShell Concatenate String
Given below are the examples of PowerShell Concatenate String:
Example #1
Concatenating string with separators.
It is not necessary that only ‘+’ must be used to concatenate strings. This example will show the various ways in which strings can be concatenated.
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation without + operator"
$str1="first sentence"
$str2="second sentence"
Write-Host "After concatenation"
"$str1$str2"
Write-Host "Example of concatenation with separators"
$str1+ "," +$str2
$str3="Powershell is the most underrated language"
$str4=" it can do many wonders"
Write-Host "Another way"
"$str3!!!!,$str4"
Output:
Example #2
String and integer Concatenation.
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation demo of int and string"
$string1=75
$string2="my name is nandhini"
$string3=$string1 + $string2
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Output:
In the above code if the variables are swapped before concatenation, then the error will not occur
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation demo of int and string"
$string1=75
$string2="my name is nandhini"
$string3=$string2 + $string1
Write-Host $string3
Output:
Alternatively, the above can be achieved by using string substitution.
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation demo of int and string"
$int1=75
$string2="my name is nandhini"
Write-Host "string concatenation using string Substitution"
"$($int1) , $($string2)"
Output:
Example #3
String Concatenation using -f Operator.
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation using f operator"
$str1=" This is the first sentence"
$str2="This is the second sentence"
$str3="This is the third Sentence"
Write-Host "Concatenated string is below"
"{0}.{1}.{2}." -f $str1,$str2,$str3
Output:
Example #4
String Concatenation using Join Operator.
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation using Join operator"
$str1=" This is the first sentence"
$str2="This is the second sentence"
$str3="This is the third Sentence"
Write-Host "Concatenated string is below"
$str1,$str2,$str3 -join "!!!!!"
Output:
Example #5
Removing Default Space in Write-Host.
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation using Join operator"
$str1=" This is the first sentence"
$str2="This is the second sentence"
$str3="This is the third Sentence"
Write-Host "Concatenated string is below" $str1 $str2 $str3 -Separator ''
Output:
Example #6
String Concat using Concat() and String Builder.
Input:
Write-Host "String concatenation using concat meth0d"
$str1=" This is the first sentence"
$str2="This is the second sentence"
$str3="This is the third Sentence"
Write-Host "Concatenated string is below"
[System.String]::Concat($str1,".",$str2,".",$str3)
Write-Host "String concatenation using string builder"
$SB = New-Object -TypeName System.Text.StringBuilder
$null = $SB.Append("First Sentence of the example")
$null = $SB.Append("Second sentence of the example")
$null = $SB.Append("third sentence of the example")
$null = $SB.Append("Fourth sentence of the example")
$SB.ToString()
Output:
Example #7
Input:
$string1 = @"
My name is vignesh
Am from chennai
Am a freelancer
"@
$string2 = @"
First sentence of the example
Second sentence of the example
Third Sentence of the example
"@
$string1 , $string2 -join "`n"
Output:
Example #8
Concatenate two column values in a csv and exporting them to a new column. In the below example, the csv has two columns FirstName and LastName. The below script will merge the two-column values and export them to a new column called FullName.
File content before running the script:
| FirstName | LastName |
| Vignesh | Krishnakumar |
| Nandhini | Vignesh |
| Sampath | Charlu |
| Vyapini | Vignesh |
| Krishnakumar | Sankaran |
| Durga | Krishnakumar |
Output:
Input:
#Reading the csv by importing
$CSV = import-csv “C:\Users\R003646\Desktop\Sample.csv” | select FirstName,LastName,
@{n=’FullName’;e={$_.FirstName + ” ” + $_.LastName}}
# script @{n=’FullName’;e={$_.FirstName + ” ” + $_.LastName}} will create the new column FullName and concatenate the FirstName and LastName Column Value
# Export the data from the Variable $CSV to the new file
$CSV | export-CSV “C:\Users\R003646\Desktop\Sample.csv”
Output:
Example #9
Joining two or more Paths to generate a single Path. The Join-Path cmdlet is used to combine two or more paths into a single path.
Syntax:
NAME
Join-Path
SYNTAX
Join-Path [-Path] <string[]> [-ChildPath] <string> [-Resolve] [-Credential <pscredential>] [-UseTransaction] [<CommonParameters>]
ALIASES
None
Example #10
Input:
Write-Host "Welcome to Join PAth example"
$path1= "C:\test"
$path2="D:\test"
$path3= "E:\test"
$path4="F:\test"
$path5="G:\test"
Write-Host "Appending new path"
Join-Path -Path $path1, $path2, $path3, $path4, $path5 -ChildPath test1
Output:
Other Commonly used String Functions
1. .Split()
This is another method that can be used to split a string into substrings.
Syntax:
.Split(strSeparator [, MaxSubstrings] [, Options])
String -Split strSeparator [, MaxSubstrings] [, Options]
String -Split {scriptblock} [, MaxSubstrings]
-Split String
strSeparator: It is character of identification to split the string
MaxSubstrings: The maximum number of substrings that can be generated
Example:
Input:
Write-Host "generating substring using split method"
$teststring="my name is vignesh- am from chennai"
Write-Host "splitting using - character"
$teststring -split "-"
$teststring="domainname\username"
Write-Host "Splitting using \ character"
$teststring -split "\\"
Write-Host "generating substring using space"
$string="string1 string2 strin3"
$string.Split("")
Write-Host "splitting using multiple separators"
$string="domain\systems-test"
$string.Split("\\").Split("-")
Output:
2. Replace function
When it comes to a string, replacing a part of a string or substring is an integral operation. Always it is required by PowerShell users to find a text and replace it with some other piece of text. This is achieved by the Replace() method.
Syntax:
Replace(strOldChar, strNewChar)
Stroldchar: Character to be found
Strnewchar: character to be replace the found text
Example:
Input:
Write-Host "replacing a text in string"
$test="old text to be replaced"
Write-Host "going to replace old"
$test.Replace("old","New")
Write-Host "Text is replaced"
Output:
Conclusion – PowerShell Concatenate String
Thus, the article covered about string concatenation in detail. It demonstrated the various ways in which strings can be combined other than the “+” operator. It also demonstrated various examples to show how string concatenation can be achieved. It also covered various string methods like string concatenation, string comparison, string replace, etc.
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