Test-DbaPath Inconsistent return type with SqlInstance single instance vs list

[agowa]

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What error did you receive?

Not an error, but a surprise (probably because of PowerShells unrolling behavior).

When I call Test-DbaPath with a list of SqlInstance objects it'll create a different output type (objects) than when invoked using just a single SqlInstance (bool).

Steps to Reproduce

[string]$primary_fqdn = "lab-db01.local"
[Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server]$DbaInstanceNodePrimary = Connect-DbaInstance -SqlInstance $primary_fqdn

[Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server[]]$DbaInstanceNodeSecondary = @()
if (-not [String]::IsNullOrEmpty($ag)) {
  $DbaInstanceNodeSecondary = Get-DbaAgReplica -SqlInstance $DbaInstanceNodePrimary -AvailabilityGroup $ag -EnableException | Where-Object {$_.Name -ne ($DbaInstanceNodePrimary .ComputerName) } | ForEach-Object {Connect-DbaInstance -SqlInstance $_.Name}
}

# 1st case, single SqlInstance object
(Test-dbapath -SqlInstance $DbaInstanceNodePrimary -Path "C:\" -EnableException).FileExists
# ParentContainsErrorRecordException: The property 'FileExists' cannot be found on this object. Verify that the property exists.

# 2nd case, list with two or more SqlInstance objects
(Test-dbapath -SqlInstance $($DbaInstanceNodePrimary;$DbaInstanceNodePrimary) -Path "C:\" -EnableException).FileExists
# True
# True

# 3rd case, with unintended behavior, when DbaInstanceNodeSecondary is empty equal to 1st case.
# otherwise equal to 2nd case.
# Passing an implicit list type (no type definition for the inline created one
(Test-dbapath -SqlInstance $($DbaInstanceNodeSecondary;$DbaInstanceNodePrimary) -Path "C:\" -EnableException).FileExists

# 4th same as 3, but when list contains one element
# Passing a variable with an explicit list type of [Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server[]]
(Test-dbapath -SqlInstance $DbaInstanceNodeSecondary -Path "C:\" -EnableException).FileExists

# 5th case, it's even worse when piping
$DbaInstanceNodePrimary, $DbaInstanceNodePrimary | Test-DbaPath -Path "C:\"
# true
#
# SqlInstance  : lab-db01.local
# InstanceName : MSSQLSERVER
# ComputerName : lab-db01
# FilePath     : C:\
# FileExists   : True
# IsContainer  : True

Please confirm that you are running the most recent version of dbatools

2.1.0

Other details or mentions

Return type should be consistent.

At least case #4 (explicit list type) and #2 (list) should always have the same return type. And #5 must be consistent.

What PowerShell host was used when producing this error

VS Code (integrated terminal)

PowerShell Host Version

Name Value

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PSVersion 7.3.7 PSEdition Core GitCommitId 7.3.7 OS Microsoft Windows 10.0.17763 Platform Win32NT PSCompatibleVersions {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…} PSRemotingProtocolVersion 2.3 SerializationVersion 1.1.0.1 WSManStackVersion 3.0

SQL Server Edition and Build number

Microsoft SQL Server 2022 (RTM) - 16.0.1000.6 (X64) Oct 8 2022 05:58:25 Copyright (C) 2022 Microsoft Corporation Developer Edition (64-bit) on Windows Server 2019 Datacenter 10.0 <X64> (Build 17763: ) (Hypervisor)

.NET Framework Version

.NET 7.0.11