If and ElseIf statement not working in PowerShell?

Question

I have written the following PowerShell script below:

if ($Animal -eq "Chicken") {
    if ($Food -eq "Egg") {
        Write-Host "This chicken eats egg"
    } ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") {
        Write-Host "This chicken eats soup"
} ElseIf ($Animal -eq "Cow") {
    if ($Food -eq "Egg") {
        Write-Host "This cow eats egg"
    } ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") {
        Write-Host "This cow eats soup"
} ElseIf ($Animal -eq "Zebra") {
    if ($Food -eq "Egg") {
        Write-Host "This zebra eats egg"
    } ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") {
        Write-Host "This zebra eats soup"

The script works for the Chicken and the Cow but does not register the zebra portion of the code. I am not sure of what I am doing wrong as there are no errors being returned. Can someone please provide some guidance?

I'm not 100% sure what you are trying to achieve here. You would probably have more fun using a switch. Also, you don't need to check the food, just output the current value of the variable :) — Mark Harwood
– Mark Harwood, Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 15:00
The code sample you've posted is incomplete (and it most certainly won't work with $Animal = "Cow", because you've nested the elseif inside the first if statement). Please post code that can actually be executed :) — Mathias R. Jessen
– Mathias R. Jessen, Commented Aug 30, 2019 at 15:01

Mark Harwood · Accepted Answer · 2019-08-30 15:08:41Z

3

Whilst I fully agree with Doug's answer, I am completely lost as to why you are using if statements in the first place. If this is a learning exercise, I would recommend using a switch statement such as this:

$Animal = "Zebra"
$Food = "Soup"
$output = ""

switch ($Animal){
    "Chicken" { $output = "This $($Animal) eat $($Food)"; break}
    "Cow" { $output = "This $($Animal) eat $($Food)"; break }
    "Zebra" { $output = "This $($Animal) eat $($Food)"; break }
}

Write-Output $output

or just outputting the values without the unnecessary checking:

$Animal = "Zebra"
$Food = "Soup"

Write-Output "This $($Animal) eat $($Food)"

edited Aug 30, 2019 at 15:08

answered Aug 30, 2019 at 15:07

Mark Harwood

2,4552 gold badges19 silver badges36 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

Zoys Over a year ago

Hi, yes it is a learning exercise. I'm a beginner to PowerShell. Thank you for your feedback and recommendation.

Doug Richardson · Accepted Answer · 2019-08-30 15:12:29Z

2

You are missing the } after your ElseIfs.

Corrected code:

if ($Animal -eq "Chicken") {
    if ($Food -eq "Egg") {
        Write-Host "This chicken eats egg"
    } ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") {
        Write-Host "This chicken eats soup"
    }
} ElseIf ($Animal -eq "Cow") {
    if ($Food -eq "Egg") {
        Write-Host "This cow eats egg"
    } ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") {
        Write-Host "This cow eats soup"
    }
} ElseIf ($Animal -eq "Zebra") {
    if ($Food -eq "Egg") {
        Write-Host "This zebra eats egg"
    } ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") {
        Write-Host "This zebra eats soup"
    }
}

Better Way

That said, as @MathiasR.Jessen pointed out, this can be simplified using variable expansion:

Write-Host "This $($Animal.ToLower()) eats $($Food.ToLower())"

See About Quoting Rules for more info.

edited Aug 30, 2019 at 15:12

answered Aug 30, 2019 at 15:03

Doug Richardson

10.9k6 gold badges56 silver badges81 bronze badges

2 Comments

Mathias R. Jessen Over a year ago

Could also be fixed with this one-liner: Write-Host "This $($Animal.ToLower()) eats $($Food.ToLower())" :-D

Doug Richardson Over a year ago

I am not the batman of question answering (I answer the question you want, not the question you need). Updated answer with your info ;)

Jayson Harris · Accepted Answer · 2019-08-30 15:06:35Z

Doug is correct, you missed some }

I have re-formatted it for you. I find this formatting helps to catch mistakes like this...

if ($Animal -eq "Chicken") 
{
    if ($Food -eq "Egg") 
    {
        Write-Host "This chicken eats egg"
    } 
    ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") 
    {
        Write-Host "This chicken eats soup"
    }
}
ElseIf ($Animal -eq "Cow") 
{
    if ($Food -eq "Egg")
    {
        Write-Host "This cow eats egg"
    }
    ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup")
    {    
        Write-Host "This cow eats soup"
    }
} 
ElseIf ($Animal -eq "Zebra") 
{
    if ($Food -eq "Egg")
    {
        Write-Host "This zebra eats egg"
    } 
    ElseIf ($Food -eq "Soup") 
    {
        Write-Host "This zebra eats soup"
    }
}

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

If and ElseIf statement not working in PowerShell?

3 Answers 3

1 Comment

Better Way

2 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

3 Answers 3

1 Comment

Better Way

2 Comments

Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related