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Compare-Object

Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility Module

Compares two sets of objects.

Syntax

All 

Compare-Object
    [-ReferenceObject] <PSObject[]>
    [-DifferenceObject] <PSObject[]>
    [-SyncWindow <Int32>]
    [-Property <Object[]>]
    [-ExcludeDifferent]
    [-IncludeEqual]
    [-PassThru]
    [-Culture <String>]
    [-CaseSensitive]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Compare-Object cmdlet compares two sets of objects. One set of objects is the reference, and the other set of objects is the difference.

The result of the comparison indicates whether a property value appeared only in the reference object (<=) or only in the difference object (=>). If the IncludeEqual parameter is used, (==) indicates the value is in both objects.

If the reference or the difference objects are null ($null), Compare-Object generates a terminating error.

Some examples use splatting to reduce the line length of the code samples. For more information, see about_Splatting. And, the examples use two text files, with each value on a separate line. Testfile1.txt contains the values: dog, squirrel, and bird. Testfile2.txt contains the values: cat, bird, and racoon.

Examples

Example 1: Compare the content of two text files

This example compares the contents of two text files. The output displays only the lines that are different between the files. Testfile1.txt is the reference object (<=) and Testfile2.txtis the difference object (=>).

Lines with content that appear in both files aren't displayed.

Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $(Get-Content -Path C:\Test\Testfile1.txt) -DifferenceObject $(Get-Content -Path C:\Test\Testfile2.txt)

InputObject SideIndicator
----------- -------------
cat         =>
racoon      =>
dog         <=
squirrel    <=

Example 2: Compare each line of content in two text files

This example uses the IncludeEqual to compare each line of content in two text files. All the lines of content from both files are displayed.

The SideIndicator specifies if the line appears in the Testfile1.txt reference object (<=), Testfile2.txt difference object (=>), or both files (==).

$objects = @{
ReferenceObject = $(Get-Content -Path C:\Test\Testfile1.txt)
DifferenceObject = $(Get-Content -Path C:\Test\Testfile2.txt)
}
Compare-Object @objects -IncludeEqual

InputObject SideIndicator
----------- -------------
bird        ==
cat         =>
racoon      =>
dog         <=
squirrel    <=

Example 3: Compare each line of content and exclude the differences

This example uses the IncludeEqual and ExcludeDifferent parameters to compare each line of content in two text files.

Because the command uses the ExcludeDifferent parameter, the output only contains lines contained in both files, as shown by the SideIndicator (==).

$objects = @{
ReferenceObject = $(Get-Content -Path C:\Test\Testfile1.txt)
DifferenceObject = $(Get-Content -Path C:\Test\Testfile2.txt)
}
Compare-Object @objects -IncludeEqual -ExcludeDifferent

InputObject SideIndicator
----------- -------------
bird        ==

Example 4: Compare two sets of process objects

This example compares two sets of objects that contain the computer's running processes.

$Processes_Before = Get-Process
notepad.exe
$Processes_After = Get-Process
Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $Processes_Before -DifferenceObject $Processes_After

InputObject                            SideIndicator
-----------                            -------------
System.Diagnostics.Process (notepad)   =>

The Get-Process cmdlet gets the computer's running processes and stores them in the $Processes_Before variable.

The notepad.exe application is started.

Get-Process gets the computer's updated list of running processes and stores them in the $Processes_After variable.

The Compare-Object compare the two sets of process objects stored in the $Processes_Before and $Processes_After variables. The output displays the difference, notepad.exe, from the $Processes_After object.

Parameters

-CaseSensitive

Indicates that comparisons should be case-sensitive.

Parameter properties

Type:SwitchParameter
Default value:False
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-Culture

Specifies the culture to use for comparisons.

Parameter properties

Type:String
Default value:None
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-DifferenceObject

Specifies the objects that are compared to the reference objects.

Parameter properties

Type:

PSObject[]

Default value:None
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:1
Mandatory:True
Value from pipeline:True
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-ExcludeDifferent

Indicates that this cmdlet displays only the characteristics of compared objects that are equal. The differences between the objects are discarded.

Use ExcludeDifferent with IncludeEqual to display only the lines that match between the reference and difference objects.

If ExcludeDifferent is specified without IncludeEqual, there's no output.

Parameter properties

Type:SwitchParameter
Default value:False
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-IncludeEqual

IncludeEqual displays the matches between the reference and difference objects.

By default, the output also includes the differences between the reference and difference objects.

Parameter properties

Type:SwitchParameter
Default value:False
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-PassThru

When you use the PassThru parameter, Compare-Object omits the PSCustomObject wrapper around the compared objects and returns the differing objects, unchanged.

Parameter properties

Type:SwitchParameter
Default value:False
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-Property

Specifies an array of properties of the reference and difference objects to compare.

Parameter properties

Type:

Object[]

Default value:None
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-ReferenceObject

Specifies an array of objects used as a reference for comparison.

Parameter properties

Type:

PSObject[]

Default value:None
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:0
Mandatory:True
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

-SyncWindow

Specifies the number of adjacent objects that Compare-Object inspects while looking for a match in a collection of objects. Compare-Object examines adjacent objects when it doesn't find the object in the same position in a collection. The default value is [Int32]::MaxValue, which means that Compare-Object examines the entire object collection.

Parameter properties

Type:Int32
Default value:[Int32]::MaxValue
Supports wildcards:False
DontShow:False

Parameter sets

(All)
Position:Named
Mandatory:False
Value from pipeline:False
Value from pipeline by property name:False
Value from remaining arguments:False

CommonParameters

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutBuffer, -OutVariable, -PipelineVariable, -ProgressAction, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs

PSObject

You can send an object down the pipeline to the DifferenceObject parameter.

Outputs

None

If the reference object and the difference object are the same, there's no output.

PSCustomObject

If the objects are different, Compare-Object wraps the differing objects in a PSCustomObject wrapper with a SideIndicator property to reference the differences. When you use the PassThru parameter, Compare-Object omits the PSCustomObject wrapper around the compared objects and returns the differing objects, unchanged.