PSKoans VS Pester

PSKoans

PSKoans: https://github.com/vexx32/PSKoans

It's worth learning at any age, especially now that it is an open-source, cross-platform shell. The PS Koans [1] that recently showed up on HN seemed an interesting way to try to learn it.

[1] https://github.com/vexx32/PSKoans

Pester is what's used for most Powershell testing. While it has some pretty amazing features, it does have issues with .NET class method mocking and sometimes scope can be weird. Here's a simple example:

This is the fun that is Powershell mocking, or at least the form that someone completely new to Powershell would write. One thing I must say is that Pester's mocking capabilities are quite easy to work with. It reminded me of pytest mock patching, only well, simpler. Most of the time spent fighting tests was due to the nuances of pipeline flow. For example, you can see that your mocked method was called X many times through something like this:

The folder blocked all users from reading the files so if you open up the files it looks empty, even tho you have show hidden files turned on. You can't delete it since it says that you need access from TrustedInstaller. This is cleaver by the hacker since trusted installer is actually the name of a windows feature. HOW-EVER by using the command line I found out that the folder contains framework like these two. https://github.com/d1pakda5/PowerShell-for-Pentesters https://github.com/pester/Pester

I'm really surprised that nobody in this thread has mentioned Pester. PowerShell has its own automated unit testing framework that is incredibly versatile. You do need to know PowerShell in order to really make it shine, but if there are some simple tests that your class requires such as "make sure this value conforms to this regex value", Pester is pretty easy to pick up and utilize.

Once you start building code/scripts that are used consistently, consider adding Pester testing to your work. Most sysadmin managers may not get it, but if you're talking to dev managers, they'll absolutely get the importance of unit testing and why it's a good tool to have. Again, down the road. Learn the basics first.

Finally, the Pester testing framework, which ships with Powershell, is a great way to ensure your code actually does what it's meant to do.

Pester GH page