TOPIC
    about_Command_Syntax

SHORT DESCRIPTION
    Describes the notation used for Windows PowerShell syntax in Help.

LONG DESCRIPTION
    The Get-Help cmdlet displays the parameter usage for a cmdlet. The Get-Help
    cmdlet uses the following special symbols:

        Angle brackets (<>) indicate placeholder text.
        Brackets ([]) indicate optional items.
        Braces ({}) indicate a choice among values.

    Some cmdlets have more than one set of parameters. Distinct parameter sets
    can share some parameters. The Get-Help cmdlet displays all the parameter
    sets for a cmdlet.

    You can find additional information about a parameter in the parameter
    description and in the parameter attribute table. To view complete
    information about a parameter, use the Full or Parameter parameters of
    Get-Help.

Syntax
     Windows PowerShell cmdlet Help, Help topics, and other documentation use
     the following notation for cmdlets in syntax descriptions.

         <cmdlet name> -<Required Parameter name> <Required parameter Value>
                     [-<Optional Parameter name> <Optional Parameter Value>]
                     [-<Optional Switch Parameter>]
                     [-<Optional Parameter Name>] <Required parameter Value>

     The following is the syntax for the New-Alias cmdlet.

         New-Alias [-Force] [-PassThru] [-Scope <string>]
             [-Option {None | ReadOnly | Constant | Private | AllScope}]
             [-Description <string>] [-Name] <string> [-Value] <string>
             [-confirm] [-whatif] [<CommonParameters>]

     The syntax is capitalized for readability, but Windows Powershell is
     case-insensitive.

     Parameters appear in order. The order of parameters is significant only
     when the parameter names are optional. If you do not specify parameter
     names when you use a cmdlet, Windows PowerShell assigns values to
     parameters by position and by type.

     Parameter names are preceded by a hyphen (-). Switch parameters appear
     without a value type. Other parameters appear with the Microsoft .NET
     Framework type of the argument required or with an enumeration of
     possible values. For more information about .NET Framework types,
     see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=143682.

     Angle brackets (<>) indicate placeholder text. This text can describe the
     type of an item (such as a string or a Process object). It can also be a
     placeholder for one or more common parameters.

     Brackets ([]) indicate optional items. A parameter can be optional, or
     the name of a required parameter can be optional. Switch parameters are
     always optional.

     Braces ({}) appear around the values of an enumeration. In the example of
     the New-Alias cmdlet, the Option parameter can have any of the listed
     values.

Optional Items
     Brackets ([]) surround optional items. For example, in the New-Alias
     cmdlet syntax description, the Scope parameter is optional. This is
     indicated in the syntax by the brackets around the parameter name
     and type:

         [-Scope <string>]

     Both the following examples are correct uses of the New-Alias cmdlet:

         New-Alias -Name utd -Value Update-TypeData
         New-Alias -Name utd -Value Update-TypeData -Scope global

     A parameter name can be optional even if the value for that parameter is
     required. This is indicated in the syntax by the brackets around the
     parameter name but not the parameter type, as in this example from the
     New-Alias cmdlet:

         [-Name] <string> [-Value] <string>

     The following commands correctly use the New-Alias cmdlet. The commands
     produce the same result:

         New-Alias -Name utd -Value Update-TypeData
         New-Alias -Name utd Update-TypeData
         New-Alias utd -Value Update-TypeData
         New-Alias utd Update-TypeData

     If the parameter name is not included in the statement as typed, Windows
     PowerShell tries to use the position of the arguments to assign the
     values to parameters.

     The following example is not complete:

         New-Alias utd

     This cmdlet requires values for both the Name and Value parameters.

     In syntax examples, brackets are also used in naming and casting to
     .NET Framework types. In this context, brackets do not indicate an
     element is optional.

Array Arguments
     Brackets are also used in syntax descriptions to represent an array.
     The following example shows the syntax for the Restart-Service cmdlet:

         Restart-Service [-Name] <string[]> [-Include <string[]>]
             [-Exclude <string[]>] [-Force] [-PassThru] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf]
             [<CommonParameters>]

     The Name parameter requires an argument. Specifically, it requires the
     name of the service to be restarted. It can take a comma-separated list
     of services, as in the following example:

         Restart-Service RasAuto, RasMan, RemoteAccess

SEE ALSO
    Get-Help