Compare-Object on $null array

Question

Is there a way for the Compare-Object cmdlet to anticipate on $Null values?

For example when I'm trying to compare 2 values like this:

Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $Value1 -DifferenceObject $Value2 

I commonly get the following error:

Cannot bind argument to parameter 'ReferenceObject' because it is null

My question is: Is there a way to say: if either one of them equals $null ; do something

Solution 1

Help on Compare-object says:

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

So your only options would seem to be a trap or try/catch.

Solution 2

This accepts null values:

Compare-Object -ReferenceObject @($Value1 | Select-Object) -DifferenceObject @($Value2 | Select-Object)

Solution 3

 if($Value1 -eq $NULL){
     return
 }
 Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $Value1 -DifferenceObject $Value2 

Solution 4

This does something if null:

if ($Value1 -ne $null -and $Value2 -ne $null) {
    Compare-Object -ReferenceObject $Value1 -DifferenceObject $Value2
}
else {
    #do something
}

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