Can we talk about naming?

[Jaykul]

Why is it that the main install function is named Invoke-PSDepend instead of Install-BuildDependencies or something appropriate like that?

[gaelcolas]

It's not really installing IMO... but I feel like Restore would fit well: Restore-PSDependencies Naming is hard.

I'm not convinced about using Build in the noun, although it would probably in a build job or task, you might be resolving test dependencies, data dependencies, DSC resources dependencies... I find that build could induce confusion depending how it's used.

[Jaykul]

I guess I'm pretty confused about who and what you would use this for apart from build-time. Especially when you say it's not really installing.

What are you using it for?

[RamblingCookieMonster]

Borrowed a lot from PSDeploy, thus, Invoke-PSDeploy became Invoke-PSDepend (couldn't come up with a reason to change it back then).

A few things I've used it for:

• Dependencies for spot-solutions that might require packages, files from the web, repos, files from the file system, etc.
• Above... along with option to save these to a .requirements folder, and add that to path/psmodulepath, etc.
• Simplify instructions for co-workers - run invoke-psdepend, vs. you need XYZ various things from various sources, and the various questions that came with it
• When working on a module, a quick way to pull in dependencies for a project I haven't published yet (probably not efficient to keep in line with the RequiredModules, but, it works)

For the most part, yeah, the end result is an install, but Invoke-PSDepend has some other things built in:

• It has a super janky idea of letting dependency types handle install, test, and import as appropriate, each of which have a Install-Dependency esque command
• By default it will look for and invoke files it finds matching '\.depend\.psd1$|.*requirements.psd1$'
• Allows specifying arbitrary InputObject hashtables that equate to the content of a psd1
• Allows filtering for specific tags
• Allows specifying different actions, e.g. -Install, -Test, -Import
• Allows overriding the Target for all dependencies (e.g. I might include a sane default in my dependency file, that others could override at runtime)

Basically... it's a convenient way to invoke psdepend : P

Cheers!

[rlvandaveer]

Invoke-PSDepend is very similar to how you execute other similar modules e.g., psake: Invoke-Psake, pester: Invoke-Pester, etc.

[Jaykul]

That doesn't make "invoke" a good verb. In fact, of these tools are doing it wrong, because they are all following Pester's anti-pattern approach to naming. Remember, Pester is the module that couldn't be bothered to follow verb-noun, and introduced Ruby-like syntax to PowerShell.

Invoke-PSDepend is only a good name if "Depend" is the name of a command or method.

Having said that, a year ago, I cared. Now, I don't. It's been badly named all this time, and nobody else cares (and I decided not to use it) so it doesn't matter.