#requires -version 2.0

<#
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Script: Convert-TexttoObject.ps1
 Version: 1.5
 Author: Jeffery Hicks
    http://jdhitsolutions.com/blog
    http://twitter.com/JeffHicks
    http://www.ScriptingGeek.com
 Date: 1/11/2012 
 Keywords:
 Comments:

 "Those who forget to script are doomed to repeat their work."

  ****************************************************************
  * DO NOT USE IN A PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT UNTIL YOU HAVE TESTED *
  * THOROUGHLY IN A LAB ENVIRONMENT. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.  IF   *
  * YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS SCRIPT DOES OR HOW IT WORKS, *
  * DO NOT USE IT OUTSIDE OF A SECURE, TEST SETTING.             *
  ****************************************************************
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 #>
 
Function Convert-TextToObject {

<#
.Synopsis
Convert text to a PowerShell object
.Description
This function takes a collection of simple delimited lines and
turns them into an object. The function assumes a single delimiter.
The default delimiter is the colon (:). The item to the left will be 
the property and the item on the left will be the property value.

By default the function will split on every delimiter, but you can use
the -SplitCount parameter to control the number of strings. If you don't 
want to split at all use a value of 1. To split on the first delimiter 
only, use a value of 2.

For example, if the string is: Foobar:  01/11/2012 09:41:28 and you tried
to split on the ":",  you would end up with 4 elements in the array. But 
using a -SplitCount value of 2 would give you this:

Foobar
01/11/2012 09:41:28

Use $GroupCount to keep track of items that come in groups and write a new 
object when the count has been reached. For example, this allows you to 
pipe in a long collection of strings and turn every 5 into an object.

This function works best with command line tools that write list-like
output.

.Parameter Text
The text to be converted
.Parameter Delimiter
The text delimiter to split on. The colon (":") is the default.
.Parameter SplitCount
The number of strings to create when splitting. The default is to split
on all delimiters. If you don't want to split at all use a value of 1. 
To split on the first delimiter only, use a value of 2.
.Parameter GroupCount
The number of piped in strings to group together to form a new object.
.Example
PS C:> tasklist /s server01 /fo list | where {$_} | convert-texttoobject -group 5

Take the output for Tasklist.exe as a list, strip out blank lines and pipe
to Convert-TextToObject. Turn every 5 items into an object.
.Example
PS C:\> get-content c:\work\data.txt | select -skip 4 | where {$_} | cto -group 4 -SplitCount 2 | format-list


LinkDate    : 11/20/2010 5:44:56 AM
DisplayName : 1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller
DriverType  : Kernel
ModuleName  : 1394ohci

LinkDate    : 11/20/2010 4:19:16 AM
DisplayName : Microsoft ACPI Driver
DriverType  : Kernel
ModuleName  : ACPI

LinkDate    : 11/20/2010 4:30:42 AM
DisplayName : ACPI Power Meter Driver
DriverType  : Kernel
ModuleName  : AcpiPmi


Get the Data.txt file, skipping the first 4 lines and stripping out blanks. 
Then create objects for every 4 lines. The SplitCount is set to 2 so that 
the LinkDate value is the complete datetime stamp.
.Example
PS C:\> whoami /user /fo list | where {$_ -match ":"} | convert-texttoobject | format-table -auto

UserName      SID
--------      ---
serenity\jeff S-1-5-21-2858895768-3673612314-3109562570-1000
.Example
PS C:\> whoami /groups /fo list | where {$_ -match ":"} | cto -group 4 | format-list


Attributes : Mandatory group, Enabled by default, Enabled group
Type       : Well-known group
GroupName  : Everyone
SID        : S-1-1-0

Attributes : Mandatory group, Enabled by default, Enabled group, Group owner
Type       : Alias
GroupName  : BUILTIN\Administrators
SID        : S-1-5-32-544

...

Get group listing from Whoami.exe and filter out lines that don't have a colon.
Create objects for every 4 lines. This example is using the cto alias for the
Convert-TexttoObject function.
.Link
about_Split
New-Object

.Inputs
Strings

.Outputs
Custom object
#>

[cmdletbinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$True)]

param (
[Parameter(Position=0,Mandatory=$True,HelpMessage="Enter a string to be parsed into an object",
ValueFromPipeline=$True)]
[ValidateNotNullorEmpty()]
[string[]]$Text,
[Parameter(Position=1)]
[ValidateNotNullOrEmpty()]
[string]$Delimiter=":",
[ValidateScript({$_ -ge 0})]
[int]$SplitCount=0,
[int]$GroupCount
)

Begin {
    Write-Verbose "Starting $($myinvocation.mycommand)"
    #define a hashtable
    $myHash=@{}
    if ($GroupCount) {
        Write-Verbose "Grouping every $GroupCount items as an object"
    }
    #start an internal counter
    $i=0
    Write-Verbose "Skipping $Skip lines"
    Write-Verbose "Using $Delimiter delimiter"
    Write-Verbose "Splitting into $SplitCount lines. 0 means all."
}

Process {       
    Foreach ($item in $text) { 
      if ($i -lt $GroupCount) {
            $i++
         }
         else {
            #reset
            $i=1
         }
        
         #split each line at the delimiter
         $data=$item -Split $delimiter,$SplitCount
         #remove spaces from "property" name
         $prop=$data[0].Replace(" ","")
         
         #trim
         $prop=$prop.Trim()
         $val=$data[1].Trim()
         
         #add to hash table
         Write-Verbose "Adding $prop to hash table with a value of $val"
         $myHash.Add($prop,$val)
         
         #if internal counter is equal to the group count
         #write the object and reset the hash table
         if ($i -eq $groupCount) {
            New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property $myHash
            $myHash.Clear()
         }
    } #foreach
}
End {
    #create new object from hash table
    if ($myHash.count -gt 0) {
        New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property $myHash
        Write-Verbose "Ending $($myinvocation.mycommand)"
    }
}

} #end function

New-Alias -Name cto -Value Convert-TexttoObject