#requires -version 2.0

<#
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Script: Convert-TexttoObject.ps1
 Version: 1.0
 Author: Jeffery Hicks
    http://jdhitsolutions.com/blog
    http://twitter.com/JeffHicks
    http://www.ScriptingGeek.com
 Date: 10/24/2011
 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 {

<#
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.

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.

tasklist /s server01 /fo list | where {$_} | convert-texttoobject -group 5
#>

[cmdletbinding(SupportsShouldProcess=$True)]

param (
[Parameter(Position=0,Mandatory=$True,HelpMessage="Enter a string to be parsed into an object",
ValueFromPipeline=$True)]
[ValidateNotNullorEmpty()]
[string[]]$Text,
[string]$Delimiter=":",
[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
}

Process {
       
    Foreach ($item in $text) { 
 
     if ($i -lt $GroupCount) {
        $i++
     }
     else {
        #reset
        $i=1
     }
    
     #split each line at the delimiter
     $data=$item.Split($delimiter)
     #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