command line - Passing empty arguments to executables using powershell

Question

Powershell seems to drop empty string arguments when passed to a command. I have this code

PS D:> $b.name = "foo bar"
PS D:> ./echoargs $b.name
Arg 0 is D:echoargs.exe
Arg 1 is foo bar
PS D:> $b.name = ""
PS D:> ./echoargs $b.name
Arg 0 is D:echoargs.exe

You can assume that $b has a 'name' member. How can i pass this as an argument to the exe even when the value is an empty string. I've tried using the call operator with no success.

Answer 1

If you want an empty string to appear try escaped quotes around the argument like so:

PS> $b = [psobject]@{name = ''}
PS> echoargs `"$($b.Name)`"
Arg 0 is <>

Command line:
"C:UsersKeithPscxTrunkSrcPscxinReleaseAppsEchoArgs.exe"  ""

Note that I tested this on V3 so I'm not sure if the behavior will be exactly the same on V2.