PSDSC resources should have enum labels, not values in results JSON

[michaeltlombardi]

Prerequisites

• Write a descriptive title.
• Make sure you are able to repro it on the latest version
• Search the existing issues.

Steps to reproduce

1. Create the files for a new PowerShell module

   mkdir ./dsc-repro/psdsc.repro
   touch ./dsc-repro/psdsc.repro/psdsc.repro.psd1
   touch ./dsc-repro/psdsc.repro/psdsc.repro.psm1

2. Define the module manifest:

   @{
       RootModule           = 'psdsc.repro.psm1'
       ModuleVersion        = '0.0.1'
       GUID                 = '361fff1b-423a-423f-9e05-39f5ab94a437'
       Author               = 'Bug Reproducer'
       CompanyName          = 'Unknown'
       Copyright            = '(c) Bug Reproducer. All rights reserved.'
       FunctionsToExport    = '*'
       CmdletsToExport      = '*'
       VariablesToExport    = '*'
       AliasesToExport      = '*'
       DscResourcesToExport = @(
           'ReproResultEnums'
       )
       PrivateData          = @{ PSData = @{} }
   }

3. Define the root module script:

   enum ReproEnumeration {
       Foo
       Bar
       Baz
   }
   
   [DscResource()] class ReproResultEnums {
       [DscProperty(Key)] [string]           $KeyProperty
       [DscProperty()]    [ReproEnumeration] $EnumProperty
   
       [ReproResultEnums] Get() {
           $Current             = [ReproResultEnums]::new()
           $Current.KeyProperty = $this.KeyProperty
   
           return $Current
       }
   
       [bool] Test() { return $true }
       [void] Set()  { }
   }

4. Add the folder containing the repro module to the PSModulePath:

   $env:PSModulePath += [System.IO.Path]::PathSeparator + "$PWD/dsc-repro"

5. Confirm you can get the ReproResultEnums dsc resource and see its properties:

   $Resource = Get-DscResource -Module psdsc.repro

   ImplementationDetail : ClassBased
   ResourceType         : ReproResultEnums
   Name                 : ReproResultEnums
   FriendlyName         :
   Module               : psdsc.repro
   ModuleName           : psdsc.repro
   Version              : 0.0.1
   Path                 : C:\code\dsc-repro\psdsc.repro\psdsc.repro.psd1
   ParentPath           : C:\code\dsc-repro\psdsc.repro
   ImplementedAs        : PowerShell
   CompanyName          : Unknown
   Properties           : {KeyProperty, DependsOn, EnumProperty, PsDscRunAsCredential}

   $Resource | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Properties | Format-Table

   Name                 PropertyType   IsMandatory Values
   ----                 ------------   ----------- ------
   KeyProperty          [string]              True {}
   DependsOn            [string[]]           False {}
   EnumProperty         [string]             False {Bar, Baz, Foo}
   PsDscRunAsCredential [PSCredential]       False {}
   

   dsc --format yaml resource list psdsc.repro/ReproResultEnums

   # Formatted for easier reading
   type          : psdsc.repro/ReproResultEnums
   version       : 0.0.1
   path          : C:\code\dsc-repro\psdsc.repro\psdsc.repro.psd1
   description   : null
   directory     : C:\code\dsc-repro\psdsc.repro
   implementedAs : ClassBased
   author        : ''
   properties    : [
                       KeyProperty,
                       DependsOn,
                       EnumProperty,
                       PsDscRunAsCredential
                   ]
   requires      : DSC/PowerShellGroup
   manifest      : null

6. Invoke the resource with Invoke-DscResource

   $PSInvokeParams = @{
       Method   = 'Get'
       Module   = 'psdsc.repro'
       Name     = 'ReproResultEnums'
       Property = @{ KeyProperty = 'Repro Example (PSDSC)' }
   }
   $PSInvokeResult = Invoke-DscResource @PSInvokeParams
   $PSInvokeResult | Format-List

   KeyProperty  : Repro Example (PSDSC)
   EnumProperty : Foo

7. Invoke the resource with dsc resource:

   '{ "KeyProperty": "Repro Example (DSCv3)" }' |
       dsc resource get -r psdsc.repro/ReproResultEnums |
       ConvertFrom-Json |
       Select-Object -ExpandProperty actualState
   $V3InvokeResult | Format-List

   KeyProperty  : Repro Example (DSCv3)
   EnumProperty : 0

Expected behavior

$invoking = @{
    Method   = 'Get'
    Module   = 'psdsc.repro'
    Name     = 'ReproResultEnums'
    Property = @{ KeyProperty = 'Repro Example (PSDSC)' }
}
$Invoke-DscResource @invoking | Format-List

KeyProperty  : Repro Example (PSDSC)
EnumProperty : Foo

$invoking.Property |
    ConvertTo-Json |
    dsc resource get -r "$($invoking.Module)/$($invoking.Name)" |
    ConvertFrom-Json |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty actualState |
    Format-List

KeyProperty  : Repro Example (DSCv3)
EnumProperty : Foo

Actual behavior

$invoking = @{
    Method   = 'Get'
    Module   = 'psdsc.repro'
    Name     = 'ReproResultEnums'
    Property = @{ KeyProperty = 'Repro Example (PSDSC)' }
}
$Invoke-DscResource @invoking | Format-List

KeyProperty  : Repro Example (PSDSC)
EnumProperty : Foo

$invoking.Property |
    ConvertTo-Json |
    dsc resource get -r "$($invoking.Module)/$($invoking.Name)" |
    ConvertFrom-Json |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty actualState |
    Format-List

KeyProperty  : Repro Example (DSCv3)
EnumProperty : 0

Error details

No response

Environment data

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.3.6
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.3.6
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.22621
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

Version

DSC (build from main), PSDSC v2.0.7

Visuals

No response

Fix Proposal

The return data handling by the DSC/PowerShellGroup resource provider is to just convert the result data to JSON:

DSC/powershellgroup/powershellgroup.resource.ps1

Line 179 in 6b286f1

$result | ConvertTo-Json

Adding the EnumsAsStrings switch parameter to the ConvertTo-Json call ensures the enums are converted correctly.