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https://github.com/jdhitsolutions/psthriller

A demonstration PowerShell module to generate content for a hypothetical thriller novel.
https://github.com/jdhitsolutions/psthriller

powershell powershell-module

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A demonstration PowerShell module to generate content for a hypothetical thriller novel.

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README 

        
# PSThriller



This is a PowerShell module that extends the basic functionality in script called [New-Thriller](https://gist.github.com/jdhitsolutions/e65c82a86cbf144df49104e942e0da2a). The script, and this module, were never intended for serious production use. Instead, they are intended as educational tools to demonstrate a variety of scripting techniques and concepts.



This module has not been published to the PowerShell Gallery but you are welcome to download or clone for review and study.



## The Commands



The commands in this module will create output related to a hypothetical book you might write in the thriller genre. The basic premise is to take a collection of random elements and insert them into a template that describes your book, using the typical thriller formula. Think of it as a PowerShell [Mad-Libs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Libs).



> I apologize that the template assumes the protagonist is male, :curly_haired_man: but that is the trope of the genre. You might want to modify this module to be more inclusive or select different templates.



The data is stored in a [json file](./data.json) which is imported and turned into a custom object.



```text

PS C:\Scripts\psthriller> Get-Content .\data.json | ConvertFrom-Json



AuthorPool      : {Ben Coes, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, James Rollins…}

Titles          : {The Omega Plan, Deep Rising, The Last Icon, Exit 1…}

Names           : {Tim Burr, Jack Frost, Paul Bunyan, Roy Biv…}

Formers         : {Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, NASA astronaut, space shuttle pilot…}

Villains        : {The Society, The Guild, GHOST, The Architects…}

Members         : {son, daughter, wife, mother…}

Backdrops       : {North Dakota, the Egyptian pyramids, ancient Greece,

                  Istanbul…}

LoveInterests   : {Sheila, Brandi, Betty, Layla…}

LoveBackStories : {a former student, his ex-wife, his mentor's daughter, the

                  librarian…}

Tragedies       : {the tragic loss of his _family, the nightmares of war, a

                  missing library book, a toothache…}

Mysteries       : {Clippy, Bieber Fever, Who shot J.R., the Metaverse…}

quotes          : {His best work yet!, Gripping and compelling.,

                  Breathtaking!!, I stayed up until 4 AM and then was so

                  energized I couldn't sleep.…}

```



The main command, [New-PSThriller](docs/New-PSThriller.md), gets random elements such as a title, hero name and villain, from the data and inserts them into a text template.



```powershell

...

$name = _getItem $data.names

$first = ($name | Get-Random).Split()[0]

$former = _getItem $data.formers

$villain = _getItem $data.villains

...

$text = Get-Content -path $PSScriptRoot\template.txt



[regex]$rx="_\w+"

#replace placeholders with corresponding variables

$replacements = $rx.matches($text) | Group-Object -property Value



foreach ($item in $replacements) {

    $var = (Get-Variable -Name $item.name.substring(1)).Value

    write-Verbose "[$((Get-Date).TimeOfDay)] Replacing $($item.name) with $var"

    $text = $text -replace $item.name,$var

} #foreach replacement

...

```



The default behavior is to write a custom object to the pipeline with all of the relevant book information.



```powershell

[PSCustomObject]@{

    PSTypeName = 'PSThriller'

    Title      = $Titles[0]

    Author     = $author

    Hero       = $name

    Former     = $Former

    Villain    = $villain

    TheWoman   = "$LoveInterest, $LoveBackstory"

    Locations  = $Backdrop1, $backdrop2

    Blurb      = ($Text | Out-String).Trim()

    Quotes     = $quotes

}

```



Or you can write a text document to the console.



![PSThriller Document](./assets/psthriller-1.png)



The module should work in both Windows PowerShell and PowerShell 7. The latter includes markdown cmdlets so you can run a command like this:



![PSThriller as Markdown](./assets/psthriller-2.png)



Or save to a [file](sample.md).



```powershell

New-PSThriller -AsMarkdown | Out-File sample.md -Encoding utf-8

```



This module also includes commands to get 1 or more random titles with [Get-PSThrillerTitle](docs/Get-PSThrillerTitle.md)



```powershell

PS C:\> Get-PSThrillerTitle -count 5

The Meeting

Change Tracking

Running on Empty

Glock, Rock and Roll

Kill or Be Killed

```



Or use [Get-PSThrillerCharacters](docs/Get-PSThrillerCharacters.md) to generate an object.



```powershell

PS C:\> Get-PSThrillerCharacters



Hero         FormerOccupation    TheWoman HerStory        Villain

----         ----------------    -------- --------        -------

Bobby Bilder billionaire playboy Miranda  a paleobotanist The Parenthood

```



## Help :page_facing_up:



The help documentation was generated using the [Platyps](https://github.com/powershell/platyps) module, which you can install from the PowerShell Gallery.



```powershell

Install-Module Platyps

```



To use, I created a folder (\docs) for the markdown documents and a culture-specific folder (\en-us) for the final XML help file. I imported the current version of the module into my PowerShell session and generated the initial markdown documents.



```powershell

New-MarkdownHelp -Module PSThriller -OutputFolder .\docs\

```



This generated a markdown document for each public function. I edited each file filling in the blanks and adding some examples. The last step is to generate the XML file.



```powershell

New-ExternalHelp -Path .\docs\ -OutputPath .\en-us\

```



This is the process I am teaching everyone. There's really only a little bit of markdown you need to learn. The Platyps commands do all of the hard work.



## Learn :school:



Again, the purpose of this module is educational, and perhaps a little amusement. I encourage you to take the time to go through the code and see how this all works. I don't intend to publish it to the PowerShell Gallery, but I will create release files here. Or you can clone or download the repository. If you have questions, comments or any other feedback, please use the repository's Discussions section.