Powershell Sort Version Objects Descending

Question

I am having am trying to write a script to get the latest version of citrix receiver by scraping the website with PowerShell. I am to a point where I have the latest versions, but I can't sort them descending correctly because the version minor is prioritizing 9-1 over 99-10.

Here is my code

$url = "https://www.citrix.com/downloads/citrix-receiver/"
$html = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "$url"
$versionLinks = $html.Links | where innerHTML -Match "Receiver \d+(\.\d+)+.* for Windows$" | Sort-Object -Property innerHTML -Descending

$versionArray = @()
foreach ($version in $versionLinks){
    [version]$VersionNumber = $version.innerHTML -split " " | Select -First 2 | select -Last 1
    $versionArray += $VersionNumber
}

$versionArray = Sort-Object -InputObject $versionArray -Descending -Property minor
$LatestAppVersion = $versionArray[0]
$LatestAppVersion

What it outputs is 4.9. $versionArray looks like

Major  Minor  Build  Revision
-----  -----  -----  --------
4      9      -1     -1      
4      8      -1     -1      
4      7      -1     -1      
4      6      -1     -1      
4      5      -1     -1      
4      3      100    -1      
4      12     -1     -1      
4      11     -1     -1      
4      10     1      -1

I would like it to be

Major  Minor  Build  Revision
-----  -----  -----  --------
4      12     -1     -1      
4      11     -1     -1      
4      10     1      -1      
4      9      -1     -1      
4      8      -1     -1      
4      7      -1     -1      
4      6      -1     -1      
4      5      -1     -1      
4      3      100    -1

This question is similar to mine. I am using sorting version though so I am not sure why I am getting a different result. I did try using [System.Version] in case [version] was not specific enough.

Not sure if this would work or not in this scenario or not but possibly saving the data to a temporary table and using `-as [Int]` to make them an integer and then sort them. — Clayton Lewis, Oct 03 '18 at 18:59
I couldn't store the versions as integers or decimals because some version could have more than one "." — NathanTheGr8, Oct 03 '18 at 20:55

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 03 '18 at 19:57

Are you sure you want to sort on minor? Why not sort on the entire version?

Instead of:

$versionArray = $versionArray | Sort-Object -Descending -Property minor

Consider

$versionArray = $versionArray | Sort-Object -Descending

I submit this as an answer and something to ponder... Notice the v3 and v5 test cases

<#
HAS

Major  Minor  Build  Revision
-----  -----  -----  --------
4      9      -1     -1      
4      8      -1     -1      
4      7      -1     -1      
4      6      -1     -1      
4      5      -1     -1      
4      3      100    -1      
4      12     -1     -1      
4      11     -1     -1      
4      10     1      -1      

WANTS
Major  Minor  Build  Revision
-----  -----  -----  --------
4      12     -1     -1      
4      11     -1     -1      
4      10     1      -1      
4      9      -1     -1      
4      8      -1     -1      
4      7      -1     -1      
4      6      -1     -1      
4      5      -1     -1      
4      3      100    -1    
#>

$v = @()

$v += [version]::new(4,9)
$v += [version]::new(4,8)
$v += [version]::new(4,7)
$v += [version]::new(4,6)
$v += [version]::new(4,5)
$v += [version]::new(4,3,100)
$v += [version]::new(4,12)
$v += [version]::new(4,11)
$v += [version]::new(4,10,1)
$v += [version]::new(5,1)
$v += [version]::new(3,99)

"======== MINOR ===================="
$v | Sort -Descending -Property Minor

"======== WHAT YOU MAY REALLY WANT ===================="
$v | Sort -Descending

I was only sorting by minor as a troubleshooting step. I should not have included that in my submitted question. I want something sorted by the full version info. — NathanTheGr8, Oct 03 '18 at 20:53
Hopefully you can see from my example, how you can isolate the problem, repro, debug, and fix. — Kory Gill, Oct 03 '18 at 21:30
yeah, I had a misconception on how the sort-object -inputobject cmdlet worked. I just had to pip it in or pre-unwrap my array. — NathanTheGr8, Oct 03 '18 at 21:45

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 03 '18 at 19:49

0

What output do you get if you use?

$versionArray | ForEach-Object {[System.Version]$_} | Sort-Object -Property minor -Descending

It should produce your desired output

answered Oct 03 '18 at 19:49

Nas

1,243
6
7

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 03 '18 at 19:50

0

Seems that Sort-Object doesn't actually do anything when you pass an array to -InputObject by name, so pipe it instead:

$versionArray = $versionArray |Sort-Object -Descending -Property minor

answered Oct 03 '18 at 19:50

Mathias R. Jessen

157,619
12
148
206

technically, this answers the question, but I disagree with there being any valid application of sorting a version number this way by only one of the four components. – Kory Gill Oct 03 '18 at 19:59
This is the answer. Also, I was only sorting by property minor as a troubleshooting method. I don't want want to do this for my final code. – NathanTheGr8 Oct 03 '18 at 20:52

Powershell Sort Version Objects Descending

3 Answers3