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after initializing it with git init commamnd, I am getting the following error. Please help to resolve it.

solve error

torek
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hello_people
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    `-Force` to see hidden and system files – Santiago Squarzon Dec 21 '22 at 03:10
  • Welcome! I see you are a new contributor. It is better to include the error message embedded in your question rather than a screenshot. If you edit your answer to include this, be sure to format it as well. – Laura White Dec 21 '22 at 03:10
  • The -a is an argument on the command line. Depending on the method methods you are using a argument is not just text, it must be declared as an array of arguments. So you can try something like this $arguments = @("-a"); ls $arguments – jdweng Dec 21 '22 at 03:14
  • @jdweng, your suggestion makes no difference with respect to calling _external programs_, and - assuming that `-a` is a _parameter name_ - _breaks_ calls to PowerShell-native commands, such as in this case (given that, on Windows, `ls` is an alias of `Get-ChildItem`). Your comment is an unhelpful distraction. – mklement0 Dec 21 '22 at 04:06

1 Answers1

2

tl;dr

Don't use ls -a in PowerShell (on Windows); use the following instead:

# 'gci' is the PowerShell-idiomatic alias of the 'Get-ChildItem' cmdlet,
# which is the analog of the 'ls' utility on Unix-like platforms.
# -Force asks that *hidden* file be shown too.
gci -Force

  • On Windows, ls is a built-in alias of the Get-ChildItem cmdlet, whose syntax is very different from that of the standard ls utility available on Unix-like platforms.

    • PowerShell aliases named for the commands of a different shell / the standard utilities of a different platform are best avoided, given their syntactic incompatibility - see the bottom section of this answer.

  • Use Get-Command to determine which command a given name (ultimately) refers to.

  • Use Get-Help or Get-Command -Syntax to see a command's syntax diagram.

  • -Force is the switch parameter that requests that Get-ChildItem show hidden items too, analogous to ls -A on Unix (there's is no ls -a analogue, which would include listing . and .., which is rarely useful, however).

As for what you tried:

  • ls -a translates to Get-ChildItem -a.

  • PowerShell's parameter names are typically words (e.g. -Attributes) rather than mere letters (e.g., -a)

  • If a given parameter name is a prefix of a full parameter name, PowerShell infers the full parameter name, as long as the prefix is unique, a feature that PowerShell calls elastic syntax, meant for interactive convenience only (in scripts, parameter names should always be spelled out in full, both for readability and long-term stability).

  • If it isn't unique, the error you've encountered occurs, given that PowerShell cannot predictably infer which parameter you meant to target.

  • In determining the uniqueness of a parameter-name prefix, parameter aliases are considered as well, even though the error message only mentions the original names of these parameters:

    • Specifically, parameter -Directory -File -Hidden -ReadOnly -System are mentioned in the error message, all of which have alias names that start with a.

    • You can list the relevant parameters and their aliases as follows:

      (Get-Command Get-ChildItem).ParameterSets.Parameters | Where-Object Aliases -Like a* | Select-Object Name, Aliases -Unique
mklement0
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