Minor changes needed to delphi-msbuild.ps1 to run under PowerShell.exe and pwsh.exe (#14)

+ Add tests to ensure future compatibility remains
All 54 tests pass
For issue #13

Author: darianmiller

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -3,6 +3,13 @@
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 ---
+
+## [0.4.0] - Unreleased
+
+- Ensure `PowerShell 5.1` compatibility for the delphi-msbuild.ps1 script
+  (Tests remain the newer `pwsh`)  
+  [#13](https://github.com/continuous-delphi/delphi-msbuild/issues/13)
+  
 ## [0.3.0] - 2026-03-16
 
 - Add `-ExeOutputDir` parameter to set the compiled executable output directory

README.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 ![Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-incubator-orange)
 ![License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/continuous-delphi/delphi-inspect.svg)
 ![Delphi](https://img.shields.io/badge/delphi-red)
-![PowerShell](https://img.shields.io/badge/powershell-7.4%2B-blue)
+![PowerShell](https://img.shields.io/badge/powershell-blue)
 ![Continuous Delphi](https://img.shields.io/badge/org-continuous--delphi-red)
 
 Quick-start, or enhance your Delphi build automation with a standalone,
@@ -40,6 +40,13 @@ delphi-inspect.ps1 -DetectLatest -Platform Win32 -BuildSystem MSBuild |
       delphi-msbuild.ps1 -ProjectFile .\src\MyApp.dproj
 ```
 
+## PowerShell Compatibility
+
+Runs on the widely available Windows PowerShell 5.1 (`powershell.exe`)
+and the newer PowerShell 7+ (`pwsh`).
+
+Note: the test suite requires `pwsh`.
+
 # Usage
 
 ```powershell

source/delphi-msbuild.ps1

@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ function Resolve-RootDir {
 # Derive the expected rsvars.bat path from the Delphi root dir.
 function Get-RsvarsPath {
   param([string]$RootDir)
-  return Join-Path -Path $RootDir -ChildPath 'bin' -AdditionalChildPath 'rsvars.bat'
+  return Join-Path (Join-Path $RootDir 'bin') 'rsvars.bat'
 }
 
 # Invoke cmd.exe to source rsvars.bat and capture the resulting environment.

tests/pwsh/TestHelpers.ps1

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 #   Get-MsBuildScriptPath    - alias of Get-ScriptUnderTestPath
 #   Invoke-ToolProcess       - runs a .ps1 as a child process and returns
 #                              [pscustomobject]@{ ExitCode; StdOut; StdErr }
+#                              Optional -Shell parameter selects the host
+#                              executable (default: 'pwsh').
 
 function Get-ScriptUnderTestPath {
   $path = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot '..\..\source\delphi-msbuild.ps1'
@@ -24,12 +26,18 @@ function Get-MsBuildScriptPath { Get-ScriptUnderTestPath }
 function Invoke-ToolProcess {
   param(
     [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$ScriptPath,
-    [Parameter()][string[]]$Arguments = @()
+    [Parameter()][string[]]$Arguments = @(),
+    [Parameter()][string]$Shell = 'pwsh',
+    [Parameter()][string]$ExecutionPolicy = ''
   )
 
+  $shellArgs = @('-NoProfile', '-NonInteractive')
+  if ($ExecutionPolicy) { $shellArgs += @('-ExecutionPolicy', $ExecutionPolicy) }
+  $shellArgs += @('-File', $ScriptPath)
+
   $psi = [System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo]::new()
-  $psi.FileName = 'pwsh'
-  foreach ($a in @('-NoProfile', '-NonInteractive', '-File', $ScriptPath) + $Arguments) {
+  $psi.FileName = $Shell
+  foreach ($a in $shellArgs + $Arguments) {
     [void]$psi.ArgumentList.Add($a)
   }
   $psi.RedirectStandardOutput = $true

tests/pwsh/WindowsPS51Compat.Tests.ps1

@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+#Requires -Modules @{ ModuleName='Pester'; ModuleVersion='5.7.0' }
+<#
+.SYNOPSIS
+  Windows PowerShell 5.1 compatibility tests for delphi-msbuild.ps1.
+
+.DESCRIPTION
+  Verifies that delphi-msbuild.ps1 can be launched under powershell.exe
+  (Windows PowerShell 5.1) and produces correct exit codes.
+  All tests in this file skip automatically on platforms where
+  powershell.exe is absent (e.g. Linux CI runners).
+
+  The test suite itself continues to require pwsh 7+ (see run-tests.ps1);
+  these tests only invoke the script-under-test via powershell.exe.
+
+  Scenarios tested:
+    Exits 3 when no -RootDir and no pipeline input.
+    Exits 3 when -RootDir directory does not exist on disk.
+    Exits 3 when -RootDir exists but rsvars.bat is absent.
+    Exits 4 when rsvars.bat exists but -ProjectFile does not.
+
+.NOTES
+  Get-Command is NOT used to locate powershell.exe.  The Invoke-RsvarsEnvironment
+  unit test applies fake environment variables (including a truncated PATH) to the
+  live process, which removes C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0 from PATH
+  and breaks Get-Command resolution for external commands.  Instead, powershell.exe
+  is located via its well-known fixed path under $env:SystemRoot.  On Linux/macOS
+  $env:SystemRoot is absent so Test-Path returns $false and all tests skip cleanly.
+
+  $skipTests is a discovery-time local variable captured by -Skip:.
+  $script:winPS51Exe is set in BeforeAll (run time) so it is visible in
+  It and Context BeforeAll blocks.
+
+  -ExecutionPolicy Bypass is passed to powershell.exe because the machine's
+  default execution policy may not permit running unsigned scripts.
+#>
+
+Describe 'Windows PowerShell 5.1 compatibility' {
+
+  # Evaluated at Pester discovery time -- captured by -Skip: on each It.
+  # Uses Test-Path (filesystem) rather than Get-Command (PATH-dependent) to
+  # locate powershell.exe safely regardless of prior process PATH changes.
+  $ps51Path  = if ($env:SystemRoot) {
+    [System.IO.Path]::Combine($env:SystemRoot, 'System32', 'WindowsPowerShell', 'v1.0', 'powershell.exe')
+  } else { $null }
+  $skipTests = -not ($ps51Path -and (Test-Path -LiteralPath $ps51Path))
+
+  BeforeAll {
+    . "$PSScriptRoot/TestHelpers.ps1"
+    $script:scriptPath = Get-ScriptUnderTestPath
+
+    $script:winPS51Exe = $null
+    $sysRoot = $env:SystemRoot
+    if ($sysRoot) {
+      $candidate = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($sysRoot, 'System32', 'WindowsPowerShell', 'v1.0', 'powershell.exe')
+      if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $candidate) { $script:winPS51Exe = $candidate }
+    }
+  }
+
+  It 'powershell.exe (Windows PowerShell 5.1) is present on this machine' -Skip:$skipTests {
+    $script:winPS51Exe | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
+  }
+
+  Context 'exits 3 when no rootDir is provided and no pipeline input' {
+
+    BeforeAll {
+      if (-not $script:winPS51Exe) { return }
+      $script:result = Invoke-ToolProcess `
+        -Shell           $script:winPS51Exe `
+        -ExecutionPolicy 'Bypass' `
+        -ScriptPath      $script:scriptPath `
+        -Arguments       @('-ProjectFile', 'C:\Fake\MyApp.dproj')
+    }
+
+    It 'exit code is 3' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.ExitCode | Should -Be 3
+    }
+
+    It 'stderr contains helpful message' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.StdErr -join ' ' | Should -Match 'root dir'
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  Context 'exits 3 when rootDir directory does not exist on disk' {
+
+    BeforeAll {
+      if (-not $script:winPS51Exe) { return }
+      $script:result = Invoke-ToolProcess `
+        -Shell           $script:winPS51Exe `
+        -ExecutionPolicy 'Bypass' `
+        -ScriptPath      $script:scriptPath `
+        -Arguments       @('-ProjectFile', 'C:\Fake\MyApp.dproj', '-RootDir', 'C:\DoesNotExist\AtAll\9999')
+    }
+
+    It 'exit code is 3' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.ExitCode | Should -Be 3
+    }
+
+    It 'stderr mentions the missing directory' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.StdErr -join ' ' | Should -Match 'not found'
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  Context 'exits 3 when rootDir exists but rsvars.bat is absent' {
+
+    BeforeAll {
+      if (-not $script:winPS51Exe) { return }
+      $script:result = Invoke-ToolProcess `
+        -Shell           $script:winPS51Exe `
+        -ExecutionPolicy 'Bypass' `
+        -ScriptPath      $script:scriptPath `
+        -Arguments       @('-ProjectFile', 'C:\Fake\MyApp.dproj', '-RootDir', ([System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()))
+    }
+
+    It 'exit code is 3' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.ExitCode | Should -Be 3
+    }
+
+    It 'stderr mentions rsvars.bat' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.StdErr -join ' ' | Should -Match 'rsvars\.bat'
+    }
+
+  }
+
+  Context 'exits 4 when rsvars.bat exists but project file does not' {
+
+    BeforeAll {
+      if (-not $script:winPS51Exe) { return }
+      $script:tempRoot = Join-Path ([System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath()) 'delphi-msbuild-winps51-test'
+      $script:tempBin  = Join-Path $script:tempRoot 'bin'
+      $null = New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $script:tempBin -Force
+      $null = New-Item -ItemType File -Path (Join-Path $script:tempBin 'rsvars.bat') -Force
+
+      $script:result = Invoke-ToolProcess `
+        -Shell           $script:winPS51Exe `
+        -ExecutionPolicy 'Bypass' `
+        -ScriptPath      $script:scriptPath `
+        -Arguments       @('-ProjectFile', 'C:\Fake\DoesNotExist.dproj', '-RootDir', $script:tempRoot)
+    }
+
+    AfterAll {
+      if ($script:tempRoot) {
+        Remove-Item -LiteralPath $script:tempRoot -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+      }
+    }
+
+    It 'exit code is 4' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.ExitCode | Should -Be 4
+    }
+
+    It 'stderr mentions the missing project file' -Skip:$skipTests {
+      $script:result.StdErr -join ' ' | Should -Match 'not found'
+    }
+
+  }
+
+}

tests/run-tests.ps1

@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 # tests/run-tests.ps1
+if ($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.Major -lt 7) {
+  Write-Error "Tests require PowerShell 7+."
+  exit 1
+}
+
 if ($IsWindows) {
   Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process
 }