Getting details from MetaBase.xml from Powershell

This CodeProject article can be useful: PowerShell and XML[^].

This is another short article: https://devcentral.f5.com/blogs/us/powershell-abcs-x-is-for-xml[^].

For some more detail, please see: http://www.pavleck.net/powershell-cookbook/ch10.html[^].

However, these are just the PowerShell-specific aspects of it. If you need more serious approach, you can use all power of .NET API. First, you need to know how to access .NET assemblies:
http://www.pavleck.net/powershell-cookbook/ch17.html#access_a_net_sdk_library[^].

This is how you can load the assembly, on one example:

$null = [System.Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName("System.Windows.Forms")

And then you can use all power of .NET parsing and writing available in .NET BCL. Here is my short overview of what you can use:

1. Use System.Xml.XmlDocument class. It implements DOM interface; this way is the easiest and good enough if the size if the document is not too big.
   See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.xmldocument.aspx[^].
2. Use the classes System.Xml.XmlTextWriter and System.Xml.XmlTextReader; this is the fastest way of reading, especially is you need to skip some data.
   See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.xmlwriter.aspx[^], http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.xmlreader.aspx[^].
3. Use the class System.Xml.Linq.XDocument; this is the most adequate way similar to that of XmlDocument, supporting LINQ to XML Programming.
   See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.xmldocument.aspx[^], http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb387063.aspx[^].

You can also use C# or VB.NET code in your script using Add-Type: http://www.pavleck.net/powershell-cookbook/ch17.html#define_extend_net_class[^].

Happy New Year!

—SA