Why variables should be assigned with “.Value” when using ByRef?

Question

What is the difference between:

$A="Something"

and

$A.Value="Something"

I see that this i

Answer 1

When using reference variables in functions you must use the .Value to interact with the original object as seen in About_Ref

PS C:\ps-test> function double
>> {
>>     param ([ref]$x) $x.value = $x.value * 2
>> }

If you examine the object while inside the function you can sort of see the difference. Inside the function SetByRef1 I added the following lines.

$a.GetType().FullName
$a.value.GetType().FullName

Which nets the following output.

System.Management.Automation.PSReference`1[[System.String, mscorlib, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089]]
System.String

The type of $a.value shows that you are acting on the original object.