Updated comment-based help .INPUTS and .OUTPUTS sections

.github/instructions/dsc-community-style-guidelines-powershell.instructions.md

@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@ applyTo: "{**/*.ps1,**/*.psm1,**/*.psd1}"
 - Comment-based help: SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION (40+ chars), PARAMETER, EXAMPLE sections before function/class
 - Comment-based help indentation: keywords 4 spaces, text 8 spaces
 - Include examples for all parameter sets and combinations
-- INPUTS: List each pipeline‑accepted type (one per line) with a 1‑line description. Repeat keyword for each input type.
-- OUTPUTS: List each return type (one per line) with a 1‑line description. Repeat keyword for each output type. Must match both `[OutputType()]` and actual returns.
+- INPUTS: List each pipeline‑accepted type as inline code with a 1‑line description. Repeat keyword for each input type. If there are no inputs, specify `None.`.
+- OUTPUTS: List each return type as inline code with a 1‑line description. Repeat keyword for each output type. Must match both `[OutputType()]` and actual returns. If there are no outputs, specify `None.`.
 - .NOTES: Include only if it conveys critical info (constraints, side effects, security, version compatibility, breaking behavior). Keep to ≤2 short sentences.
 
 ## Functions

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Changed
 
+- Updated comment-based help `.INPUTS` and `.OUTPUTS` sections across all public
+  commands and private functions to comply with DSC community style guidelines
+  ([issue #2103](https://github.com/dsccommunity/SqlServerDsc/issues/2103)).
 - `Set-SqlDscDatabaseProperty`
   - Updated comment-based help to reference correct enum values.
   - Added SQL Server version requirements to version-specific parameter help.

source/Private/Assert-Feature.ps1

@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@
 
         Throws an exception if the feature is not supported.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        `System.String[]`
+
+        Accepts an array of feature names via the pipeline.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 #>

source/Private/Assert-ManagedServiceType.ps1

@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@
 
         Asserts that the computer managed service object is of the type Database Engine.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Wmi.Service`
+
+        Accepts a SQL Server managed service object via the pipeline.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 #>

source/Private/Assert-SetupActionProperties.ps1

@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@
 
         Throws an exception if the bound parameters are not in the correct state.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 

source/Private/ConvertFrom-ManagedServiceType.ps1

@@ -14,6 +14,16 @@
         ConvertFrom-ManagedServiceType -ServiceType 'SqlServer'
 
         Returns the normalized service type name 'DatabaseEngine' .
+
+    .INPUTS
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Wmi.ManagedServiceType`
+
+        Accepts a managed service type via the pipeline.
+
+    .OUTPUTS
+        `System.String`
+
+        Returns the normalized service type name.
 #>
 function ConvertFrom-ManagedServiceType
 {

source/Private/ConvertTo-AuditNewParameterSet.ps1

@@ -28,12 +28,10 @@
         Converts an existing audit object to a parameter set with a custom GUID.
 
     .INPUTS
-        None
-
-        This function does not accept pipeline input.
+        None.
 
     .OUTPUTS
-        System.Collections.Hashtable
+        `System.Collections.Hashtable`
 
         Returns a hashtable of parameters for New-SqlDscAudit.
 #>

source/Private/ConvertTo-FormattedParameterDescription.ps1

@@ -13,8 +13,11 @@
     .PARAMETER Exclude
         Array of parameter names to exclude from the formatted output.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
-        System.String
+        `System.String`
 
         Returns a formatted string with parameters and their values.
 

source/Private/ConvertTo-ManagedServiceType.ps1

@@ -14,10 +14,21 @@
         ConvertTo-ManagedServiceType -ServiceType 'DatabaseEngine'
 
         Returns the manged service type name for the normalized service type 'DatabaseEngine'.
+
+    .INPUTS
+        `System.String`
+
+        Accepts a normalized service type name via the pipeline.
+
+    .OUTPUTS
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Wmi.ManagedServiceType`
+
+        Returns the managed service type.
 #>
 function ConvertTo-ManagedServiceType
 {
     [CmdletBinding()]
+    [OutputType([Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Wmi.ManagedServiceType])]
     param
     (
         [Parameter(Mandatory = $true, ValueFromPipeline = $true)]

source/Private/ConvertTo-RedactedText.ps1

@@ -27,10 +27,21 @@
         ConvertTo-RedactedText -Text 'My secret phrase: secret123' -RedactPhrase 'secret123' -RedactWith '----'
 
         Returns the text with the phrases redacted to '----'.
+
+    .INPUTS
+        `System.String`
+
+        Accepts text to be redacted via the pipeline.
+
+    .OUTPUTS
+        `System.String`
+
+        Returns the redacted text.
 #>
 function ConvertTo-RedactedText
 {
     [CmdletBinding()]
+    [OutputType([System.String])]
     param
     (
         [Parameter(Mandatory = $true, ValueFromPipeline = $true)]

source/Private/Get-AgentAlertObject.ps1

@@ -11,15 +11,13 @@
     .PARAMETER Name
         Specifies the name of the SQL Agent Alert.
 
-    .OUTPUTS
-        Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Agent.Alert
-
-        Returns the SQL Agent Alert object when an alert with the specified name is found.
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
 
     .OUTPUTS
-        None.
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Agent.Alert`
 
-        When no alert with the specified name is found.
+        Returns the SQL Agent Alert object when an alert with the specified name is found, or $null if not found.
 
     .EXAMPLE
         $serverObject = Connect-SqlDscDatabaseEngine

source/Private/Get-AgentOperatorObject.ps1

@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@
         None.
 
     .OUTPUTS
-        Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Agent.Operator
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Agent.Operator`
 
-        Returns the operator object if found.
+        Returns the operator object if found, or $null if not found.
 
     .EXAMPLE
         $operatorObject = Get-AgentOperatorObject -ServerObject $serverObject -Name 'TestOperator'

source/Private/Get-CommandParameter.ps1

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
         None.
 
     .OUTPUTS
-        System.String[]
+        `System.String[]`
 
         Returns an array of parameter names that are not excluded.
 

source/Private/Get-FileVersionInformation.ps1

@@ -18,8 +18,15 @@
 
         Returns the version information for the file setup.exe.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        `System.IO.FileInfo`
+
+        Accepts a file path via the pipeline.
+
     .OUTPUTS
-        [System.String]
+        `System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo`
+
+        Returns the file version information.
 #>
 function Get-FileVersionInformation
 {

source/Private/Get-SMOModuleCalculatedVersion.ps1

@@ -22,8 +22,15 @@
 
         Returns the calculated version as a string.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        `System.Management.Automation.PSModuleInfo`
+
+        Accepts a PowerShell module info object via the pipeline.
+
     .OUTPUTS
-        [System.String]
+        `System.String`
+
+        Returns the calculated version as a string.
 #>
 function Get-SMOModuleCalculatedVersion
 {

source/Private/Invoke-ReportServerSetupAction.ps1

@@ -70,9 +70,13 @@
         https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/install-report-server
         https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/reporting-services/install-windows/install-reporting-services
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
-        When PassThru is specified the function will return the setup process exit
-        code as System.Int32. Otherwise, the function does not generate any output.
+        `System.Int32`
+
+        When PassThru is specified, returns the setup process exit code. Otherwise, no output is generated.
 
     .EXAMPLE
         Invoke-ReportServerSetupAction -Install -AcceptLicensingTerms -MediaPath 'E:\SQLServerReportingServices.exe'

source/Private/Invoke-SetupAction.ps1

@@ -372,6 +372,9 @@
     .LINK
         https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/install-windows/install-sql-server-from-the-command-prompt
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 

source/Public/Add-SqlDscFileGroup.ps1

@@ -21,17 +21,17 @@
         Specifies that the FileGroup should be added without confirmation.
 
     .INPUTS
-        Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.FileGroup
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.FileGroup`
 
         FileGroup objects that will be added to the Database.
 
     .OUTPUTS
-        None
+        None.
 
         This cmdlet does not generate output by default.
 
     .OUTPUTS
-        Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.FileGroup[]
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.FileGroup[]`
 
         When the PassThru parameter is specified, returns the FileGroup objects that were added.
 

source/Public/Add-SqlDscNode.ps1

@@ -108,6 +108,9 @@
     .LINK
         https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/install-windows/install-sql-server-from-the-command-prompt
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 

source/Public/Add-SqlDscTraceFlag.ps1

@@ -47,6 +47,11 @@
         Adds the trace flags 4199 and 3226 on the Database Engine instance
         'SQL2022' on the server where the command in run.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Wmi.Service`
+
+        Accepts a SQL Server managed service object via the pipeline.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 #>

source/Public/Assert-SqlDscAgentOperator.ps1

@@ -14,13 +14,13 @@
         Specifies the name of the operator to check for.
 
     .INPUTS
-        [Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server]
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server`
+
+        Accepts a SQL Server server object via the pipeline.
 
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 
-        This command does not return anything if the operator exists.
-
     .EXAMPLE
         $serverObject = Connect-SqlDscDatabaseEngine -InstanceName 'MyInstance'
         $serverObject | Assert-SqlDscAgentOperator -Name 'TestOperator'

source/Public/Assert-SqlDscLogin.ps1

@@ -25,6 +25,14 @@
 
         Asserts that the principal 'MyLogin' exists as a login.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server`
+
+        Accepts a SQL Server server object via the pipeline.
+
+    .OUTPUTS
+        None.
+
     .NOTES
         This command throws a terminating error if the specified SQL Server
         principal does not exist as a SQL server login.
@@ -33,6 +41,7 @@ function Assert-SqlDscLogin
 {
     [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessageAttribute('UseSyntacticallyCorrectExamples', '', Justification = 'Because the rule does not yet support parsing the code when a parameter type is not available. The ScriptAnalyzer rule UseSyntacticallyCorrectExamples will always error in the editor due to https://github.com/indented-automation/Indented.ScriptAnalyzerRules/issues/8.')]
     [CmdletBinding()]
+    [OutputType()]
     param
     (
         [Parameter(Mandatory = $true, ValueFromPipeline = $true)]

source/Public/Complete-SqlDscFailoverCluster.ps1

@@ -129,6 +129,9 @@
     .LINK
         https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/install-windows/install-sql-server-from-the-command-prompt
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 

source/Public/Complete-SqlDscImage.ps1

@@ -157,6 +157,9 @@
     .LINK
         https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/install-windows/install-sql-server-from-the-command-prompt
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
         None.
 

source/Public/Connect-SqlDscDatabaseEngine.ps1

@@ -59,11 +59,18 @@
 
         Connects to the default instance on the local server using the SQL login 'sa'.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        None.
+
     .OUTPUTS
-        `[Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server]`
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server`
+
+        Returns the SQL Server server object.
 #>
 function Connect-SqlDscDatabaseEngine
 {
+    [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessageAttribute('UseSyntacticallyCorrectExamples', '', Justification = 'Because the rule does not yet support parsing the code when the output type is not available. The ScriptAnalyzer rule UseSyntacticallyCorrectExamples will always error in the editor due to https://github.com/indented-automation/Indented.ScriptAnalyzerRules/issues/8.')]
+    [OutputType([Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server])]
     [CmdletBinding(DefaultParameterSetName = 'SqlServer')]
     param
     (

source/Public/ConvertFrom-SqlDscDatabasePermission.ps1

@@ -19,8 +19,15 @@
         Returns an object of `[Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.DatabasePermissionSet]`
         with all the permissions set to $true that was part of the `[DatabasePermission]`.
 
+    .INPUTS
+        `DatabasePermission`
+
+        Accepts a DatabasePermission object via the pipeline.
+
     .OUTPUTS
-        [Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.DatabasePermissionSet]
+        `Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.DatabasePermissionSet`
+
+        Returns a database permission set object.
 #>
 function ConvertFrom-SqlDscDatabasePermission
 {