If statements and package deployment

DSC
1

I’ve been trying to add if statements to my DSC package deployments but it has been difficult finding info on it. What I’m trying is pretty basic, All I need to do is have the config check to see if package1 is installed and if it is then it doesn’t install package2 but if package 1 is absent then it installs package2.

Configuration DefaultApps 
{
    Import-DscResource -ModuleName 'PSDesiredStateConfiguration'
    Node Localhost
    {
        Package package1
        { 
            Ensure    = "Present" 
            Path      = ".msi" 
            Name      = "package1" 
            ProductId = "" 
            Arguments = "AllUsers=1"
            DependsOn = ""
        }
        Package package2
        { 
            Ensure    = "Present" 
            Path      = ".msi" 
            Name      = "package2" 
            ProductId = "" 
            Arguments = "AllUsers=1"
            DependsOn = ""
        }
    }
}

Pretty basic, but I’m very new to dsc so information resources would be very helpful.

2

What’s fighting you is that these configuration scripts must compile to a MOF, and MOFs don’t have logic in them. There’s no if/then branching.

The current Package resource doesn’t support an either/or scenario like you’re describing. You would probably need to create your own resource, so that in a single definition you could define both packages and implement your either/or logic within the resource’s script code.