Why error message "(" is missing whereas it isn't true?-CodePudding

I don't understand why ( is missing?

if not exist ("C:\test") md "C:\test"
At line:1 char:3
  if not exist ("C:\test") md "C:\test"
    ~
Missing '(' after 'if' in if statement.
      CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
      FullyQualifiedErrorId : MissingOpenParenthesisInIfStatement

CodePudding user response：

Building on the helpful comments:

You're trying to use cmd.exe's syntax directly from PowerShell, which cannot work (given PowerShell's fundamentally different syntax) and causes the parsing error you saw.
Use the PowerShell equivalent of your cmd.exe call, via New-Item:

# Create directory C:\test or use a preexisting directory with that path
# (thanks to -Force). 
# A DirectoryInfo object describing the directory is returned, 
# which $null = ... discards.
$null = New-Item -Type Directory -Force C:\test