Black.Beard.Helpers.ContentLoaders 2.0.59

Black.Beard.ContentLoaders

Introduction

Black.Beard.Helpers.ContentLoaders is a comprehensive utility library designed to simplify common file system operations, URI manipulations, and HTTP tasks in .NET applications. This package provides a collection of extension methods and helper classes that reduce boilerplate code, improve code readability, and handle platform-specific concerns when working with files, directories, and network resources.

Key benefits:

• Fluent API with method chaining for improved readability
• Cross-platform compatibility with Windows and Unix systems
• Simplified file and directory operations with intuitive extensions
• Easy URI construction and manipulation
• Dynamic port finding for HTTP services
• Consistent exception handling across all operations

Installation

Prerequisites

• .NET Standard 2.0+, .NET Core 2.0+, or .NET Framework 4.6.1+

Package Manager

Install-Package Black.Beard.Helpers

.NET CLI

dotnet add package Black.Beard.Helpers

Package Reference

<PackageReference Include="Black.Beard.Helpers" Version="1.0.0" />

Features

File and Directory Management

Simplify common file system operations with intuitive extension methods for FileInfo and DirectoryInfo.

using Bb;

// Create directory if it doesn't exist
DirectoryInfo dir = @"C:\temp\projects".CreateFolderIfNotExists();

// Clean up directories safely
DirectoryInfo cleaned = @"C:\temp\cache".DeleteFolderIfExists(recursive: true);

// Chain operations for concise code
DirectoryInfo workspace = new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\workspace")
    .CreateFolderIfNotExists()
    .WriteFile("readme.txt", "Project workspace initialized");

Working with Files

using Bb;
using System.Text;

// Write content to files with encoding options
FileInfo log = new FileInfo("application.log");
log.WriteFile("Application started", append: true);
log.WriteFile("Données spéciales", Encoding.UTF8, append: true);

// Easy file copying with overwrite control
FileInfo source = new FileInfo("template.docx");
bool success = source.CopyToDirectory(@"C:\backup", overwrite: false);

// Copy with directory objects
var sourceDir = new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\documents");
var backupDir = new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\backup");
sourceDir.Copy("important.xlsx", backupDir);

Path Operations
Handle file paths consistently across platforms with helper methods for common path manipulations.

Path Conversion and Validation

using Bb;

// Convert between string paths and FileInfo/DirectoryInfo
FileInfo file = @"C:\config\settings.json".AsFile();
DirectoryInfo dir = @"C:\logs".AsDirectory();

// Check if paths are absolute
bool isAbsFile = @"C:\data\report.pdf".FilePathIsAbsolute();  // true
bool isAbsDir = "./temp".DirectoryPathIsAbsolute();           // false

// Format and normalize paths
string normalizedPath = "file:///C:/Users/name/My%20Documents/".FormatPath();
// On Windows: "C:\Users\name\My Documents\"

Path Comparison and Combination

using Bb;

// Platform-aware path comparison
bool areEqual = @"C:\Program Files".IsPathEquals(@"c:\program files");
// true on Windows, false on Linux

// Safely combine path segments
string path = @"C:\projects".Combine("src", "main", "resources");
// "C:\projects\src\main\resources"

// Type-safe path combination
var baseDir = new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\workspace");
string fullPath = baseDir.Combine("configs", "settings.json");

URI and URL Manipulation Build, transform, and manipulate URIs with ease using extension methods and helpers.

Creating and Modifying URIs

using Bb;

// Create URIs with path segments
Uri api = "https://api.example.com".ToUri("v2", "users");
// https://api.example.com/v2/users

// Find available ports and create URIs
int port = 8000;
Uri serviceUri = "http".ToUri("localhost", ref port, "api");
// port will be updated to an available port number

// Combine URL parts safely
string url = UriExtensions.Combine(
    "https://example.com", 
    "search", 
    "?q=dotnet", 
    "&page=1"
);
// https://example.com/search?q=dotnet&page=1

Managing URI Collections

using Bb;
using System.Collections.Generic;

// Add multiple URIs with dynamic ports
var endpoints = new List<Uri>();
int startPort = 5000;
endpoints.AddLocalhostUrl("http", ref startPort, 3);
// Adds 3 URIs with available ports starting from 5000

// Concatenate URIs with separators
var services = new List<Uri> {
    new Uri("http://auth.local:9000"),
    new Uri("http://api.local:9001")
};
string serviceList = services.ConcatUrl().ToString();
// "http://auth.local:9000;http://api.local:9001"

HTTP and Network Helpers Simplify HTTP operations and network resource handling with specialized helpers.

HTTP Operations

using Bb;
using System.IO;

// Download content from a URL to a file
Uri source = new Uri("https://example.com/files/document.pdf");
FileInfo target = new FileInfo("downloaded-document.pdf");
source.Download(target);

// With custom HTTP client configuration
source.Download(target, client => {
    client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Authorization", "Bearer token123");
    client.Timeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
});

Network Resources

using Bb;

// Find available network ports
int port = HttpHelper.GetAvailablePort(8080);
Console.WriteLine($"Port {port} is available for use");

// Create URIs for local or remote hosts
Uri localHttp = HttpHelper.GetLocalUri(false);  // http://localhost/
Uri localHttps = HttpHelper.GetLocalUri(true, 8443);  // https://localhost:8443/
Uri remoteApi = HttpHelper.GetUri(false, "api.example.com", 80);

Content and Encoding Management Work with content in various formats and encodings with smart detection and conversion utilities.

Encoding Detection and Conversion

using Bb;

// Register support for additional encodings
ContentHelper.RegisterEncoding();

// Auto-detect encoding from content
byte[] fileBytes = File.ReadAllBytes("document.txt");
string content = fileBytes.LoadContentFromText();

// Convert between streams and strings
using (var memStream = new MemoryStream(fileBytes))
{
    string text = memStream.ConvertToString();
    Console.WriteLine($"Detected content: {text}");
}

Base64 and JSON Utilities

using Bb;
using System.Text.Json;

// Base64 encoding and decoding
string original = "Sensitive data: password123";
string encoded = original.ConvertToBase64();
string decoded = encoded.ConvertFromBase64();

// Simplified JSON serialization
var person = new { Name = "John", Age = 30 };
string json = person.Serialize(indented: true);

// Deserialize JSON to strongly-typed objects
var options = new JsonSerializerOptions { PropertyNameCaseInsensitive = true };
var deserializedPerson = json.Deserialize<Person>(options);

Platform Support

Black.Beard.Helpers.ContentLoaders is designed to work across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. It includes special handling for platform-specific behaviors:

• Path comparisons: Case-insensitive on Windows, case-sensitive on Unix-based systems

• Path separators: Handles both forward and backward slashes regardless of platform

• Path normalization: Consistently formats paths according to platform conventions

• URI handling: Platform-agnostic implementation for URI manipulations

• Windows, macOS, and Linux compatibility with platform-specific behavior handling

• Path format normalization that handles both forward and backward slashes

• Case sensitivity awareness (case-insensitive on Windows, case-sensitive on Unix systems)

• Encoding detection and conversion that works across different platforms

The library automatically adapts to the underlying operating system, ensuring consistent behavior regardless of where your application runs.

License

This library is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.