ConsoleUserInteractionHelper 4.0.0

Package Description

ConsoleHelper is a versatile .NET library designed to simplify console-based user interactions. It provides a rich set of methods to handle various input scenarios, from simple string inputs to complex numeric constraints.

Key Features

• Robust Input Handling: Gracefully manage user inputs with built-in validation and error handling.
• Flexible Numeric Inputs: Easily obtain integer values with custom constraints.
• Secure String Input: Collect sensitive information without displaying it on the console.
• Progress Indication: Display spinner animations for long-running operations.
• Customizable Retry Logic: Control the number of retry attempts for each input operation.

Installation

Install ConsoleHelper via NuGet Package Manager:

Install-Package ConsoleUserInteractionHelper

Or via .NET CLI:

dotnet add package ConsoleUserInteractionHelper

Usage Examples

Here are some examples to demonstrate the versatility of ConsoleHelper:

using ConsoleUserInteractionHelper;

var helper = new ConsoleHelper();

// Get a non-empty string
string name = helper.GetNonEmptyStringFromUser();

// Get a positive integer with max 3 retry attempts
int age = helper.GetPositiveInt(maxRetries: 3);

// Use custom constraints for integer input
int evenNumber = helper.GetIntWithConstraints(
    n => n % 2 == 0, 
    "Please enter an even number."
);

// Collect a password securely
string password = helper.GetSecretStringFromUser();

// Display a spinner during a long operation
Task longRunningTask = SomeLongRunningOperation();
helper.ShowSpinnerUntilTaskIsRunning(longRunningTask);

// Get a file path with specific extension
string filePath = helper.GetPathToExistingFileFromUser(".txt");

Extensibility

ConsoleHelper is designed with extensibility in mind. You can easily create custom input methods using the generic GetIntWithConstraints method:

// Custom method to get a prime number
public int GetPrimeNumber(int? maxRetries = null)
{
    return GetIntWithConstraints(
        n => IsPrime(n),
        "Please enter a prime number.",
        maxRetries
    );
}

private bool IsPrime(int number)
{
    if (number < 2) return false;
    for (int i = 2; i <= Math.Sqrt(number); i++)
    {
        if (number % i == 0) return false;
    }
    return true;
}

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for more details.

License

ConsoleHelper is released under the MIT License.