Optimal way of saving application configuration in C# - c#

I have a Configuration class that stores certain variables which serve as settings. And I'm struggling to find easiest and most optimal way to save it to file - would be weird if user had to configure it every time.
Example class:
public static Configuration
{
public static bool A = false;
public static bool B = false;
public static int C = 100;
}
Serializing collection is not an issue, but i cannot really make collection out of these variables, since they have not matching data types.
I'm certain solution is simple, but for some reason I'm stuck here.

Elaborating on my comment, you're better off converting your static class into an instance class for minimizing manual coding to store/read the property values in the future. This refactoring can be done in minutes. So do that as a first step, it shouldn't take too long to do, and a simple "Find/Replace" can fix all of your declarations everywhere in your code where you previously used "Configuration".
Keep your implementation static, but change to a single instance that you are accessing.
public class Configuration
{
private static Configuration instance;
public static Configuration Instance
{
get
{
if (instance == null)
{
instance = new Configuration();
}
return instance;
}
set
{
instance = value;
}
}
public bool A { get; set; }
public bool B { get; set; }
public int C { get; set; }
}
Do a Find/Replace where ever you declared your static class and replace "Configuration." with "Configuration.Instance.". Also, where you previously declared static properties like public static bool A; public static bool B; ... just select all of the text, do a Find/Replace and replace "static " with "".
Save/Read your data
// To Save
File.WriteAllText(#"c:\temp\myconfig.json", Newtonsoft.Json.JsonConvert.SerializeObject(Configuration.Instance));
// To Read
using (var file = File.OpenText(#"c:\temp\myconfig.json"))
{
JsonSerializer serializer = new JsonSerializer();
Configuration.Instance = (Configuration)serializer.Deserialize(file, typeof(Configuration));
}

Related

Can static values be read from a file?

I created a C# code for logging error codes.
I hardcoded the error codes into a class RecordId as static ints.
public class RecordId
{
public static int UnknownCommand = 100;
public static int SoftwareVersion = 101;
public static int WarningError = 110;
public static int AbortError = 111;
// etc...
}
Having static int means that I can do RecordId.SoftwareVersion anywhere in my code, I don't actually need to instantiate the class RecordId, which is very convenient, since I want to be able to log things from different parts of the code by calling a Log class that also doesn't need instantiation (it just appends a message to a file)
The logging function is also static, being something like
public class Logger
{
public static void LogExperiment(int key, string value)
{
// Append key and value to a hardcoded filename
}
}
Then from anywhere in my code I can do
Logger.LogExperiment(RecordId.SoftwareVersion, "1.0");
This will just append 101 1.0 in a log file
I don't need instances of the classes, so I can log anywhere from my code.
Now, as the code grows, I don't want to modify the code every time I add a new RecordId, so I want to have a JSON file where I load the values into the class.
I modified the RecordId class to look like:
public class RecordIdNew
{
public String UnknownCommand { get; set; }
public String SoftwareVersion { get; set; }
public String WarningError { get; set; }
public String AbortError { get; set; }
}
The problem I see now, is that in order to populate this values from the JSON file I have to instantiate the class RecordId, whereas before I was using the values as static ints, and therefore I could call RecordId.SoftwareVersion
The question (which might be a bit open) is: Is there a way I can keep RecordId not instantiated, but access values that come from a JSON file.
Or if not possible, is there another structure that would allow me to do that?
You are looking for static constructor, i.e.
// Let's have class being static if you don't want to create instances
public static class RecordId
{
// To be on the safer side of the road, let's have readonly fields:
// once set in the static constructor they can't be changed
public static readonly int UnknownCommand;
public static readonly int SoftwareVersion;
public static readonly int WarningError;
public static readonly int AbortError;
// Static constructor, it will be called before the first read of any field
static RecordId() {
//TODO: put your logic here: read the file and assign values to the fields
}
}
Edit:
Please, have a look at the your current design, maybe you are looking for {Key, Value} pairs? E.g. Key == 100, Value == "UnknownCommand" etc.
If it's your case, try using Dictionary:
public static class RecordId {
private static readonly Dictionary<int, string> s_Names = new();
public IReadOnlyDictionary<int, string> Names => s_Names;
static RecordId() {
//TODO: Your logic here (fill in s_Names)
}
}
usage:
int code = 100;
if (RecordId.Names.TryGetValue(code, out var name))
Console.WriteLine($"{code} is {name}");
else
Console.WriteLine("Unknown code");
Assuming you can perfectly match up the static C# properties or fields to the values in the JSON, you can use ModuleInitializerAttribute to set the static properties.
public static class RecordId
{
public static int UnknownCommand { get; private set; }
public static int SoftwareVersion { get; private set; }
public static int WarningError { get; private set; }
public static int AbortError { get; private set; }
// etc...
[ModuleInitializer]
public static void Init()
{
// code to read JSON
// loop over JSON fields, matching them to
// above fields, setting their values...
}
}
This gives you a way to set the values at runtime, once, when the module loads (modules are groups of logical code in an assembly (reference)).
Module initializers are guaranteed to be run before any other access to the module; so if you reference, say, UnknownCommand anywhere, you will get the value that was read from the JSON. In fact, as Dmitry notes in the comments, the module init code is guaranteed to run period, even if no other code in the module is accessed at all. This could be a drawback if the code is slow or buggy, but useful in cases such as yours.
This does not give you a way to dynamically create the properties; that would require either code generation prior to compilation or access to the values at runtime via some sort of "Get" method coupled with a static dictionary.
Here's an article on the subject, and here's the original proposal on GitHub.

How to access and set static property value in TestMethod

How to access and set StaticProperty
public static class StaticClass
{
private bool? _staticValue = null;
public bool StaticProperty => _staticValue ?? ((bool)(_staticValue = GetStaticPropertyValue()));
public static bool GetStaticPropertyValue()
{
//get value
}
}
inside Test Method,
[TestMethod]
public void UnitTestSomeMethod()
{
var consumeClass = new ConsumeClass();
consumeClass.SomeMethod();
}
so that isEnabled variable is set to true in ConsumeClass.SomeMethod
public class ConsumeClass
{
public void SomeMethod()
{
var isEnabled = StaticClass.StaticProperty;
if(isEnabled)
{
//do something
}
}
}
The way your code currently looks like there´s only a dirty way using reflection, because there´s no setter for your property:
var property = typeof(StaticClass).GetProperty("StaticProperty", BindingFlags.Static)?.GetBackingField().SetValue(null, true);
This sometimes is neccessary for large legacy-systems that you can´t easily change but you have the need for unit-tests. However you should change the system as soon as possible, e.g. by using an internal setter:
public static bool StaticProperty { get; internal set; }
and add the InternalsVisibleTo-attribute to your assemby, in order to access its internal members within your test-assembly.
As per your edit the reflection-based approach is a bit easier, as you have a named backing-field which you can assign a new value:
typeof(StaticClass).GetField("_staticValue", BindingFlags.Static).SetValue(null, true);
However be aware that variable-names may change, so the above may fail at runtime when someone renames the backing-field.

Does a simple property need synchronization? [duplicate]

I would like to know if C# automatically implemented properties, like public static T Prop { get; set; }, are thread-safe or not. Thanks!
Section 10.7.4 of the C# specification states:
When a property is specified as an
automatically implemented property, a
hidden backing field is automatically
available for the property, and the
accessors are implemented to read from
and write to that backing field. The
following example:
public class Point {
public int X { get; set; } // automatically implemented
public int Y { get; set; } // automatically implemented
}
is equivalent to the following declaration:
public class Point {
private int x;
private int y;
public int X { get { return x; } set { x = value; } }
public int Y { get { return y; } set { y = value; } }
}
That's what we promise, and that's what you get. The point of auto properties is to do the most basic, simple, cheap thing; if you want to do something fancier then you should write a "real" property.
It appears not. This is the decompilation with Reflector:
private static string Test
{
[CompilerGenerated]
get
{
return <Test>k__BackingField;
}
[CompilerGenerated]
set
{
<Test>k__BackingField = value;
}
}
No. You must wrap them in thread-locking mechanisms.
object _lock = new object();
public static Main(string[] args)
{
lock(_lock)
{
Prop = new T();
}
T val = null;
lock(_lock)
{
val = Prop;
}
}
There is no synchronization provided with automatic properties, including static properties.
If you need full thread safety, you'll want to use your own properties with a backing field, and handle the synchronization yourself.
For completeness, field-like events do have thread-safety built in, but they are alone in this. Automatically implemented properties do not have any such features. You can, however, do something like:
public static double SomeProp
{ // ### NOT RECOMMENDED ###
[MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.Synchronized)] get;
[MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.Synchronized)] set;
}
The problem with this is that it will lock the Type, which is a bad thing. I would implement my own synchronization for this, personally.
I don't believe so. I believe they are just syntatic sugar for:
private static T _prop;
public static T Prop
{
get { return _prop; }
set { _prop = value; }
}
No, they not threadsafe. Static properties just as vulnerable as static fields are to concurrency issues.

C# Subclass Best Practice

I am currently working on a game in XNA and I'm not sure on how I should go about doing the following...
I have a base class of buildings as such
public class BuildingsBase
{
private int _hp;
public int hp
{
get { return _hp; }
set { _hp= value; }
}
private int _woodRequired;
public int woodRequired
{
get { return _woodRequired; }
set { _woodRequired = value; }
}
}
I then have multiple subclasses for building types eg.
public class TownHall:BuildingsBase
{
public int foodHeld;
public TownHall()
{
foodHeld = 100;
woodRequired = 500;
}
}
My question is, what is the best way of setting the default values for building subclasses.
For example, the woodRequired for a townhall is set to 500 but at various places in code I need to access this value before I have an instance of townhall declared (When checking if there is enough wood to build).
I currently have a global array of default variables for each building type but im wondering if there is a better way of doing this.
if (Globals.buildingDefaults[BuildingType.Townhall].woodRequired < Globals.currentWood)
{
Townhall newTH = new Townhall();
}
Usually what happens is that they create a flyweight (see pattern). This object contains properties that are the same for every instance anyway. There's no need to change (or actually store) the required amount of wood for each instance separately.
In a very basic design it would look like:
class BuildingTemplate
{
public int WoodRequired { get; set; }
}
class Templates
{
public static BuildingTemplate TownHall { get; set; }
}
In the end you'd be calling a method like:
public bool CanBuildTownHall(Player player)
{
return player.HasEnoughResources(Templates.TownHall);
}
Of course, you can use a dictionary for template retrieval, and players shouldn't really know about building requirements. I'm just illustrating the pattern here.
If the player has enough resources, you can use the template to subtract the amount and create an actual instance of the TownHall. It's nice to have an reference to the actual template, because you'd probably be accessing other global properties that are valid for all TownHalls as well (such as audio/visuals/...).
class TownHall
{
public TownHall(BuildingTemplate template)
{
_template = template;
}
}

How do I set a property in my dynamic code

I want to be able to store code in a database and then execute it dynamically (using Roslyn). However, I want to be able to (inject?) properties from calling code. See below:
using Roslyn.Scripting.CSharp;
using RoslynMVCTest.Interfaces;
namespace RoslynMVCTest.Services
{
public class MyService
{
private readonly IInjectedService _injectedService;
public MyService(IInjectedService injectedService)
{
_injectedService = injectedService;
}
public bool SomeMethod()
{
string codeString = #"
using RoslynMVCTest.Interfaces;
public class SomethingDoer
{
public IInjectedService InjectedService {get;set;}
public static bool DoSomething()
{
return IInjectedService.SomeOtherMethod();
}
}";
var engine = new ScriptEngine();
var session = engine.CreateSession(_injectedService);
session.AddReference(this.GetType().Assembly);
//How do I set the property in my dynamic code to _injectedService??
var result = session.Execute<bool>("SomethingDoer.DoSomething()");
return result;
}
}
}
I realize there are probably syntax and other issues here, but it's a good representation of what I want to do. Is there a way to do this?
First I'm going to answer your question matching your original code as closely as possible. Second, I'm going to show a far more concise example that might in fact be all that you're after.
You can certainly declare your type as you've done, but a few things will have to be fixed to even get it to make sense.
Your SomethingDoer class declares a non-static InjectedService property, despite the fact that you attempt to consume that property in a static method. I will assume for the sake of discussion that you intended SomethingDoer.DoSomething to be non-static as well and will thus instanatiate that class.
public static bool DoSomething()
To:
public bool DoSomething()
The "sesion" you pass to CreateSession is your actual service. To understand why this won't work, you have to understand what the argument you pass to CreateSession means and what's done with it. What the "session" means is that all the public properties of that object are available to your scripting session as raw identifiers without the need to . reference them on any target. Thus, to get your code working, I've introduced a new class (inner to the main service class for convenience) called Session:
public class Session
{
public IInjectedService InjectedService { get; set; }
}
Furthermore, I've used this new class when invoking CreateSession:
var session = engine.CreateSession(new Session { InjectedService = _injectedService });
What this means is that the property InjectedService is now available to you within your codeString.
Perhaps most importantly, your code codeString is never actually consumed by your code! You seem to have, understandably, conceived of this process as setting up a string for your code, and then imagined that you could then invoke some arbitrary method within it. On the contrary, there is only one block of code. So if you really want to declare a whole class in your script-code, you're still going to have to consume it directly within your script-code as well. This means that the final two lines of your codeString should actually look like:
var somethingDoer = new SomethingDoer { InjectedService = InjectedService };
somethingDoer.DoSomething()";
Here we're instantiating SomethingDoer (because of change 1.) and setting the service property by the implicit InjectedService value provided by the session (because of change 2.).
For completeness, here is the fully working sample code:
namespace RoslynMVCTest.Interfaces
{
public interface IInjectedService
{
bool SomeOtherMethod();
}
}
namespace RoslynMVCTest.Services
{
using RoslynMVCTest.Interfaces;
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine(new MyService(new InjectedService()).SomeMethod());
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
class InjectedService : IInjectedService
{
public bool SomeOtherMethod()
{
return true;
}
}
public class MyService
{
private readonly IInjectedService _injectedService;
public MyService(IInjectedService injectedService)
{
_injectedService = injectedService;
}
public class Session
{
public IInjectedService InjectedService { get; set; }
}
public bool SomeMethod()
{
string codeString = #"
using RoslynMVCTest.Interfaces;
public class SomethingDoer
{
public IInjectedService InjectedService { get; set; }
public bool DoSomething()
{
return InjectedService.SomeOtherMethod();
}
}
var somethingDoer = new SomethingDoer { InjectedService = InjectedService };
somethingDoer.DoSomething()";
var engine = new ScriptEngine();
var session = engine.CreateSession(new Session { InjectedService = _injectedService });
session.AddReference(this.GetType().Assembly);
//How do I set the property in my dynamic code to _injectedService??
var result = session.Execute<bool>(codeString);
return result;
}
}
}
Alternative Approach
If all you want to do is allow your script to run some code that interacts with your service, you can see how this is actually extremely trivial given all the points made above. Thus to concisely express what might be the intent of your original code, all you'd have to do is:
var result = session.Execute<bool>("InjectedService.SomeOtherMethod()");
The code passed in here is simply the body of the service method in the long-winded first example. Quite possibly this is all you need or want.

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