CDS.FluentHtmlReports 1.0.5

CDS.FluentHtmlReports

A zero-dependency .NET library for generating self-contained HTML reports using a fluent API. No JavaScript, no external CSS, no build tools — just clean HTML you can open in any browser, email as an attachment, or print to PDF.

Why?

Sometimes you need to produce a professional-looking report from C# without pulling in a heavyweight reporting framework, a headless browser, or a JavaScript bundler. CDS.FluentHtmlReports generates a single .html file that:

• ✅ Opens instantly in any browser
• ✅ Emails as a self-contained attachment
• ✅ Prints cleanly to PDF (Ctrl+P)
• ✅ Contains inline SVG charts — no image files
• ✅ Requires zero external dependencies

Installation

dotnet add package CDS.FluentHtmlReports

Targets: .NET 8 (LTS) and .NET 10+

Quick Start

using CDS.FluentHtmlReports;

var teamMembers = new[]
{
    new { Name = "Alice Johnson", Role = "Backend", TasksCompleted = 23, Status = "Active" },
    new { Name = "Bob Smith",     Role = "Frontend", TasksCompleted = 19, Status = "Active" },
    new { Name = "Carol White",   Role = "QA",       TasksCompleted = 31, Status = "Active" }
};

string html = Generator
    .Create("Weekly Team Report")

    .AddParagraph("Here's a quick overview of this week's progress for the development team.")

    .AddLabelValueRow([
        ("Week Ending", DateTime.Now.ToString("MMM dd, yyyy")),
        ("Team", "Engineering"),
        ("Sprint", "Sprint 24")
    ])

    .AddLine()

    .AddHeading("Team Summary")
    .AddKpiCards([
        ("Total Tasks", "73"),
        ("Completed", "68"),
        ("In Progress", "5"),
        ("Success Rate", "93%")
    ])

    .AddLine()

    .AddHeading("Team Members")
    .AddTable(TableFixedHeader.Header, teamMembers)

    .AddLine()

    .AddHeading("Task Completion by Role")
    .AddVerticalBarChart("Tasks Completed This Week", [
        ("Backend", 23),
        ("Frontend", 19),
        ("QA", 31)
    ])

    .AddLine()

    .AddAlert(AlertLevel.Success, "All sprint goals achieved! Great work team! 🎉")

    .AddFooter("Generated with CDS.FluentHtmlReports — {timestamp}")
    .Generate();

File.WriteAllText("report.html", html);

That's it — one fluent chain produces a complete, styled HTML document.

Features

Text & Content

Tables

Header modes: TableFixedHeader.None, .Header, .FirstColumn, .Both

Charts (SVG)

All charts render as inline SVG — no JavaScript, no external images.

Layout

Configuration

// Option 1: Pass an options object
.WithOptions(new ReportOptions
{
    ChartWidthPercent = 75,
    ChartHeight = 300,
    ChartAlignment = ChartAlignment.Center
})

// Option 2: Configure via lambda
.WithOptions(o => o.ChartWidthPercent = 60)

How It Works

1. Generator.Create("Title") — starts a new HTML document with embedded CSS
2. Chain .Add*() methods — each appends HTML to an internal StringBuilder
3. .Generate() — closes the document and returns the complete HTML string

The output is a single self-contained HTML file with:

• An embedded stylesheet (no external CSS)
• Inline SVG for all charts (no images or JavaScript)
• Print-friendly @media print rules

There are no dependencies beyond the .NET Base Class Library.

Architecture

Generator              Public fluent facade — the only class consumers interact with
├── TextRenderer       Headings, paragraphs, lists, alerts, layout, etc.
├── TableRenderer      Reflection-based table generation
├── ChartRenderer      SVG chart rendering (bar, pie, donut, line)
└── HtmlHelpers        Shared HTML encoding utility

All renderers are internal — the public API surface is just Generator, ReportOptions, and a handful of enums.

Running the Demos

The ConsoleTest project generates a suite of demo reports:

cd ConsoleTest
dotnet run

This creates several .html files in your Downloads folder and opens the index in your browser. The demos cover every feature and serve as living documentation.

Building

dotnet build

Packing for NuGet

dotnet pack -c Release

The .nupkg will be in CDS.FluentHtmlReports/bin/Release/.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)
3. Make your changes — follow the coding guidelines in .github/copilot-instructions.md
4. Ensure dotnet build succeeds
5. Submit a pull request

License

MIT © Carpe Diem Systems