CheapHelpers.Models 1.0.0

CheapHelpers

A collection of C# utility classes and extension methods for common development tasks.

Latest Additions

IO Utilities

TemporaryFileManager

Manages temporary files and directories with automatic cleanup. Ensures proper cleanup even on exceptions or cancellation.

Features:

• Automatic cleanup via IDisposable pattern
• Track multiple directories and files
• Get directory size with human-readable formatting
• Exception-safe cleanup
• Configurable application name for temp directory organization

Process Utilities

ProcessExecutor

Generic process execution wrapper with progress tracking, timeout handling, and cancellation support.

Features:

• Basic process execution with configurable options
• Process piping (stdout to stdin)
• Regex-based progress extraction with predefined patterns
• Timeout handling with automatic cleanup
• Full cancellation support
• Captured output (stdout/stderr)
• Environment variable configuration

Core Features

Packages

Package	Version	Description
CheapHelpers		Core utilities, extensions, and helpers
CheapHelpers.Models		Shared data models and DTOs
CheapHelpers.EF		Entity Framework repository pattern
CheapHelpers.Services		Business services and integrations
CheapHelpers.Blazor		Blazor components and UI utilities

Services

Email Service with Templates

Package: CheapHelpers.Services

Full-featured email service with Fluid/Liquid template engine support.

Features:

• MailKit-based SMTP with attachment support
• Template engine with master templates and partials
• Development mode (auto-redirect to dev emails)
• Multiple recipients, CC/BCC support
• Embedded resource template loading

XmlService

Package: CheapHelpers.Services

XML serialization supporting both dynamic objects and strongly-typed models.

Features:

• Dynamic object serialization (ExpandoObject support)
• Strongly-typed serialization/deserialization
• File and string-based operations
• Async I/O operations

PDF & Document Services

Package: CheapHelpers.Services

• PdfOptimizationService: Dual optimization (iLovePDF API + iText fallback)
• UblService: UBL 2.0 (Universal Business Language) order document generation
• PdfTemplateService: Template-based PDF generation

Security

EncryptionHelper

Package: CheapHelpers

Machine-specific AES-256-CBC encryption with PBKDF2 key derivation.

Features:

• Deterministic key generation based on machine/user/OS
• Fixed IV or random IV per operation
• Thread-safe lazy initialization
• Static Encrypt() / Decrypt() methods

FileHelper

Package: CheapHelpers

Secure filename generation to prevent overwrite attacks.

Features:

• GetTrustedFileName(): Generate secure filenames with GUID suffixes
• GetTrustedFileNameFromPath(): Secure naming from full paths
• GetTrustedFileNameFromTempPath(): Secure temp file handling

Database

BaseRepo

Package: CheapHelpers.EF

Generic repository pattern with comprehensive CRUD operations.

Features:

• Full async CRUD operations with cancellation support
• Pagination support with PaginatedList<T>
• Bulk operations (AddRange, UpdateRange, DeleteRange)
• Query helpers (GetWhere, CountWhere, Exists)
• No-tracking queries for read operations
• Generic constraints (IEntityId, IEntityCode)

Extension Methods

String Extensions

• Capitalize(): Capitalize first letter
• IsDigitsOnly(): Validate digit-only strings
• ToInternationalPhoneNumber(): Convert to international format (NL/BE support)
• ToShortString(): Truncate with ellipsis

DateTime Extensions

• GetDateTime(): Timezone conversion (bidirectional)
• GetWorkingDays(): Calculate business days with exclusions

Collection Extensions

• Replace<T>(): Replace items with predicates
• ToBindingList() / ToObservableCollection(): WPF/UI binding
• IsNullOrEmpty(): Safe null/empty check

Core Extensions

• ToJson<T>() / FromJson<T>(): JSON serialization with loop handling
• DeepClone<T>(): Deep object cloning via JSON
• AddQueryParm(): URI query string building

Blazor Utilities

DownloadHelper

Package: CheapHelpers.Blazor

Client-side file downloads with multiple formats.

Features:

• HTML-to-image conversion (PNG/JPG via JS interop)
• Base64 image downloads
• File streaming downloads
• Auto-delete after download option

ClipboardService

Package: CheapHelpers.Blazor

Async clipboard operations via JS interop.

Installation

Via NuGet Package Manager

# Core utilities and extensions
dotnet add package CheapHelpers

# Entity Framework repository pattern
dotnet add package CheapHelpers.EF

# Business services (email, PDF, Azure)
dotnet add package CheapHelpers.Services

# Blazor components and UI utilities
dotnet add package CheapHelpers.Blazor

# Shared models and DTOs
dotnet add package CheapHelpers.Models

Via Package Manager Console (Visual Studio)

Install-Package CheapHelpers
Install-Package CheapHelpers.EF
Install-Package CheapHelpers.Services
Install-Package CheapHelpers.Blazor
Install-Package CheapHelpers.Models

Via Project Reference (for development)

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..\CheapHelpers\CheapHelpers\CheapHelpers.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

Quick Start

TemporaryFileManager

using CheapHelpers.IO;

// Default: uses "CheapHelpers" as application name
using var tempManager = new TemporaryFileManager();

// Or specify custom application name for organization
// using var tempManager = new TemporaryFileManager(applicationName: "MyApp");

var workDir = tempManager.CreateTempDirectory("processing");
var outputFile = tempManager.CreateTempFile("output.mp4");

// Use the paths...
// Cleanup happens automatically on dispose

ProcessExecutor

using CheapHelpers.Process;

var result = await ProcessExecutor.ExecuteAsync(
    executable: "ffmpeg",
    arguments: "-i input.mp4 output.mp4",
    options: new ProcessExecutorOptions
    {
        Timeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10),
        ProgressPatterns = ProgressPattern.GetCommonPatterns()
    },
    progress: new Progress<ProcessProgress>(p =>
        Debug.WriteLine($"Progress: {p.Percentage:F2}%")));

if (result.Success)
{
    Debug.WriteLine($"Completed in {result.Duration}");
}

XmlService

using CheapHelpers.Services.DataExchange.Xml;

// Strongly-typed serialization
var myObject = new MyModel { Name = "Test", Value = 123 };
await xmlService.SerializeAsync("output.xml", myObject);

// Deserialization
var loaded = await xmlService.DeserializeAsync<MyModel>("output.xml");

EncryptionHelper

using CheapHelpers.Helpers.Encryption;

// Encrypt sensitive data (machine-specific key)
string encrypted = EncryptionHelper.Encrypt("sensitive data");

// Decrypt
string decrypted = EncryptionHelper.Decrypt(encrypted);

// Enhanced security with random IV per operation
string encryptedSecure = EncryptionHelper.EncryptWithRandomIV("top secret");
string decryptedSecure = EncryptionHelper.DecryptWithRandomIV(encryptedSecure);

BaseRepo

using CheapHelpers.EF.Repositories;

public class ProductRepo : BaseRepo<Product, MyDbContext>
{
    public ProductRepo(MyDbContext context) : base(context) { }
}

// Usage
var products = await productRepo.GetAllPaginatedAsync(pageIndex: 1, pageSize: 20);
var activeProducts = await productRepo.GetWhereAsync(p => p.IsActive);
await productRepo.AddAsync(newProduct);

String Extensions

using CheapHelpers.Extensions;

"hello world".Capitalize();  // "Hello world"
"0474123456".ToInternationalPhoneNumber("BE");  // "+32474123456"
"Very long text...".ToShortString(10);  // "Very lo..."

Requirements

• .NET 10.0 or later
• C# 14.0 or later

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/CheapNud/CheapHelpers.git
cd CheapHelpers
dotnet restore
dotnet build

Running Tests

dotnet test

Creating a Release

Releases are automatically published to NuGet.org when a version tag is pushed:

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

License

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