DTOMaker.Models 0.65.1-generics

Warning: This is pre-release software under active development. Breaking changes may occur.

• DTOMaker
  • Workflow
• Included Packages
  • DTOMaker.Models
  • DTOMaker.JsonNewtonSoft
  • DTOMaker.MessagePack
  • DTOMaker.Models.MessagePack
  • DTOMaker.MemBlocks
  • DTOMaker.Models.MemBlocks
  • DTOMaker.CSPoco
  • DTOMaker.CSRecord (.NET 8+)
  • DTOMaker.Runtime
• Model features
  • MemBlocks features
• !Limitations
  • Single compilation unit
• Development
  • In progress
  • Coming soon
  • Coming later

DTOMaker

This repo includes model-driven compile-time source generators for quickly creating DTOs (Data Transport Objects) supporting the following serialization schemes:

• MessagePack
• MemBlocks
• JSON (NewtonSoft)

and related POCOs (Plain Old C# Objects).

Workflow

---
title: Workflow
---
flowchart LR
    def(Define models e.g. IMyDTO.cs)
    ref1(Reference DTOMaker.Models.*)
    ref2(Reference DTOMaker.Runtime.*)
    ref3(Reference one or more source generators e.g. DTOMaker.MessagePack)
    bld(VS/Code/MSBuild)
    pkg(Assembly)
    ref1-->def
    def-->ref2
    def-->ref3
    ref2-->bld
    ref3-->bld
    bld-->pkg

Models are defined as C# interfaces with additional attributes. Here's a trivial example:

[Entity][Id(1)]
public interface IMyFirstDTO
{
    [Member(1)] string Name { get; }
}

If using the MessagePack source generator, the following implmentation will be generated (simplified):

[MessagePackObject]
public sealed class MyFirstDTO : EntityBase, IMyFirstDTO, IEquatable<MyFirstDTO>
{
    [Key(1)] string Name { get; set; }
}

Included Packages

This repo includes the following packages:

DTOMaker.Models

Attributes for defining simple data models as interfaces in C#.

DTOMaker.JsonNewtonSoft

A source generator that creates DTOs (Data Transport Objects) that are serializable to JSON using the Newtonsoft.Json package.

DTOMaker.MessagePack

A source generator that creates MessagePack DTOs (Data Transport Objects). See https://github.com/MessagePack-CSharp/MessagePack-CSharp.

DTOMaker.Models.MessagePack

Additional attributes used by the DTOMaker.MessagePack source generator, to manage MessagePack entity and member keys.

DTOMaker.MemBlocks

Generates DTOs whose internal data is a single memory block (Memory<byte>). Property getters and setters decode and encode values directly to the block with little-endian (default) or big-endian byte ordering.

DTOMaker.Models.MemBlocks

Additional attributes used by the DTOMaker.MemBlocks source generator, to manage entity and member memory layout.

DTOMaker.CSPoco

Generates basic POCOs (Plain Old C# Objects) that implement the model interfaces.

DTOMaker.CSRecord (.NET 8+)

Generates C# records that implement the model interfaces.

DTOMaker.Runtime

Common types used at runtime by DTOMaker generated entities.

Model features

• Member value types: Boolean, S/Byte, U/Int16/32/64/128, Double, Single, Half, Char, Guid, Decimal
• String member types.
• Binary member types:
  • Octets (model interfaces, CSPoco, CSRecord, MemBlocks)
  • ReadOnlyMemory<byte> (MessagePack)
  • byte[] (JsonNewtonSoft)
• polymorphic types
• entity members
• Built-in freezability (mutable until frozen) support
• [Obsolete] members
• Fixed length arrays of above value types.
• IEquatable<T> support
• Templates as testable code, template-to-generator processing.

MemBlocks features

• auto-embedded string, binary and entity members when encoded < 63 bytes.
• fixed-length string and binary member types.

!Limitations

Single compilation unit

All models and generated DTOs are contained within a single assembly. Models cannot reference types in other projects or packages (other than native or built-in types). Generated classes are partial, which can help you mitigate the single assembly constraint.

Development

In progress

• custom struct members (to avoid primitive obsession)
• generic/open types

Coming soon

• Json (System.Text) generator
• upgrade source generators to IIncrementalGenerator
• global interface equality comparer
• reservation (hidden members)
• Orleans generator
• ProtobufNet 3.0 generator
• MessagePack 3.x generator
• NetStrux generator
• MemBlocks compact layout method
• Enum data types. Workaround - enums can be implemented with an underlying integer property and a cast.
• MemBlocks nullable types. Workaround - T? can be implemented with a pair of members (Boolean, T).

Coming later

• Google Protobuf .proto generation
• model.json generation
• command-line alternative
• variable length arrays
• logical value equality
• Rune member types