HL7lite 2.0.0-rc.1

HL7lite

Simple, lightweight HL7 v2.x parsing and manipulation for .NET

Quick Start

using HL7lite;
using HL7lite.Fluent;

// Parse a message
var hl7String = @"MSH|^~\&|SENDER|FACILITY|RECEIVER|FACILITY|20240101120000||ADT^A01|123456|P|2.5
PID|||12345||Doe^John^Middle||19800315|M|||123 Main St^Apt 4B^City^ST^12345";
var result = hl7String.TryParse();
if (!result.IsSuccess) {
    Console.WriteLine($"Parse failed: {result.ErrorMessage}");
    return;
}
var message = result.Message;

// Access fields using the Fluent API
var patientName = message.PID[5][1].Value;        // "Doe"
var dateOfBirth = message.PID[7].Value;           // "19800315"

// Modify values with fluent chaining
message.PID[5].SetComponents("Smith", "Jane", "Marie")
    .Field(7).Set("19850315")
    .Field(8).Set("M")
    .Field(13).Repetitions.Add("555-1234")
                          .Add("555-5678");

// Create new segments with fluent building
var obx = message.Segments("OBX").Add()
    .Field(1).Set("1")
    .Field(2).Set("NM")
    .Field(3).Set("GLUCOSE")
    .Field(5).Set("120");

Key Features

• 🎯 Modern Fluent API - Intuitive, chainable methods for message manipulation
• 🛡️ Never Throws - Returns empty values instead of throwing exceptions
• 🔧 Auto-creation - Automatically creates missing segments and fields
• ⚡ High Performance - Efficient parsing without schema validation overhead
• 📦 Zero Dependencies - Lightweight with minimal footprint

Fluent API Examples

Reading Values

// Simple field access
string patientId = message.PID[3].Value;

// Component access
string lastName = message.PID[5][1].Value;
string firstName = message.PID[5][2].Value;

// Safe access (never throws)
string value = message.ZZZ[999].Value;  // Returns empty string if segment doesn't exist

// Field repetitions
string firstId = message.PID[3].Repetition(1).Value;
string secondId = message.PID[3].Repetition(2).Value;

Setting Values

// Set field value
message.PID[3].Set("12345");

// Set with components
message.PID[5].SetComponents("Smith", "John", "M");

// Add field repetitions with chaining
message.PID[13].Repetitions.Add("555-1234")
                           .Add("555-5678");

// Pure navigation with method chaining
message.PID[5].SetComponents("Johnson", "Robert")
    .Field(7).Set("19850315")
    .Field(8).Set("M")
    .Field(11).SetComponents("123 Main St", "Boston", "MA");

Working with Segments

// Add segments with fluent building
var dg1 = message.Segments("DG1").Add()
    .Field(1).Set("1")
    .Field(3).SetComponents("I10", "Essential Hypertension")
    .Field(6).Set("F");

// Query segments with LINQ
var diagnoses = message.Segments("DG1")
    .Where(d => d[6].Value == "F")
    .Select(d => d[3][2].Value);

// Create complete message from scratch
var newMessage = FluentMessage.Create();
newMessage.CreateMSH
    .Sender("HIS", "HOSPITAL")
    .Receiver("LAB", "LABORATORY")
    .MessageType("ADT^A01")
    .AutoControlId()
    .Build();

newMessage.Segments("PID").Add()
    .Field(3).Set("12345")
    .Field(5).SetComponents("Smith", "John", "M")
    .Field(7).Set("19850315");

Path-based Access

// Get values using path syntax
string value = message.Path("PID.5.1").Value;

// Set values using paths
message.Path("PID.5.1").Set("Smith");
message.Path("OBX.5").Set("120");

// Safe encoding - Set() automatically handles special characters
message.Path("PID.5").Set("Smith & Jones Law Firm");  // & automatically encoded
message.Path("OBX.5").Set("https://lab.com/result?id=123&type=CBC");  // & in URL encoded

// Conditional path operations
message.Path("PID.6").SetIf("MAIDEN", hasMiddleName);

Documentation & Support

• Full Documentation: https://github.com/domibies/HL7lite
• API Reference: https://github.com/domibies/HL7lite#api-reference
• Issues & Feedback: https://github.com/domibies/HL7lite/issues
• Release Notes: https://github.com/domibies/HL7lite/releases

License

MIT License - see https://github.com/domibies/HL7lite/blob/master/LICENSE.txt