DotNetConsoleStuff

A .NET console app (targeting .NET Framework 4.6.2) that uses configuration, dependency injection and logging as by default used in ASP.NET Core, using the separately available NuGet packages.

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Setup

• Create solution in src directory
  • Add .gitignore and .editorconfig
  • Add src solution directory
  • Add console app project (.NET Core) and adapt targeting to net462
• Show how an ASP.NET Core project looks
• Add App.config + transforms + update csproj for nesting
  • Transforms are not used by default for App.config. Your CD system can use another way (e.g. replacing a string)

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Configuration

• Add appsettings.json file + environment specific + update csproj for nesting and CopyToOutputDirectory
  • Add a dummy message property to the appsettings
• Add reference to System.Configuration
• Add following package references:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Binder" Version="2.1.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json" Version="2.1.1" />

Startup configuration

• Create static Startup class
  • Create public method void Configure()
  • Create private method IConfiguration SetupConfiguration()
  • Implement SetupConfiguration method
  • Temporarily Console.WriteLine() message property (inside Configure() method)
  • Call Startup in Program.Main()
  • Run app
  • Edit EnvironmentName and rerun (also with an unknown value) (Rebuild can be necessary!)

Dependency injection

• Using the default DI provider from Microsoft here, but others (like Autofac, StructureMap, ...) can of course be used as well
• Add following package reference:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection" Version="2.1.1" />

• Add an IApplication interface and an Application class in the App folder
  • These are the main entry point of the app and will further resolve any other dependencies by themselves
  • Add a method void Run()
• Add an IAppSettings interface and an AppSettings class in the App folder
  • They will match our specified properties in appsettings.json as a strongly typed model, and are injectable
  • Add a property string Message { get; }
    • Also add a set in the class!
• Inject the IAppSettings in the constructor of Application + add property
  • Write the AppSettings message in Application.Run() using Console.WriteLine()
  • Remove the Console.WriteLine() in the Startup class

Startup configuration

• Create private method IServiceProvider ConfigureDependencyInjection(IConfiguration configuration)
  • Create new ServiceCollection
  • Get the AppSettings from the Configuration object and register the instance as a singleton
  • Register Application as a scoped service
  • Return the built IServiceProvider object, and specify to validate scopes
  • Call the DI method in Startup.Configure() and return the IServiceProvider object.
• In Program.Main(), create a scope from the IServiceProvider returned from the Startup.Configure() method
  • Resolve the IApplication from the scope as a RequiredService
  • Call the Run() method
  • Run the app (with different environment names) (Rebuild can be necessary!)

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Logging (if there's still enthusiasm :) )

• Using Serilog for logging implementation, but the abstract ILogger<> from Microsoft to call logging methods
• Add following package reference:

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.Extensions.Logging.Abstractions" Version="2.1.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Serilog" Version="2.7.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Serilog.Extensions.Logging" Version="2.0.2" />
<PackageReference Include="Serilog.Sinks.Console" Version="3.1.1" />

• Configure the logger in the Startup class
  • AddLogging() on the ServiceCollection
  • Configure Serilog to WriteTo.Console()
• Inject ILogger<Application> in the constructor of Application + add property
  • Replace Console.WriteLine() by a call on the logger
• Run the app (with different environment names) (Rebuild can be necessary!)