Showing posts with label .NET 9. Show all posts
Showing posts with label .NET 9. Show all posts

Saturday, 18 January 2025

Monitoring User Secrets inside Blazor

This article shows how you can add User Secrets for a Blazor app, or other related .NET client technology supporting them. User secrets are stored on the individual computer, so one do not have to expose them to others. They can still be shared between different people if they are told what the secrets are, but is practical in many cases where one for example do not want to expose the secrets such as a password, by checking it into
source code repositories. This is due to the fact as mentioned that the user secrets are as noted saved on the individual computer.

User secrets was added in .NET Core 1.0, already released in 2016. Not all developers are familiar with them. Inside Visual Studio 2022, you can right click on the Project of a solution and choose Manage User Secrets. When you choose that option, a file called secrets.json is opened. The file location for this file is shown if you hover over the file. The file location is saved here:

  
    %APPDATA%\Microsoft\UserSecrets\<user_secrets_id>\secrets.json
  
  
You can find the id here, the user_secrets_id, inside the project file (the .csproj file).
Example of such a setting below:
  
  <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net8.0</TargetFramework>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <UserSecretsId>339fab44-57cf-400c-89f9-46e037bb0392</UserSecretsId>
  </PropertyGroup>

</Project>

  

Let's first look at the way we can set up user secrets inside a startup file for the application. Note the usage of reloadOnChange set to true. And adding the user secrets as a singleton service wrapped inside IOptionsMonitor.

Program.cs



builder.Configuration.Sources.Clear();
builder.Configuration
        .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json", optional: false, reloadOnChange: true)
        .AddJsonFile($"appsettings.{builder.Environment.EnvironmentName}.json", optional: true, reloadOnChange: true)
        .AddUserSecrets(Assembly.GetEntryAssembly()!, optional:false, reloadOnChange: true)
        .AddEnvironmentVariables();

builder.Services.Configure<ModelSecrets>(builder.Configuration.GetSection("ModelSecrets"));
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IOptionsMonitor<ModelSecrets>>, OptionsMonitor<ModelSecrets>>();



The Model secrets class looks like the following.



namespace StoringSecrets
{
    public class ModelSecrets
    {
        public string ApiKey { get; set; } = string.Empty;
    }
}


Home.razor.cs

Let's then look how we can fetch values from the user secrets. The code file for a file Home.razor is put in a file of its own, Home.razor.cs


using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Options;

namespace ToreAurstadIt.StoringSecrets.Components.Pages
{
    public partial class Home
    {
        [Inject]
        public required IOptionsMonitor<ModelSecrets> ModelSecretsMonitor { get; set; }

        public ModelSecrets? ModelSecrets  { get; set; }

        protected override async Task OnInitializedAsync()
        {
            ModelSecrets = ModelSecretsMonitor.CurrentValue;
            ModelSecretsMonitor.OnChange(updatedSecrets =>
            {
                ModelSecrets = updatedSecrets;
                InvokeAsync(StateHasChanged);

            });
            await Task.CompletedTask;
        }
    }
}

Note that IOptionsMonitor<ModelSecrets> is injected here and that in the OnInitializedAsync method, the injected value uses the OnChange method and and action callback then sets the value of the ModelSecrets and calls InvokeAsync method with StateHasChanged. We output the CurrentValue into the razor view of the Blazor app.

Home.razor



@page "/"

<PageTitle>Home</PageTitle>

<h1>Hello, world!</h1>

Welcome to your new app.

Your user secret is: 
<div>
    @ModelSecrets?.ApiKey
</div>


The secret.json file looks like this:

secrets.json



{
  "ModelSecrets": {
    "ApiKey": "SAMPLE_VALUE_UPDATE_9"
  }
}


A small app shows how this can be done, by changing the user secrets file and then reloading the page, changes should be immediately seen:

Saturday, 4 January 2025

Slider component for Blazor

I have added a Blazor component for Blazor, which uses INPUT of type range and additional CSS styling for more flexible setup of look and feel. The Blazor component is available on Github in my repo here:

https://github.com/toreaurstadboss/BlazorSlider

Blazor lib component

This repository contains Blazor lib Slider component that shows an input of type 'range'.

The slider got default horizontal layout, where the minimum value for the slider is shown to the most left of the scale, which goes along the x-axis for the slider got towards higher values and the maximum value is the value to the most right. The slider x-axis goes along the 'slider track'.

The value of the slider is indicated by the 'slider thumb'. Below the slider are shown 'tick marks', which are controlled by the Minimum and Maximum values and StepSize. Note that the supported data types are the data types that are IConvertible and struct, and the code expects types that can be converted to double. You can use integers for example, but also decimals or floats and so on. In addition, enums can be used, but it works only if your enum got consecutive values, for example 0,1,2,3,4 . The best results are if these consecutive values got the same StepSize. To start using the Blazor slider, add this using in your .razor file where you want to use the component.
 
@using BlazorSliderLib

Please note that the slider has been tested using Bootstrap, more specifically this version:

"bootstrap@5.3.3"
Here is sample markup you can add to test out the Blazor slider (3 sliders are rendered using a custom model and the updated values are shown in labels below :

    <div class="container"> 

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4">
                <p><b>EQ5D-5L question 1.</b> <br />Mobility. Ability to walk.</p>
                <BlazorSliderLib.Slider T="Eq5dWalk" UseAlternateStyle="AlternateStyle.AlternateStyleInverseColorScale" Title="Ability to walk" ValueChanged="@((e) => UpdateEq5dQ1(e))"
                MinimumDescription="No Problems = The best ability to walk you can imagine" MaximumDescription="Incapable = The worst ability to walk you can imagine" />
            </div>
        </div>

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4">
                <p><b>EQ5D-5L question 6.</b> <br />We would like to how good or bad your health is TODAY.</p>
            </div>
        </div>

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4">
                <BlazorSliderLib.Slider T="int" UseAlternateStyle="AlternateStyle.AlternateStyle" Minimum="0" Maximum="100" @bind-Value="@(Model.Data.Eq5dq6)" Stepsize="5" Title="Your health today"
                MinimumDescription="0 = The worst health you can imagine" MaximumDescription="100 = The best health you can imagine" />
            </div>
        </div>

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4">
                <p><b>EQ5D-5L question 6.</b> <br />We would like to how good or bad your health is TODAY. V2 field.</p>
            </div>
        </div>

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4">
                <BlazorSliderLib.Slider T="int" Minimum="0" Maximum="100" ValueChanged="@((e) => UpdateEq5dq6V2(e))" Stepsize="5" Title="Your health today (v2 field)"
                MinimumDescription="0 = The worst health you can imagine" MaximumDescription="100 = The best health you can imagine" />
            </div>
        </div>

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4">
                <p>Value of Model.Data.Eq5dq1</p>
                @Model.Data.Eq5dq1
            </div>
        </div>

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4"> <p>Value of Model.Data.Eq5d6</p>
                @Model.Data.Eq5dq6 
            </div> 
        </div>

        <div class="row">
            <div class="form-control col-md-4">
                <p>Value of Model.Data.Eq5d6V2</p>
                @Model.Data.Eq5dq6V2
            </div>
        </div>

    </div>

The different setup of sliders

The slider is set up either with an alternate style or using the default styling for sliders, that is, the slider uses an input type of 'range' and the default documented styling on Mozilla Developer Network (MDN) to render a Blazor slider. In addition, it is possible to set up the alternate style to use a inverted color range where higher values will get a reddish color and lower values will get a greenish color. The standard alternate style will show greenish colors for higher values. The following screenshot shows the possible styling that is possible. Note that the default styling is shown in the slider at the bottom, which will render a bit different in different browsers. In Chrome for example, the slider will render with a bluish color. In Edge Chromium, a grayish color is used for the 'slider tick' and 'slider thumb'. Screenshots showing the sliders: The following parameters can be used:
Title
Required. The title is shown below the slider component and centered horizontally along the center of the x-axis which the slider is oriented.
Value
The value of the slider. It can be data bound using either the @bind-Value directive attribute that supports two-way data binding. You can instead use the @ValueChanged event callback, if desired.
Minimum
The minimum value along the slider. It is default set to 0 for numbers. For enums, the lowest value is chosen of the enum (minimum enum alternative, converted to double internally).
Maximum
The maximum value along the slider. It is default set to 100 for numbers. For enums, the higheset value is chosen of the enum (maximum enum alternative, converted to double internally).
Stepsize
The step size for the slider. It is default set to 5 for numbers. For enums, it is set to 1. (note that internally the slider must use double values to work with the _tickmarks_, which expects double values).
ShowTickmarks
Shows tick marks for slider. It is default set to 'true'. Tick marks are generated from the values of Minimum, Maximum and StepSize.
MinimumDescription
Shows additionally description for the minimum value, shown as a small label below the slider. It will only be shown in the value is not empty.
UseAlternateStyle
If the UseAlternateStyle is set to either AlternateStyle and AlternateStyleInverseColorScale, alternate styling is used.

CSS rules to enable the slider

Actually, it is necessary to define a set of CSS rules to make the slider work. The slider's css rules are defined in two different files.

Default CSS rules

`Slider.css` The CSS rules below are taken from MDN Mozilla Developer Network page for the input type 'range' control. Input type 'range' control MDN article:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Element/input/range

Additional settings are set up. The width is set to 100% so the slider can get as much horizontal space as possible and 'stretch'. There are also basic styles set up for both the tick label and datalist.The datalist is the tickmarks for the slider. The tick marks are automatically generated for the slider.


.sliderv2
{
    width:100%;
}

.sliderv2Label {
    font-weight: 400;
    text-align: center;
    left: 50%;
    font-size:0.7em;
    font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, margin-bottom: 2px;
}

datalist {
    display: flex;
    flex-direction: column;
    justify-content: space-between;
    writing-mode: vertical-lr;
    width: 100%;
}

.tick-label {

    justify-content: space-between;
    font-size:0.6em;

    top: 20px; /* Adjust this value as needed */
}

input[type="range"] {
    width: 100%;
    margin: 0;
}


Alternate CSS rules

`SliderAlternate.css` The alternate CSS rules are setting up additional styling, where color encoding is used for the 'slider track' where higher values along the 'slider track' get a more 'greenish color', while lower values gets 'reddish values'. It is possible to set up the inverse color encoding here, with higher values getting 'reddish color'. Lower values gets more 'greenish colors' in this setup.


.alternate-style input[type="range"] {
    -webkit-appearance: none; /* Remove default styling */
    width: 100%;
    height: 8px;
    background: #ddd;
    outline: none;
    opacity: 0.7;
    transition: opacity .2s;
}

    .alternate-style input[type="range"]:hover {
        opacity: 1;
    }

    .alternate-style input[type="range"]::-webkit-slider-runnable-track {
        width: 100%;
        height: 8px;
        background: linear-gradient(to left, #A5D6A7, #FFF9C4, #FFCDD2); /* More desaturated gradient color */
        border: none;
        border-radius: 3px;
    }

        .alternate-style-inverse-colorscale input[type="range"]::-webkit-slider-runnable-track {
            background: linear-gradient(to right, #A5D6A7, #FFF9C4, #FFCDD2) !important; /* More desaturated gradient color, inverted color range */
        }


.alternate-style input[type="range"]::-webkit-slider-thumb {
    -webkit-appearance: none; /* Remove default styling */
    appearance: none;
    width: 25px;
    height: 25px;
    background: #2E7D32; /* Even darker green thumb color */
    cursor: pointer;
    border-radius: 50%;
    margin-top: -15px !important; /* Move the thumb up */
}

    .alternate-style input[type="range"]::-moz-range-track {
        width: 100%;
        height: 8px;
        background: linear-gradient(to left, #A5D6A7, #FFF9C4, #FFCDD2); /* More desaturated gradient color */
        border: none;
        border-radius: 3px;
    }

        .alternate-style-inverse-colorscale input[type="range"]::-moz-range-track {
            background: linear-gradient(to right, #A5D6A7, #FFF9C4, #FFCDD2 !important; /* More desaturated gradient color, inverted color range */
        }

    .alternate-style input[type="range"]::-moz-range-thumb {
        width: 25px;
        height: 25px;
        background: #2E7D32; /* Even darker green thumb color */
        cursor: pointer;
        border-radius: 50%;
        transform: translateY(-15px); /* Move the thumb up */
    }


The implementation for the Blazor slider looks like this, in the codebehind file for the Slider:


using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components;

namespace BlazorSliderLib
{

    /// <summary>
    /// Slider to be used in Blazor. Uses input type='range' with HTML5 element datalist and custom css to show a slider.
    /// To add tick marks, set the <see cref="ShowTickmarks"/> to true (this is default)
    /// </summary>
    /// <typeparam name="T"></typeparam>
    public partial class Slider<T> : ComponentBase
        where T : struct, IComparable
    {

        /// <summary>
        /// Initial value to set to the slider, data bound so it can also be read out
        /// </summary>
        [Parameter]
        public T Value { get; set; }

        public double ValueAsDouble { get; set; }

        public double GetValueAsDouble()
        {
            if (typeof(T).IsEnum)
            {
                if (_isInitialized)
                {
                    var e = _enumValues.FirstOrDefault(v => Convert.ToDouble(v).Equals(Convert.ToDouble(Value)));
                    return Convert.ToDouble(Convert.ChangeType(Value, typeof(int)));
                }
                else
                {
                    return 0;
                }
            }
            else
            {
                return Convert.ToDouble(Value);
            }
        }        

        [Parameter, EditorRequired]
        public required string Title { get; set; }

        [Parameter]
        public string? MinimumDescription { get; set; }

        [Parameter]
        public string? MaximumDescription { get; set; }

        [Parameter]
        public double Minimum { get; set; } = typeof(T).IsEnum ? Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)).Cast<int>().Select(e => Convert.ToDouble(e)).Min() : 0.0;

        [Parameter]
        public double Maximum { get; set; } = typeof(T).IsEnum ? Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)).Cast<int>().Select(e => Convert.ToDouble(e)).Max() : 100.0;

        [Parameter]
        public double? Stepsize { get; set; } = typeof(T).IsEnum ? 1 : 5.0;

        [Parameter]
        public bool ShowTickmarks { get; set; } = true;

        [Parameter]
        public AlternateStyle UseAlternateStyle { get; set; } = AlternateStyle.None;

        [Parameter]
        public EventCallback<T> ValueChanged { get; set; }

        public List<double> Tickmarks { get; set; } = new List<double>();

        private List<T> _enumValues { get; set; } = new List<T>();

        private bool _isInitialized = false;

        private async Task OnValueChanged(ChangeEventArgs e)
        {
            if (e.Value == null)
            {
                return;
            }
            if (typeof(T).IsEnum && e.Value != null)
            {
                var enumValue = _enumValues.FirstOrDefault(v => Convert.ToDouble(v).Equals(Convert.ToDouble(e.Value))); 
                if (Enum.TryParse(typeof(T), enumValue.ToString(), out _)) {
                    Value = enumValue; //check that it was a non-null value set from the slider
                }
                else
                {
                    return; //if we cannot handle the enum value set, do not process further
                }
            }
            else
            {
                Value = (T)Convert.ChangeType(e.Value!, typeof(T));
            }

            ValueAsDouble = GetValueAsDouble();

            await ValueChanged.InvokeAsync(Value);
        }


        private string TickmarksId = "ticksmarks_" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N");

        protected override async Task OnParametersSetAsync()
        {
            if (_isInitialized)
            {
                return ; //initialize ONCE 
            }

            if (!typeof(T).IsEnum && Value.CompareTo(0) == 0)
            {
                Value = (T)Convert.ChangeType((Convert.ToDouble(Maximum) - Convert.ToDouble(Minimum)) / 2, typeof(T));
                ValueAsDouble = GetValueAsDouble();
            }

            if (Maximum.CompareTo(Minimum) < 1)
            {
                throw new ArgumentException("The value for parameter 'Maximum' is set to a smaller value than {Minimum}");
            }
            GenerateTickMarks();

            BuildEnumValuesListIfRequired();

            _isInitialized = true;

            await Task.CompletedTask;
        }

        private void BuildEnumValuesListIfRequired()
        {
            if (typeof(T).IsEnum)
            {
                foreach (var item in Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)))
                {
                    _enumValues.Add((T)item);
                }
            }
        }

        private void GenerateTickMarks()
        {
            Tickmarks.Clear();
            if (!ShowTickmarks)
            {
                return;
            }
            if (typeof(T).IsEnum)
            {
                int enumValuesCount = Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)).Length;
                double offsetEnum = 0;
                double minDoubleValue = Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)).Cast<int>().Select(e => Convert.ToDouble(e)).Min();
                double maxDoubleValue = Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)).Cast<int>().Select(e => Convert.ToDouble(e)).Max();
                double enumStepSizeCalculated = (maxDoubleValue - minDoubleValue) / enumValuesCount;

                foreach (var enumValue in Enum.GetValues(typeof(T)))
                {
                    Tickmarks.Add(offsetEnum);
                    offsetEnum += Math.Round(enumStepSizeCalculated, 0);
                }
                return;
            }

            for (double i = Convert.ToDouble(Minimum); i <= Convert.ToDouble(Maximum); i += Convert.ToDouble(Stepsize))
            {
                Tickmarks.Add(i);
            }

        }      

    }

    public enum AlternateStyle
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// No alternate style. Uses the ordinary styling for the slider (browser default of input type 'range')
        /// </summary>
        None,

        /// <summary>
        /// Applies alternate style, using in addition to the 'slider track' an additional visual hint with an additional 'slider track' right below that shows a reddish color for lowest parts of the scale to the slider and towards yellow and greenish hues for higher values
        /// The alternate style uses a larger 'slider thumb' and alternate style to the 'slider-track'. The alternate style gives a more interesting look, especially in Microsoft Edge Chromium.
        /// </summary>
        AlternateStyle,

        /// <summary>
        /// Similar in style to the alternate style, but uses the inverse scale for the colors along the slider
        /// </summary>
        AlternateStyleInverseColorScale
    }

}


The markup of the Slider looks like this:


@using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Forms
@using BlazorSliderLib
@typeparam T where T : struct, IComparable

<div class="slider-container sliderv2 @((UseAlternateStyle == AlternateStyle.AlternateStyle || (UseAlternateStyle == AlternateStyle.AlternateStyleInverseColorScale))? "alternate-style" : "") @(UseAlternateStyle == AlternateStyle.AlternateStyleInverseColorScale ? "alternate-style-inverse-colorscale" : "")">
<input type="range" @bind="@ValueAsDouble" min="@Minimum" max="@Maximum" step="@Stepsize" list="@TickmarksId" @oninput="OnValueChanged" />
<datalist id="@TickmarksId">
    @{
        var itemIndex = 0;
    }
    @foreach (var value in Tickmarks){
        if (typeof(T).IsEnum){
            var itemLabel = _enumValues.ElementAt(itemIndex);
            <option class="tick-label" value="@value" label="@itemLabel"></option>
        }
        else {
            <option class="tick-label" value="@value" label="@value"></option>
        }
        itemIndex++;    
    }
</datalist>

<div class="row">
@if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(MinimumDescription)){
    <div class="col-md-4">
        <label class="sliderv2Label text-muted">@MinimumDescription</label>
    </div>
}
@if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(Title)){
    <div class="col-md-4">
        <label class="sliderv2Label text-muted" style="text-align:center">@Title: @Value</label>
    </div>
}

@if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(MaximumDescription)){
    <div class="col-md-4" style="text-align:right">
        <label class="sliderv2Label tet-muted text-end">@MaximumDescription</label>
    </div>
}

</div>

<link rel="stylesheet" href="_content/BlazorSliderLib/Slider.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="_content/BlazorSliderLib/SliderAlternate.css" />

<link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="favicon.ico"/>


</div>


The slider control is provided "as is" and is free to change and use of no charge.

https://github.com/toreaurstadboss/BlazorSlider?tab=MIT-1-ov-file#readme

Saturday, 16 November 2024

Url encoding base 64 strings in .NET 9

This article shows new functionality how to url encode base 64 strings in .NET 9. In .NET 8 you would do multiple steps to url encode base 64 strings like this: Program.cs



using System.Buffers.Text;
using System.Net;
using System.Text;
using System.Text.Encodings.Web;

byte[] data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Hello there, how yall doin");
var base64 = Convert.ToBase64String(data);
var base64UrlEncoded = WebUtility.UrlEncode(base64);

Console.WriteLine(base64UrlEncoded);


We here first convert the string to a bytes in a byte array and then we base 64 encode the byte array into a Base64 string. Finally we url encode the string into a URL safe string. Let's see how simple this is in .NET 9 : Program.cs (v2)



using System.Buffers.Text;
using System.Net;
using System.Text;
using System.Text.Encodings.Web;

byte[] data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Hello there, how yall doin");
var base64UrlEncodedInNet9 = Base64Url.EncodeToString(data);

Console.WriteLine(base64UrlEncodedInNet9);


If we use ImplicitUsings here in the .csproj file the code above just becomes :

byte[] data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Hello there, how yall doin");
var base64UrlEncodedInNet9 = Base64Url.EncodeToString(data);
Console.WriteLine(base64UrlEncodedInNet9);

This shows we can skip the intermediate step where we first convert the bytes into a base64-string and then into a Url safe string and instead do a base-64 encoding and then an url encoding in one go. This way is more optimized, it is also possible here to use ReadOnlySpan (that works for both .NET 8 and .NET 9). Putting together we get:

using System.Buffers.Text;
using System.Net;
using System.Text;
using System.Text.Encodings.Web;

ReadOnlySpan data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Hello there, how yall doin");
var base64 = Convert.ToBase64String(data);
var base64UrlEncoded = WebUtility.UrlEncode(base64);

var base64UrlEncodedInNet9 = Base64Url.EncodeToString(data);

Console.WriteLine(base64UrlEncoded);
Console.WriteLine(base64UrlEncodedInNet9);

The output is the following :

SGVsbG8gdGhlcmUsIGhvdyB5YWxsIGRvaW4%3D
SGVsbG8gdGhlcmUsIGhvdyB5YWxsIGRvaW4

As we can see, the .NET 9 Base64.UrlEncode skips the the padding characters, so beware of that.



Note that by omitting the padding, it is necessary to pad the base 64 url encoded string if you want to decode it. Consider this helpful extension method to add the necessary padding:


/// <summary>
/// Provides extension methods for Base64 encoding operations.
/// </summary>
public static class Base64Extensions
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Adds padding to a Base64 encoded string to ensure its length is a multiple of 4.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="base64">The Base64 encoded string without padding.</param>
    /// <param name="isUrlEncode">Set to true if this is URL encode, will add instead '%3D%' as padding at the end (0-2 such padding chars, same for '=').</param>
    /// <returns>The Base64 encoded string with padding added, or the original string if it is null or whitespace.</returns>
    public static string? AddPadding(this string base64, bool isUrlEncode = false)
    {
        string paddedBase64 = !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(base64) ? base64.PadRight(base64.Length + (4 - (base64.Length % 4)) % 4, '=') : base64;
        return !isUrlEncode ? paddedBase64 : paddedBase64?.Replace("=", "%3D");
    }    
}


We can now achieve the same output with this extension method :



using System.Buffers.Text;
using System.Net;
using System.Text;
using System.Text.Encodings.Web;

ReadOnlySpan data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Hello there, how yall doin");
var base64 = Convert.ToBase64String(data);
var base64UrlEncoded = WebUtility.UrlEncode(base64);

var base64UrlEncodedInNet9 = Base64Url.EncodeToString(data);

// Using the extension method to add padding
base64UrlEncodedInNet9 = base64UrlEncodedInNet9.AddPadding(isUrlEncode: true);

Console.WriteLine(base64UrlEncoded);
Console.WriteLine(base64UrlEncodedInNet9);


Finally, the output using the two different approaching pre .NET 9 and .NET 9 gives the same results:

SGVsbG8gdGhlcmUsIGhvdyB5YWxsIGRvaW4%3D
SGVsbG8gdGhlcmUsIGhvdyB5YWxsIGRvaW4%3D

Monday, 30 September 2024

Generic alternate lookup for Dictionary in .NET 9

Alternate lookup for Dictionary in .NET 9 demo

This repo contains code that shows how an alternate lookup of dictionaries can be implemented in .NET 9. A generic alternate equality comparer is also included. Alternate lookups of dictionaries allows you to take control how you can look up values in a dictionaries in a custom manner. Usually, we use a simple key for a dictionary, such as an int. In case you instead have keys that are complex objects such as class instances, having a custom way of defining alternate lookup gives more flexibility. In the generic equality comparer, a key expression is provided, where a member expression is expected. You can for example have a class Person where you could use a property Id of type Guid and use that key to look up values in a dictionary that uses Person as a key. The code below and sample code demonstrates how it can be used.

Now, would you use this in .NET ? You can utilize usage of Spans, allowing increased performance for dictionary lookups. Also you can use this technique to more collections, such as HashSet, ConcurrentDictionary, FrozenDictionary and FrozenSet. The generic alternate equality comparer looks like this :


using System.Linq.Expressions;
using LookupDictionaryOptimized;


namespace LookupDictionaryOptimized
{
    public class AlternateEqualityComparer<T, TKey> : IEqualityComparer<T>, IAlternateEqualityComparer<TKey, T>
        where T : new()
    {
        private readonly Expression<Func<T, TKey>> _keyAccessor;

        private TKey GetKey(T obj) => _keyAccessor.Compile().Invoke(obj);

        public AlternateEqualityComparer(Expression<Func<T, TKey>> keyAccessor)
        {
            _keyAccessor = keyAccessor;
        }

        public AlternateEqualityComparer<T, TKey> Instance
        {
            get
            {
                return new AlternateEqualityComparer<T, TKey>(_keyAccessor);
            }
        }

        T IAlternateEqualityComparer<TKey, T>.Create(TKey alternate)
        {
            //create a dummy default instance if the requested key is not contained in the dictionary
            return Activator.CreateInstance<T>();
        }

        public bool Equals(T? x, T? y)
        {
            if (x == null && y == null)
            {
                return true;
            }
            if ((x == null && y != null) || (x != null && y == null))
            {
                return false;
            }
            TKey xKey = GetKey(x!);
            TKey yKey = GetKey(y!);
            return xKey!.Equals(yKey);
        }

        public int GetHashCode(T obj) => GetKey(obj)?.GetHashCode() ?? default;

        public int GetHashCode(TKey alternate) => alternate?.GetHashCode() ?? default;

        public bool Equals(TKey alternate, T other)
        {
            if (alternate == null && other == null)
            {
                return true;
            }
            if ((alternate == null && other != null) || (alternate != null && other == null))
            {
                return false;
            }
            TKey otherKey = GetKey(other);
            return alternate!.Equals(otherKey);
        }
    }

}

The demo below shows how to use this. When instantiating the dictionary, it is possibe to set the IEqualityComparer. You can at the same time implement IAlternateEqualityComparer. The generic class above does this for you, and an instance of this comparer is passed into the dictionary as an argument upon creation. A lookup can then be stored into a variable
using the GetAlternateLookup method.

Note about this demo code below. We could expand and allow multiple members or any custom logic when defining alternate equality lookup. But the code below only expects one key property. To get more control of the alterate lookup, you must write an equality and alternate equality comparer manually, but much of the plumbing code could be defined in a generic manner.

For example, we could define a compound key such as a ReadonlySpan of char or a string where we combine the key properties we want to use. Such a generic alternate equality comparer could expect a params of key properties and then build a compound key. It is possible here to to use HashCode.Combine method for example. I might look in to such an implementation later on, for example demo how to use TWO properties for a lookup or even consider a Func<bool> method to define as the equality comparison method. But quickly , the gains of a such a generic mechanism might become counteractive opposed to just writing an equality comparer and alternate comparer manually.

The primary motivation of alternate dictionary lookup is actually performance, as the alternate lookup allows to make more use of Spans and avoid a lot of allocations and give improved performance.


    /// <summary>
    /// Based from inspiration of nDepend blog article : https://blog.ndepend.com/alternate-lookup-for-dictionary-and-hashset-in-net-9/
    /// </summary>
    public static class DemoAlternateLookupV2
    {
        public static void RunGenericDemo()
        {
            var paul = new Person("Paul", "Jones");
            var joey = new Person("Joey", "Green");
            var laura = new Person("Laura", "Bridges");

            var mrX = new Person("Mr", "X"); //this object is not added to the dictionary

            AlternateEqualityComparer<Person, Guid> personComparer = new AlternateEqualityComparer<Person, Guid>(m => m.Id);

            var dict = new Dictionary<Person, int>(personComparer.Instance)
            {
                { paul, 11 },
                { joey, 22 },
                { laura, 33 }
            };

            var lauraId = laura.Id;
            //Dictionary<Person, int>.AlternateLookup<Guid> lookup = dict.GetAlternateLookup<Guid>();  Easier : just use var on left hand side

            var lookup = dict.GetAlternateLookup<Guid>();
            int lookedUpPersonId = lookup[lauraId];

            Console.WriteLine($"Retrieved a Dictionary<Person,Guid> value via alternate lookup key: {lauraId}.\nThe looked up value is: {lookedUpPersonId}");
            lookedUpPersonId.Should().Be(33);
            Console.WriteLine($"Expected value retrieved. OK.");

            Console.WriteLine("Testing also to look for a person not contained in the dictionary");

            bool lookedUpNonExistingPersonFound = lookup.ContainsKey(mrX.Id);
            Console.WriteLine($"Retrieved a Dictionary<Person,Guid> value via alternate lookup key: {mrX.Id}.\nThe looked up value found : {lookedUpNonExistingPersonFound}");

        }

    }

The generic alternate equality comparer requires a public parameterless constructor. Also, the provided keyExpression for the key - the property of the class which will serve as the alternate lookup. The Person class looks like this :



 namespace LookupDictionaryOptimized
{
    public class Person
    {

        public Person(string firstName, string lastName)
        {
            FirstName = firstName;
            LastName = lastName;
        }

        public Person()
        {
            FirstName = string.Empty;
            LastName = string.Empty;
            Id = Guid.Empty;
        }

        public string FirstName { get; set; }
        public string LastName { get; set; }
        public Guid Id { get; set; } = Guid.NewGuid();
    }
}

Output below:



Retrieved a Dictionary<Person,Guid> value via alternate lookup key: 5b2b1d28-c024-4b76-8cdd-2717c42dc7f8.
The looked up value is: 33
Expected value retrieved. OK.
Testing also to look for a person not contained in the dictionary
Retrieved a Dictionary<Person,Guid> value via alternate lookup key: 6ae6f259-14a6-4960-889b-15f33aab4ec0.
The looked up value found : False
Hit the any key to continue..

More about alternate lookups can be read in this nDepend blog article: https://blog.ndepend.com/alternate-lookup-for-dictionary-and-hashset-in-net-9/