Mesch.RealTree 0.0.3

Mesch.RealTree

A tree hierarchy management abstraction with plugin architecture and eventing.

Overview

RealTree provides a flexible tree implementation where:

• Containers can hold both other containers and items
• Items can hold containers but not other items
• Operations support middleware-style actions and fire-and-forget events
• Validation prevents cyclic references automatically

Core Concepts

Node Types

IRealTreeNode       // Base interface for all nodes
├── IRealTreeContainer  // Can contain containers and items
├── IRealTreeItem      // Can contain containers only
└── IRealTree          // Root node with global operations (extends IRealTreeNode)

Operations Service

All tree modifications go through IRealTreeOperations which provides:

• Middleware-style action pipelines (can intercept/modify operations)
• Event notifications (fire-and-forget, executed after operations)
• Bulk operations for performance
• Copy operations with recursive traversal

Quick Start

// Create tree
var factory = new RealTreeFactory();
var tree = factory.CreateTree(name: "MyTree");
var operations = new RealTreeOperations(factory);

// Add nodes
var container = await operations.AddContainerAsync(tree, null, "Documents");
var item = await operations.AddItemAsync(container, null, "Report.pdf");

// Navigate
var found = tree.FindByPath("/Documents/Report.pdf");
Console.WriteLine(found?.Name); // "Report.pdf"

Middleware Actions

Actions execute before the operation and can intercept, modify, or cancel it:

container.RegisterAddContainerAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    // Pre-operation logic
    // Parent is IRealTreeNode, use ParentAsContainer helper for container-specific access
    var parentName = context.ParentAsContainer?.Name ?? context.Parent.Name;
    Console.WriteLine($"Adding {context.Container.Name} to {parentName}");

    // Validate
    if (context.Container.Name.StartsWith("temp"))
        throw new InvalidOperationException("Temp folders not allowed");

    // Continue pipeline
    await next();

    // Post-operation logic
    Console.WriteLine("Container added successfully");
});

Available Middleware Actions Reference

Middleware actions form a pipeline that executes before operations. Each action must call await next() to continue the pipeline, or throw an exception to cancel the operation.

Modification Actions

Context Properties: Same as event contexts (see Event Handling section below)

Bulk Operation Actions

Query Actions

Context Properties:

• ListContainerContext: .Container, .IncludeContainers, .IncludeItems, .Recursive, .ListingMetadata, .Tree, .CancellationToken

Important Notes:

• Actions can run before or after the operation by placing code before/after the await next() call
• Throwing an exception cancels the operation and propagates to the caller
• Actions execute in order from the node up through its parent hierarchy
• Forgetting to call await next() will prevent the operation from completing

Event Handling

Events fire after operations complete and run in parallel:

container.RegisterContainerAddedEvent(async context =>
{
    // Log to database
    await LogActivity($"Container {context.Container.Name} added");
});

container.RegisterContainerAddedEvent(async context =>
{
    // Send notification (runs in parallel with logging)
    await NotifyUsers($"New folder: {context.Container.Name}");
});

Available Events Reference

All events are fire-and-forget notifications that execute after operations complete. They run in parallel and exceptions are logged but don't propagate.

Modification Events

Context Properties:

• AddContainerContext: .Container (IRealTreeContainer), .Parent (IRealTreeNode), .Tree, .CancellationToken
• AddItemContext: .Item (IRealTreeItem), .Parent (IRealTreeContainer), .Tree, .CancellationToken
• RemoveContainerContext: .Container (IRealTreeContainer), .Parent (IRealTreeContainer), .Tree, .CancellationToken
• RemoveItemContext: .Item (IRealTreeItem), .Parent (IRealTreeContainer), .Tree, .CancellationToken
• UpdateContext: .Node, .OldName, .NewName, .OldMetadata, .NewMetadata, .Tree, .CancellationToken
• MoveContext: .Node, .OldParent, .NewParent, .Tree, .CancellationToken

Bulk Operation Events

Context Properties:

• BulkAddContainerContext: .Containers (IReadOnlyList), .Parent (IRealTreeNode), .Tree, .CancellationToken
• BulkAddItemContext: .Items (IReadOnlyList), .Parent (IRealTreeContainer), .Tree, .CancellationToken
• BulkRemoveContext: .Nodes (IReadOnlyList), .Parent (IRealTreeNode), .Tree, .CancellationToken

Query Events

Context Properties:

• ListContainerContext: .Container, .IncludeContainers, .IncludeItems, .Recursive, .ListingMetadata, .Tree, .CancellationToken

Note: Events can be registered at multiple levels:

• On specific nodes (container/item) - fires for operations on that subtree
• On the tree root - fires for all operations globally

Example:

// Local event - only fires for this container's operations
myContainer.RegisterItemAddedEvent(async ctx =>
    await LogLocal($"Item added: {ctx.Item.Name}"));

// Global event - fires for all item additions in the entire tree
tree.RegisterItemAddedEvent(async ctx =>
    await LogGlobal($"Item added anywhere: {ctx.Item.Name}"));

Bulk Operations

Efficient operations for multiple nodes:

var containers = new List<IRealTreeContainer>
{
    factory.CreateContainer(name: "Folder1"),
    factory.CreateContainer(name: "Folder2"),
    factory.CreateContainer(name: "Folder3")
};

await operations.BulkAddContainersAsync(tree, containers);

Query Operations

List Container Contents

// List all direct children
var children = await operations.ListContainerAsync(container);

// List only containers
var containers = await operations.ListContainerAsync(container, includeContainers: true, includeItems: false);

// List recursively (all descendants)
var allDescendants = await operations.ListContainerAsync(container, recursive: true);

// Middleware can filter or modify results
container.RegisterListContainerAction(async (ctx, next) =>
{
    // Only show items with specific metadata
    ctx.ListingMetadata["filterBy"] = "status";
    await next();
});

// Event notification after listing
container.RegisterContainerListedEvent(async (ctx, result, ct) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Listed {result.Count} items from {ctx.Container.Name}");
});

Common Patterns

Hierarchical Permissions

// Register at tree level - applies to all operations
tree.RegisterAddContainerAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    var user = GetCurrentUser();
    var parent = context.Parent;
    
    if (!HasPermission(user, parent, "create"))
        throw new UnauthorizedAccessException();
    
    await next();
});

Audit Logging

// Update events
tree.RegisterNodeUpdatedEvent(async context =>
{
    await auditLogger.LogAsync(new AuditEntry
    {
        UserId = GetCurrentUser().Id,
        Action = "Update",
        NodeId = context.Node.Id,
        OldName = context.OldName,
        NewName = context.NewName,
        Timestamp = DateTime.UtcNow
    });
});

// Removal events - strongly typed contexts
tree.RegisterContainerRemovedEvent(async context =>
{
    await auditLogger.LogAsync(new AuditEntry
    {
        UserId = GetCurrentUser().Id,
        Action = "RemoveContainer",
        NodeId = context.Container.Id,
        NodeName = context.Container.Name,
        ParentId = context.Parent.Id,
        Timestamp = DateTime.UtcNow
    });
});

tree.RegisterItemRemovedEvent(async context =>
{
    await auditLogger.LogAsync(new AuditEntry
    {
        UserId = GetCurrentUser().Id,
        Action = "RemoveItem",
        NodeId = context.Item.Id,
        NodeName = context.Item.Name,
        ParentId = context.Parent.Id,
        Timestamp = DateTime.UtcNow
    });
});

Validation with Context

container.RegisterAddItemAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    var parent = context.Parent;
    var item = context.Item;
    
    // Business rule: max 10 items per container
    if (parent.Items.Count >= 10)
        throw new InvalidOperationException("Container full");
    
    // Check for duplicates
    if (parent.Items.Any(i => i.Name == item.Name))
        throw new DuplicateNameException(item.Name);
    
    await next();
});

Context Types

Strongly-Typed Removal Contexts

Removal operations use type-specific contexts for better type safety:

// Container removal - access .Container and .Parent (both strongly typed)
tree.RegisterRemoveContainerAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Removing container: {context.Container.Name}");
    Console.WriteLine($"From parent: {context.Parent.Name}");

    // context.Container is IRealTreeContainer
    // and context.Parent is IRealTreeContainer

    await next();
});

// Item removal - access .Item and .Parent (both strongly typed)
tree.RegisterRemoveItemAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Removing item: {context.Item.Name}");
    Console.WriteLine($"From parent: {context.Parent.Name}");

    // context.Item is IRealTreeItem
    // and context.Parent is IRealTreeContainer

    await next();
});

AddContainerContext Helpers

AddContainerContext.Parent is IRealTreeNode because both containers and items can hold containers. Use helper properties to avoid manual casting:

container.RegisterAddContainerAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    // Access parent as specific type
    if (context.ParentAsContainer != null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Parent has {context.ParentAsContainer.Items.Count} items");
    }
    else if (context.ParentAsItem != null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Parent is an item: {context.ParentAsItem.Name}");
    }

    await next();
});

Advanced Usage

Custom Node Types

public class FileContainer : RealTreeContainer
{
    public string ContentType { get; set; }
    public long MaxSize { get; set; }
    
    public FileContainer(string contentType, long maxSize) 
        : base(name: contentType)
    {
        ContentType = contentType;
        MaxSize = maxSize;
    }
}

Operation Context Access

tree.RegisterMoveAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    var node = context.Node;
    var oldPath = node.Path;
    
    await next(); // Perform the move
    
    var newPath = node.Path;
    await UpdateReferences(oldPath, newPath);
});

Delegate Management

// Store reference for later removal
AddContainerDelegate validator = async (context, next) => { /* validation */ };
container.RegisterAddContainerAction(validator);

// Remove when no longer needed
container.DeregisterAddContainerAction(validator);

Exception Handling

// Actions can throw exceptions to cancel operations
container.RegisterAddContainerAction(async (context, next) =>
{
    if (SomeValidationFails())
        throw new TreeValidationException("Operation not allowed");
    
    await next();
});

// Events log exceptions but don't propagate them
container.RegisterContainerAddedEvent(async context =>
{
    try
    {
        await SomeExternalService.NotifyAsync(context);
    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        // Exception logged automatically, operation continues
    }
});

Thread Safety

• Tree structure modifications are not thread-safe by design
• Use external synchronization if needed
• Events execute in parallel but individual event handlers should be thread-safe
• ReaderWriterLockSlim is available on RealTreeRoot.Lock for custom locking

Dependency Injection

services.AddSingleton<IRealTreeFactory, RealTreeFactory>();
services.AddScoped<IRealTreeOperations, RealTreeOperations>();

// With logging
services.AddScoped<IRealTreeOperations>(provider =>
{
    var factory = provider.GetService<IRealTreeFactory>();
    var logger = provider.GetService<ILogger<RealTreeOperations>>();
    return new RealTreeOperations(factory, logger);
});

Performance Considerations

• Use bulk operations for multiple related changes
• Event handlers execute in parallel but should be lightweight
• Consider unregistering delegates when no longer needed
• Path lookups are O(depth), ID lookups are O(n)
• Metadata dictionaries are not optimized for large datasets

Error Types

TreeValidationException      // Base validation error
├── DuplicateNameException   // Duplicate sibling names
├── CyclicReferenceException // Would create cycle
└── InvalidContainmentException // Invalid parent-child relationship