Sportronics.ConfigurationManager 1.1.5

Sportronics.ConfigurationManager

A flexible configuration management library for .NET applications that handles settings from JSON files and command line arguments.

Features

• Load configuration from JSON files
• Parse and apply command line arguments
• Combine multiple configuration sources with priority order
• Save configuration changes back to JSON files
• Support for both long and short command line argument formats
• Reset configuration to defaults with a simple command line flag
• Bypass stored settings with ignore flag to use in-app or default settings
• Built-in help system with command line options documentation

NuGet Package

Sportronics.ConfigurationManager

Installation

dotnet add package Sportronics.ConfigurationManager

Usage

Create a C# Console app that uses the Sportronics.ConfigurationManager. Library is straightforward. Below is a step-by-step guide to set up your application with configuration management.

0. Getting Started

After creating the project add the NuGet package as above or similar.

1. Create a settings class AppSettings.cs

using Sportronics.ConfigurationManager;

public class MyAppSettings : AppSettingsBase
{
    public override string SectionName => "MyApp";
    
    public string InputFolder { get; set; } = "default/input";
    public string OutputFolder { get; set; } = "default/output";
    public bool VerboseLogging { get; set; } = false;
    
    public override string ToString()
    {
        return $"InputFolder: {InputFolder}, OutputFolder: {OutputFolder}, VerboseLogging: {VerboseLogging}";
    }
}

2. Declare in-app settings entity

using Sportronics.ConfigurationManager;

...
...

AppSettings? defaultSettings = null;

3. Optionally set in-app settings

defaultSettings = new MyAppSettings
{
    InputFolder = "in-app/input",
    OutputFolder = "in-app/output",
    VerboseLogging = true
};

4. Define command line options

var optionsMap = new Dictionary<string, (string LongName, string ShortName)>
{
    { nameof(MyAppSettings.InputFolder), ("input", "i") },
    { nameof(MyAppSettings.OutputFolder), ("output", "o") },
    { nameof(MyAppSettings.VerboseLogging), ("verbose", "v") }
};

5. Process configuration

// Initialize the configuration processor
var configProcessor = new ConfigurationProcessor<AppSettings>(
    "appsettings.json",
    optionsMap,
    defaultSettings);

// Process configuration from all sources
var settings = configProcessor.ProcessConfiguration(args);
if (settings == null)
{
    // Help was displayed, exit the application
    return;
}

// Use the settings
Console.WriteLine($"Using settings: {settings}");

4. Reset to default settings

Users can reset all settings to their default values by using the -r or --reset command line flag:

# Using short form
MyApp.exe -r

# Using long form
MyApp.exe --reset

This will reset all settings to their default values as defined in your settings class and save them to the JSON configuration file.

5. Ignore stored settings

Users can bypass the stored settings in the JSON file and use in-app settings (or defaults if no in-app settings are available) by using the -i or --ignore command line flag:

# Using short form
MyApp.exe -i

# Using long form
MyApp.exe --ignore

This is useful when you want to ensure that the application uses the in-app settings or defaults, ignoring any previously stored configuration in the JSON file.

6. Display help information

Users can display help information about available command line options by using the -h or --help flag:

# Using short form
MyApp.exe -h

# Using long form
MyApp.exe --help

This will display information about all available command line options, including both special flags and registered configuration options.

When the help flag is used, the ProcessConfiguration method will return null, allowing the application to exit early.

License

This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Release Notes

v1.1.X (August 2025)

• 1.1.4 Repository renamed so fixed link.
• 1.1.3 Fixed issue with command line argument parsing
• 1.1.2 Fixed repository link
• 1.1.1 Embelished README with more detailed usage instructions
• 1.1.0 Added support for resetting configuration to default values via command line flag -r or --reset)
  • Added support for ignoring stored settings via command line flag -i or --ignore
  • Added help command line flag -h or --help to display available options

v1.0.3 (August 2025)

• v1.0.3 - Added project icon

v1.0.2 (August 2025)

• Renamed project from ConfigurationManager to Sportronics.ConfigurationManager
• Improved namespace organization
• Added support for both long and short form command line arguments
• Fixed bug in configuration saving

v1.0.1

• Initial public release
• Basic configuration management functionality
• Support for JSON files and command line arguments