Core utilities and extension methods for everyday .NET development. Includes string helpers, type conversion, time utilities, CSV parsing, and more.
String Utilities
Basic String Operations
using Ecng.Common;
// Check for null or empty
string text = GetText();
if (text.IsEmpty())
return;
// Check for null, empty, or whitespace
if (text.IsEmptyOrWhiteSpace())
return;
// Default value if empty
string value = text.IsEmpty("default value");
// Throw if empty
string required = input.ThrowIfEmpty(nameof(input));
// String formatting
string result = "{0} + {1} = {2}".Put(1, 2, 3); // "1 + 2 = 3"
// Smart formatting with named parameters
string smart = "Hello {Name}!".PutEx(new { Name = "World" });
The Converter class provides flexible type conversion between many types.
Basic Conversion
// String to primitive types
int number = "42".To<int>();
double value = "3.14".To<double>();
bool flag = "true".To<bool>();
DateTime date = "2024-01-15".To<DateTime>();
Guid id = "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000".To<Guid>();
// With default value on failure
int safe = "invalid".To(defaultValue: 0);
// Between types
byte[] bytes = 12345.To<byte[]>();
long ticks = DateTime.Now.To<long>();
string csv = "Id;Name;Value\n1;Foo;100\n2;Bar;200";
var reader = new FastCsvReader(csv, ";");
while (reader.NextLine())
{
int id = reader.ReadInt();
string name = reader.ReadString();
decimal value = reader.ReadDecimal();
Console.WriteLine($"{id}: {name} = {value}");
}
Reading Different Types
var reader = new FastCsvReader(data, ",");
while (reader.NextLine())
{
// Primitives
int intVal = reader.ReadInt();
long longVal = reader.ReadLong();
double doubleVal = reader.ReadDouble();
decimal decimalVal = reader.ReadDecimal();
bool boolVal = reader.ReadBool();
// Nullable types
int? nullableInt = reader.ReadNullableInt();
// Date/Time
DateTime date = reader.ReadDateTime("yyyy-MM-dd");
TimeSpan time = reader.ReadTimeSpan();
// Enum
MyEnum enumVal = reader.ReadEnum<MyEnum>();
// Skip column
reader.Skip();
}
Time Utilities
High-Precision Time
using Ecng.Common;
// High-precision current time (uses Stopwatch internally)
DateTime now = TimeHelper.Now;
DateTimeOffset nowWithOffset = TimeHelper.NowWithOffset;
// Adjust time offset (for testing or sync)
TimeHelper.NowOffset = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(5);
// Sync with NTP server
TimeHelper.SyncMarketTime(timeout: 5000);
using Ecng.Common;
// Random values
int randomInt = RandomGen.GetInt(1, 100);
double randomDouble = RandomGen.GetDouble();
bool randomBool = RandomGen.GetBool();
// Random bytes
byte[] randomBytes = RandomGen.GetBytes(32);
// Random string
string randomStr = RandomGen.GetString(16);
Disposable Helpers
Base Disposable Class
public class MyResource : Disposable
{
private IntPtr _handle;
protected override void DisposeManaged()
{
// Clean up managed resources
base.DisposeManaged();
}
protected override void DisposeNative()
{
// Clean up native resources
CloseHandle(_handle);
base.DisposeNative();
}
}
Disposable Scope
// Dispose multiple objects at once
using var scope = new DisposeScope(resource1, resource2, resource3);
// Or with extension
resource1.DisposeWith(scope);
File System Abstraction
IFileSystem Interface
// Local file system
IFileSystem fs = new LocalFileSystem();
// In-memory file system (for testing)
IFileSystem memFs = new MemoryFileSystem();
// Operations
bool exists = fs.FileExists("path/to/file");
byte[] data = fs.ReadAllBytes("path/to/file");
fs.WriteAllBytes("path/to/file", data);
fs.CreateDirectory("path/to/dir");
IEnumerable<string> files = fs.GetFiles("path", "*.txt");
// Deep clone
var clone = original.Clone();
// Typed clone
public class MyClass : Cloneable<MyClass>
{
public override MyClass Clone()
{
return new MyClass { /* copy properties */ };
}
}
Watch (Benchmarking)
using var watch = new Watch("Operation name");
// Do work...
// Automatically logs elapsed time on dispose
// Or get elapsed manually
TimeSpan elapsed = watch.Elapsed;