ConsoleApplication

Payroll Engine Client Tutorials - Console Application

Overview

Tutorial topic: How to create a payroll client with a console application

Prerequisites

• Payroll Engine Backend running
• Visual Studio with .NET 8
• Client services tutorial: Hello Payroll Engine World!

Learnings

• Console program template
• Error handling
• Logging
• Application Configuration
• Culture setup
• Command line arguments

Notes

• Welcome - tutorial slide
  • How to build an Payroll Engine console application
    • same function as the hello Payroll Engine world tutorial
  • Prerequisites
  • Learnings
  • Different aspects, for any type of Payroll Engine client software
• Visual Studio
  • Tutorial project ConsoleApplication.csproj
  • Tutorial notes in project folder README.md
  • Run the application
• ConsoleProgram<TApp>
  • Best practices for console application (HTML Help)
  • Base for Payroll Console and Report Console
  • Lifecycle
    • Program title UI
    • Backend connection
    • Initialize
      • Run
    • Shutdown
  • Log, error handling, Application configuration and Culture setup
• Async programming
  • "Increase the performance and responsiveness of your application"
  • async/await
    • Program Main
  • All Payroll Engine client services are async
  • Use methods in non-async mode
    • without return value: return Task.CompletedTask;
    • with return value: return Task.FromResult(value);
  • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/concepts/async/
• Error handling
  • try/catch/finally
  • minimal error handling (log, no user interaction)
  • throw on top level, otherwise rethrow with inner exception
  • nested exceptions
    • consider root exception
    • GetBaseException/GetBaseMessage
  • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/fundamentals/exceptions/
• Logging
  • log warnings and errors
  • separation log creation and analysis
  • log levels
    • Priority
    • Default level: Information
    • https://github.com/serilog/serilog/wiki/Configuration-Basics#minimum-level
  • Serilog
    • create log entry with level
    • ecaluate logs with sinks
      • database, azure, windows system logs
      • send to centralized log server
      • send critical error with Email (requires a mail server)
      • https://github.com/serilog/serilog/wiki/Provided-Sinks
    • add sinks package references
      • async (performance for big log files)
      • file (per day file logYYYYMMDD.logN)
      • console (colored)
  • file logs in %PROGRAMDATA%
    • view current log with powershell: Program.Log.cmd
  • backend application logs vs payroll logs
    • application logs contains all tenants -> software admin
    • payroll log per tenant, endpoint to create a log -> tenant
• Application Configuration
  • No hard coded service settings
  • Add appsettings.json
    • Properties > Copy to output directory: Copy if newer
    • Add PayrollHttpConfiguration settings
  • User secrets
    • package reference Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.UserSecrets
    • appsettings.json: UserSecretsId
    • edit user secrets file: Project context menu > Manage User Secrets...
• Culture setup
  • json parser for decimals and dates
  • CurrentCulture vs. CurrentUICulture
  • Default program culture: en-US
  • Custom configuration types
    • ProgramConfiguration class and app settings
  • Custom culture with GetProgramCultureAsync()
• Command line arguments
  • Launch settings
    • Properties > launchSettings.json > EndpointServices > commandLineArgs
    • Visual Studio project properties (alternative)
  • tool ConsoleArguments
  • example: overwrite http configuration in GetHttpConfigurationAsync()