CommonHelpers 1.3.0

CommonHelpers

This is a cross platform netstandard2.0 helper library containing a wide range of helper classes and data generation code that I used to write over and over, every day, while creating sample apps for developers.

Due to the number of "File > New" projects I create every day, this package has saved me a significant amount of time (the SampleDataService alone is a game changer).

Releases

NuGet.org (recommended)	GitHub Releases (all releases)
	Releases Page

Features

Extensions

Helpful extensions for string, DateTime, and enum... as well as common methods for ObservableCollection, File, Exception, Color and HttpClient. See the CommonHelpers/Extensions folder for details.

For example, you can quickly get easing function values using the EasingExtensions, such as myFloatValue.BackEaseIn():

Collections

Special collection types that help in special scenarios (e.g. ObservableQueue and ObservableRangeCollection).

Common

This folder has some of the most used classes. For example, BindableBase, ViewModelBase, JsonHelper to name a few.

MVVM

Platform agnostic MVVM classes like DelegateCommand and RelayCommand.

Services

To make testing UI controls easier by quickly providing well formatted data from offline sample data and online API endpoints. This is really useful for quickly testing Load On Demand scenarios.

• BingImageService
• ComicVineApiService
• SampleDataService
• XkcdApiService

The ComicVineService requires an API Key, but a key is free. All other services do not require an API key, new-up the class and start using it right away.

Examples

Sample Data Service

This is my most frequently used service. You can easily spin up data for Lists, Charts, DataGrids and more with a single method.

BarSeriesData.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GenerateCategoricalData());
ScatterSeriesData.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GenerateScatterPointData());
LineSeriesData.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GenerateDateTimeMinuteData());
SplineAreaSeriesData.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GenerateDateTimeDayData());

People.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GeneratePeopleData());
Employees.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GenerateEmployeeData(true));

Products.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GenerateProductData());
Categories.AddRange(SampleDataService.Current.GenerateCategoryData());

BingImageService

Easily fetch the Bing Image of Day.

using (var bingImageService = new BingImageService())
{
    var result = await bingImageService.GetBingImageOfTheDayAsync();
    image.Source = new UriImageSource{Uri = result};
}

xkcd API Service

Getting today's comic by calling GetNewestComic or get any comic by using GetComicAsync(comicNumber).

var xkcdService = new XkcdApiService();

// to fetch a comic, get the latest or pass a specific comic ID
XkcdComic xkcdComic;

if (lastXkcdComicNumber == 0)
{
    xkcdComic = await xkcdService.GetNewestComicAsync();
}
else
{
    xkcdComic = await xkcdService.GetComicAsync(lastXkcdComicNumber - 1);
}

lastXkcdComicNumber = xkcdComic.Num;

// This is an `ObservableQueue` (located in CommonHelpers.Collections)      
XkcdComics.Enqueue(xkcdComic);

ComicVineApiService

The ComicVine API is the only service in which you'll need an API key. You pass the key and a unique string name for your app to the constructor. Now you have access to thousands of items like Characters, Videos and more from the service.

var comicVineService = new ComicVineApiService(ApiKeys.ComicVineApiKey, ApiKeys.UniqueUserAgentString);

var apiResult = await comicVineService.GetCharactersAsync(CurrentCharactersCount);
CurrentCharactersCount = apiResult.Offset + apiResult.NumberOfPageResults;
TotalCharactersCount = apiResult.NumberOfTotalResults;

var characters = apiResult.Results;