Refactor long switch statement - c#

I'm program in c# which you controlling by dictating command so now i have a long switch statement. Something like
switch (command)
{
case "Show commands":
ProgramCommans.ShowAllCommands();
break;
case "Close window":
ControlCommands.CloseWindow();
break;
case "Switch window":
ControlCommands.SwitchWindow();
break;
}
and so on
Almost all cases call only one method, methods are not in one class they are distributed in many classes. So the question is, how i could refactor this switch to more elegant way?

You can do this to refactor your switch statement:
var commands = new Dictionary<string, Action>()
{
{ "Show commands", () => ProgramCommans.ShowAllCommands() },
{ "Close window", () => ControlCommands.CloseWindow() },
{ "Switch window", () => ControlCommands.SwitchWindow() },
};
if (commands.ContainsKey(command))
{
commands[command].Invoke();
}
The main advantage to this approach is that you can change the "switch" at run-time.

I much prefer the Strategy Pattern for extending switch case statements. First, I create an interface that defines what each rule should look like:
public interface IWindowRule
{
string Command { get; }
void Invoke();
}
Then create a class that implements the interface for each possible case:
public class ShowAllWindowRule : IWindowRule
{
public string Command => "Show commands";
private ProgramCommands _progCommands;
public ShowAllWindowRule(ProgramCommands programCommands) =>
_progCommands = programCommands;
public void Invoke() => _progCommands.ShowAllCommands();
}
public class CloseWindowRule : IWindowRule
{
private ControlCommands _ctrlCommands;
public string Command => "Close window";
public CloseWindowRule(ControlCommands ctrlCommands) =>
_ctrlCommands = ctrlCommands;
public void Invoke() =>
_ctrlCommands.CloseWindow();
}
public class SwitchWindowRule : IWindowRule
{
private ControlCommands _ctrlCommands;
public string Command => "Switch window";
public SwitchWindowRule(ControlCommands ctrlCommands) =>
_ctrlCommands = ctrlCommands;
public void Invoke() =>
_ctrlCommands.SwitchWindow();
}
Then your switch statement turns into this:
public void RunWindowRule(IList<IWindowRule> rules, string command)
{
foreach (IWindowRule rule in rules)
{
if (rule.Command == command) rule.Invoke();
}
}
Now you can pass the function any set of rules you wish and run them making the function adhere to the Open/Closed principle.
I realize this may appear to be a bit of over engineering, and I do think there are more functional solutions that require a bit less work, however this has the added benefit of allowing you to extend this function by creating classes that inject the list of rules for a myriad of circumstances or even make a builder class that give you a fluent API.
public class WindowRuleBuilder
{
private IList<IWindowRule> rules;
public WindowRuleBuilder(IList<IWindowRule> rules = null) =>
rules = rules ?? new List<IWindowRule>();
public WindowRuleBuilder AddRule(IWindowRule newRule)
{
rules.Add(newRule);
return this;
}
public void Run(string command)
{
foreach (IWindowRule rule in rules)
{
if (rule.Command == command) rule.Invoke();
}
}
}
Now you have something like this:
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
WindowRuleBuilder ruleBuilder = new WindowRuleBuilder()
.AddRule(new CloseWindowRule(conrolCommands))
.AddRule(new ShowAllWindowRule(programCommands))
.AddRule(new SwitchWindowRule(controlCommands));
ruleBuilder.Run(args[0]);
}
This is highly extendable as for ever new rule you simply create the class and add it to the rule builder with the AddRule() method. It also doesn't take much reading to understand what's going on here. It's a much more compositional approach. Though I again admit, it does take a bit of work to implement but the code adheres to SOLID and is finely decoupled.

If all the functions get the same parameters and return the same value, you can use a Dictionary along with delegates to map a string to a function(s). This method will allow you also to change in run time the switch - allowing external programs to extend the functionality of the program.
If the functions aren't the same, you could write wrappers - a proxy function that will get parameters as all other functions, and call the functions you want.

I realize this is an old post, but in these situations I find attributes and a factory very handy.
The following code uses a custom attribute (Command) to allow you to attribute your methods, providing a string value of how they should respond to you.
The factory method uses reflection to generate a dictionary of these methods and calls it whenever you call CommandFactory.
Things could get cleaned up a bit, calling invoke is a little ugly, but it just depends on how you want to execute the code.
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
namespace MyApp
{
using System.Reflection;
using MyApp.Commands;
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var methods = new MyCommands();
MethodInfo myMethod;
myMethod = CommandFactory.GetCommandMethod("Show Commands");
myMethod.Invoke(methods, null);
myMethod = CommandFactory.GetCommandMethod("Close window");
myMethod.Invoke(methods, null);
myMethod = CommandFactory.GetCommandMethod("Switch window");
myMethod.Invoke(methods, null);
}
}
public static class CommandFactory
{
private static Dictionary<string, MethodInfo> speechMethods = new Dictionary<string, MethodInfo>();
public static MethodInfo GetCommandMethod(string commandText)
{
MethodInfo methodInfo;
var commands = new MyCommands();
if (speechMethods.Count == 0)
{
var methodNames =
typeof(MyCommands).GetMethods(BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.DeclaredOnly | BindingFlags.Instance);
var speechAttributeMethods = methodNames.Where(y => y.GetCustomAttributes().OfType<CommandAttribute>().Any());
foreach (var speechAttributeMethod in speechAttributeMethods)
{
foreach (var attribute in speechAttributeMethod.GetCustomAttributes(true))
{
speechMethods.Add(((CommandAttribute)attribute).Command, speechAttributeMethod);
}
}
methodInfo = speechMethods[commandText];
}
else
{
methodInfo = speechMethods[commandText];
}
return methodInfo;
}
}
}
namespace MyApp.Commands
{
class MyCommands
{
[Command("Show All")]
[Command("Show All Commands")]
[Command("Show commands")]
public void ShowAll()
{
ProgramCommands.ShowAllCommands();
}
[Command("Close Window")]
public void CloseWindow()
{
ControlCommands.CloseWindow();
}
[Command("Switch Window")]
public void SwitchWindow()
{
ControlCommands.SwitchWindow();
}
}
[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = true)]
public class CommandAttribute : System.Attribute
{
public string Command
{
get;
set;
}
public CommandAttribute(string textValue)
{
this.Command = textValue;
}
}
}

I know the answer is a bit late, to not abuse the SOLID principle, you may use interface or inheritance. In this example, I use inheritance because u may have other usages of "command" string.
public abstract class commandRepository {
string command ; // if there is no usage in other function class, you can get rid of it
public abstract void DoCommands();
}
public class ShowCommands:commandRepository
{
public ShowCommands (){
command ="Show commands"; // if there is no usage in other function class, you can get rid of it
}
public override void DoCommands(){
ProgramCommans.ShowAllCommands();
}
}
public class CloseWindow:commandRepository
{
public CloseWindow (){
command ="Close window"; // if there is no usage in other function class, you can get rid of it
}
public override void DoCommands(){
ProgramCommans.CloseWindow();
}
}
public class SwitchWindow:commandRepository
{
public SwitchWindow (){
command ="Switch window"; // if there is no usage in other function class, you can get rid of it
}
public override void DoCommands(){
ProgramCommans.SwitchWindow();
}
}

Here's what you can do here. You can create an interface [ICommand] where you can place a common function [eg: Execute].
Then you just needs to initiate that member with appropriate type and call the Execute function. This might include more functions in the future and is thus extended.
Also, you can create a factory method where you can pass the parameter and get the appropriate class to work with.
Hope that helps.

Related

Is there a better way in C# to reserve long variable name?

var test = Class1.Subclass1.Subclass2.PropertyNameWhichIsBigName
I have to use above in many places. How to avoid typing or save few key stroke? is there any shortcut in C#
Yes, you can use Namespace aliases:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/programming-guide/namespaces/using-namespaces
using ShortName = Class1.Subclass1.Subclass2;
And then
var test = ShortName.PropertyNameWhichIsBigName;
How about a function:
Func<typeOfProperty> someName = () => Class1.Subclass1.Subclass2.PropertyNameWhichIsBigName;
if you now call
var test = someName();
you would get your desired value without having to type the long chain of properties all the time.
Edit:
Just to be clear, if PropertyNameWhichIsBigName changes, someName() will return the new value.
You can use namespace aliasing and just call it in namespaces section in your code, and you can effectively use objects and functions all over the body #canton7 has already written example for that.
or you can use code blocks statements but you have to implement IDisposable, but this can limit your object calling section but you can get benefit fit automatic dispose.
class Class1
{
public class Subclass1
{
public class Subclass2 : IDisposable
{
public string PropertyNameWhichIsBigName { get; set; }
public void Dispose()
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
using (Class1.Subclass1.Subclass2 obj = new Class1.Subclass1.Subclass2())
{
string propertiesValue = obj.PropertyNameWhichIsBigName;
}
}
}

Strategy pattern or no strategy pattern?

Without entering in academic definitions, let's say that the Strategy Pattern is used when you have a client code (Context) which will execute an operation, and this operation could be implemented in different ways (algorithms). For instance: https://www.dofactory.com/net/strategy-design-pattern
Which Strategy (or algorithm) will be used depend on many occasions of some input conditions. That is why Strategy Pattern sometimes is used in combination with Factory Pattern. The Client pass the input conditions to the Factory. Then the Factory knows which Strategy has to create. Then the Client execute the operation of the Strategy created.
However, I have come across in several occasions with a problem that seems to me the opposite. The operation to be execute is always the same, but it would be only executed depending on a family of input conditions. For example:
public interface IStrategy
{
string FileType { get; }
bool CanProcess(string text);
}
public class HomeStrategy : IStrategy
{
public string FileType => ".txt";
public bool CanProcess(string text)
{
return text.Contains("house") || text.Contains("flat");
}
}
public class OfficeStrategy : IStrategy
{
public string FileType => ".doc";
public bool CanProcess(string text)
{
return text.Contains("office") || text.Contains("work") || text.Contains("metting");
}
}
public class StragetyFactory
{
private List<IStrategy> _strategies = new List<IStrategy>{ new HomeStrategy(), new OfficeStrategy() };
public IStrategy CreateStrategy(string fileType)
{
return _strategies.Single(s => s.FileType == fileType);
}
}
Now the client code will get the files from some repository and will save the files in the database. This is the operation, store the files in the database, just depending on the type of the file and the specific conditions for each file.
public class Client
{
public void Execute()
{
var files = repository.GetFilesFromDisk();
var factory = new StragetyFactory();
foreach (var file in files)
{
var strategy = factory.CreateStrategy(file.Type);
if (strategy.CanProcess(file.ContentText))
{
service.SaveInDatabase(file);
}
}
}
}
Am I wrong to believe that this is a different pattern than the Strategy Pattern? (even though I have called Strategy in the code above because I have seem it like this in several occasions)
If this problem is different than the one the Strategy Pattern solves, then which pattern is it?.
Not really a strategy pattern, because as definition in the strategy pattern in Wikipedia says:
In computer programming, the strategy pattern (also known as the
policy pattern) is a behavioral software design pattern that enables
selecting an algorithm at runtime. Instead of implementing a single
algorithm directly, code receives run-time instructions as to which in
a family of algorithms to use.[1]
You're not selecting an algorithm to execute at runtime, you just check conditions to see if file type satisfies conditions and then execute the algorithm.
Do you expect this to change ever ? Do you need this to be extensible, so that in the future if you need to execute different code based on file type you can do it easily.
If answer to those questions is yes, then you can keep strategies and apply few changes.
First define base strategy class that defines the code to execute
public abstract class StrategyBase
{
public abstract bool CanProcess(string fileType);
public virtual void Execute(File file)
{
_service.SaveInDatabase(file);
}
}
Your strategies change to derive from base
public class HomeStrategy : StrategyBase
{
public string FileType => ".txt";
public override bool CanProcess(string text)
{
return text.Contains("house") || text.Contains("flat");
}
}
// implement the same for the rest of strategies...
As mentioned in the comment, it's not really a factory as it doesn't create a new strategy on every call. It's more like a provider which provides strategy to execute based on file type.
public class StragetyProvider
{
private List<StrategyBase> _strategies = new List<StrategyBase>{ new HomeStrategy(), new OfficeStrategy() };
public StrategyBase GetStrategy(string fileType)
{
return _strategies.FirstOrDefault(s => s.CanProcess(fileType));
}
}
As a result client code became much simpler:
public class Client
{
public void Execute()
{
var files = repository.GetFilesFromDisk();
var provider = new StragetyProvider();
foreach (var file in files)
{
var strategy = provider.GetStrategy(file.Type);
strategy?.Execute(file);
}
}
}
Notice, when you need to add new condition, you just implement a new class that derives from StrategyBase and add it to the list of strategies in the provider and no other changes required. If you would need to execute different logic for some new file type, you will create new strategy and override Execute method and that's it.
If this does really look like an overkill and you don't need to ever extend this solution with new behavior & the only thing you want is to be able to add new condition then go with another approach.
public interface ISatisfyFileType
{
bool Satisfies(string fileType);
}
public class HomeCondition : ISatisfyFileType
{
public string FileType => ".txt";
public bool Satisfies(string text)
{
return text.Contains("house") || text.Contains("flat");
}
}
// the rest of conditions
Compose all conditions into one
public class FileConditions
{
private List<ISatisfyFileType> _conditions = new List<ISatisfyFileType>{ new HomeStrategy(), new OfficeStrategy() };
public bool Satisfies(string fileType) =>
_conditions.Any(condition => condition.Satisfies(fileType));
}
And the client:
public class Client
{
public void Execute()
{
var files = repository.GetFilesFromDisk();
var fileTypeConditions = new FileConditions();
foreach (var file in files)
{
if (fileTypeConditions.Satisfies(file.ContentText))
{
service.SaveInDatabase(file);
}
}
}
}
This also has the benefit of implementing a new condition and adding it to FileConditions class should you need a new condition without touching client code.

Resolving concrete types when using polymorphism in Autofac

Consider the following code:
public interface IFileBackup
{
Task Backup(byte[] file);
}
public class BackUpMechanismA : IFileBackup
{
//Implementation
public async Task Backup(byte[] file)
{
//Attempts to backup using mechanism A
}
}
public class BackUpMechanismB : IFileBackup
{
//Implementation
public async Task Backup(byte[] file)
{
//Attempts to backup using mechanism B
}
}
Then the calling class looks like this:
public class Caller
{
private readonly IFileBackup _backupA;
private readonly IFileBackup _backupB;
public Caller(IFileBackup backupA, IFileBackup backupB)
{
_backupA = backupA;
_backupB = backupB;
}
public async Task BackupFile(byte[] file)
{
try
{
await _backupA.Backup(file);
}
catch(SomeException)
{
await _backupB.Backup(file);
}
}
}
So what I'm trying to do here is to use polymorphism. So both BackupMechanismA and BackupMechanismB implements the Backup method in their own way. In the caller I want to attempt the first mechanism and if that doesn't work we catch an exception and try the second approach.
I'm having trouble resolving the correct implementations using Autofac. I have tried with:
builder.RegisterType<BackupMechanismA>().As<IFileBackup>().AsSelf();
builder.RegisterType<BackupMechanismB>().As<IFileBackUp>().AsSelf();
But this won't work because I still need to tell the caller which of the types to resolve. How do I do that in the caller?
Also, I'm in doubt whether this design is really the right design to go with. Before this design I just had one class with two different methods, one for mechanism A and one for mechanism B and then the caller would just call the different methods in the try catch. So I wanted to refactor this because the class got quite big and I wanted to separate the two different mechanisms into their own classes.
So, can I resolve this using Autofac? And is it the right design to go with for this scenario?
Agree with Jogge that iterating IFileBackups would be a better option, but creating an interface for each type is a no go. Instead, you could add a class which provides IEnumerable<IFileBackup> (an aggregate). For example:
public class BackupBundle : IEnumerable<IFileBackup>
{
private readonly List<IFileBackup> _backups = new List<IFileBackup>();
// default constructor creates default implementations
public BackupBundle()
: this(new List<IFileBackup> {new BackUpMechanismA(), new BackUpMechanismB()}) {}
// allow users to add custom backups
public BackupBundle(IEnumerable<IFileBackup> backups)
{
foreach (var backup in backups)
Add(backup);
}
public void Add(IFileBackup backup)
{
if (backup == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(backup));
_backups.Add(backup);
}
public IEnumerator<IFileBackup> GetEnumerator()
{
foreach (var backup in _backups)
yield return backup;
}
IEnumerator IEnumerable.GetEnumerator()
{
return GetEnumerator();
}
}
public class Caller
{
private readonly IEnumerable<IFileBackup> _backups;
public Caller(IEnumerable<IFileBackup> backups)
{
_backups = backups ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(backups));
}
public async Task BackupFile(byte[] file)
{
foreach (var b in _backups)
{
try
{
await b.Backup(file);
break;
}
catch (Exception e) { }
}
}
}
Registration can be done as follows:
builder.RegisterInstance(new BackupBundle()).As<IEnumerable<IFileBackup>>();
builder.RegisterType<Caller>();
which allows you to resolve by class name:
var caller = scope.Resolve<Caller>();
As you see, the BackupBundle has a dependency of BackUpMechanismA and BackUpMechanismB. You could get rid of it by introducing another layer of abstraction but I'd prefer not to do that. My main concern would be to make Caller more robust. You might want to introduce retry logic, timeouts, etc.
Try registering with a name and then resolve using the name:
builder.RegisterType<BackupMechanismA>().Named<IFileBackup>("BackUpMechanismA");
builder.RegisterType<BackupMechanismB>().Named<IFileBackUp>("BackUpMechanismB");
_backupA = container.ResolveNamed<IFileBackUp>
("BackUpMechanismA");
_backupB = container.ResolveNamed<IFileBackUp>
("BackUpMechanismB");
Resolve the instances during runtime, rather than injecting through the constructor. This will let you resolve to the respective type, as needed.
Let me know if this works.
To make your design work, you can try the next approach:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var builder = new ContainerBuilder();
builder.RegisterType<BackUpMechanismA>().Keyed<IFileBackup>("A");
builder.RegisterType<BackUpMechanismB>().Keyed<IFileBackup>("B");
builder.RegisterType<Caller>()
.WithParameter((p, ctx) => p.Position == 0, (p, ctx) => ctx.ResolveKeyed<IFileBackup>("A"))
.WithParameter((p, ctx) => p.Position == 1, (p, ctx) => ctx.ResolveKeyed<IFileBackup>("B"));
IContainer container = builder.Build();
var caller = container.Resolve<Caller>();
Console.ReadKey();
}
However in my opinion you probably don't need such a polymorphism here. It will be much more obvious and descriptive to implement something like this:
public async Task BackupFile(byte[] file)
{
try
{
await BackUpToAmazonS3(file);
}
catch (AmazonS3LoadingException)
{
await BackUpToLocalDisk(file);
}
}
In this example it is obvious what is going on. And there in BackUpToAmazonS3 you can use some injected AmazonS3FileBackUp and in BackUpToLocalDisk use LocalDiskFileBackUp or whatever. The point is that you don't need a polymorphism, when you don't plan to change the implementation. In your context it should be clear? that you try to put backup to some remote storage, and then, if it fails, put in on local disk. You don't need to hide the meaning here. This is your logic and should be clear, when you read the code, I suppose. Hope it helps.
In my experience, you're better off by creating an interface for each type:
public interface IFileBackup
{
Task Backup(byte[] file);
}
public interface IBackUpMechanismA : IFileBackup
{
}
public class BackUpMechanismA : IBackUpMechanismA
{
//...
}
public interface IBackUpMechanismB : IFileBackup
{
}
public class BackUpMechanismB : IBackUpMechanismB
{
//...
}
If you don't want that, what you could do is getting injected a list of IFileBackup and just iterate them. If you register BackUpMechanismA first it will be the first in the list. I'm not sure if this is guaranteed, you have to look it up.
public class Caller
{
private readonly ICollection<IFileBackup> _fileBackups;
public Caller(ICollection<IFileBackup> fileBackups)
{
_fileBackups = fileBackups;
}
public async Task BackupFile(byte[] file)
{
foreach (var fileBackup in _fileBackups)
{
try
{
await fileBackup.Backup(file);
break;
}
catch { }
}
}
}

Make methods work independently without using a common method

I am currently trying to separate out the method implementation so that they can work independently. The methods that I am trying to separate are store and checker. Both these methods require the traverse method. My current implementation has two method store and checker methods which I have separated them into different classes. They require to be called within the traverse method to work. This is the my current implementation.
class Traverse
{
public void traversemethod()
{
Console.WriteLine("Traverse function");
Checker r = new Checker();
r.checkermethod();
Store s = new Store();
s.storemethod();
}
}
class Checker
{
public void checkermethod()
{
Console.WriteLine("Checker function");
}
}
class Store
{
public void storemethod()
{
Console.WriteLine("Store function");
}
}
class Compute
{
public static void Main()
{
Console.WriteLine("Main function");
Traverse v = new Traverse();
v.traversemethod();
Console.ReadLine();
}
Is there any way by which I can implement them separately without declaring them together in traverse method and calling both store and checker method separately in the main function. I can implement the traverse method in both store and checker method, but i was wondering if there is any way to do it rather than duplicating the same code again.
Sounds like a perfect place to use a lambda:
public delegate void TraverseDelegate();
public void traversemethod(TraverseDelegate dlg){
Console.WriteLine("Traverse function");
dlg();
}
and in the Main method use:
Traverse v = new Traverse();
v.traversemethod(() => {
Checker r = new Checker();
r.checkermethod();
Store s = new Store();
s.storemethod();
});
EDIT/UPDATE(=UPDIT :-) )
You can also make the delegate a member field of Traverse, and then pass it as a constructor argument and call traversemethod without any arguments:
public class Traverse{
public delegate void TraverseDelegate();
private TraverseDelegate dlg;
public Traverse(TraverseDelegate dlg){
this.dlg=dlg;
}
public void traversemethod(){
Console.WriteLine("Traverse function");
dlg();
}
}
and in the Main method use:
Traverse v=new Traverse(()=>{
Checker r = new Checker();
r.checkermethod();
Store s = new Store();
s.storemethod();
});
v.traversemethod();
I'm not about the relationship between Checker and Store so I'll show an example with an interface instead of a base class. However you could create a base class, possibly abstract, and have each child class implement their special method.
interface IPerformMethod
{
void SpecialFunction();
}
public class Store : IPerformMethod
{
public void SpecialFunction()
{
Console.WriteLine("Store function");
}
}
public class Checker : IPerformMethod
{
public void SpecialFunction()
{
Console.WriteLine("Checker function");
}
}
Then in your TraverseMethod, you could pass in an object that implements IPerformMethod (in this case it's either an instance of Checker or Store).
public void TraverseMethod(IPerformMethod item)
{
Console.WriteLine("Traverse function");
item.SpecialFunction();
}
//To call the method
TraverseMethod(new Checker());
TraverseMethod(new Store());
(Obviously you can rename the IPerformMethod interface to something more descriptive but if I understand the question correctly, this seems to be what you want).

C# switch library using with program paremeters

I have a project with two class libraries.
I need to switch between them programatically, with application parameters, something like
if(arg == "a")
using LibraryA;
if(arg == "b")
using LibraryB;
namespace Project
{
public class MyClass
{
// my code here
}
}
If you want to build loose-couple application, i suggest you read more about Dependancy Injection pattern.
This is a nice article, desscribed how to build such design. (First 4 lessons)
This is quite a complex requirement and you'll have to bring together multiple patterns & practices to get through this. I'll try and link off to the relevant principles as I go along.
The first problem to tackle is aligning the two class libraries such that they have a common interface. This is necessary in order to make them interchangeable as you describe. Usually this would be as simple as creating an interface that both objects implement - but you mentioned that you only have control over one of the libraries. In that case you need to utilize the adapter pattern to coerce the library you don't have control over to implement your common interface.
Say we currently have these two classes in Library1.dll and Library2.dll (Library1.dll is the one we have control over)...
// in Library1.dll
public class Foo
{
public int DoSomething() { ... }
}
// In Library2.dll
public class Foo
{
public int DoSomething() { ... }
}
First we need to define our common interface. This should reside in a core/shared library...
// In Shared.dll
public interface IFoo
{
int DoSomething();
}
Now because we have control over library one, we can easily make it implement the common interface in the usual way...
// In Library1.dll
public class Foo : IFoo
{
public int DoSomething() { ... }
}
However because we don't have control over Library2.dll we'll need to create an adapter class. The purpose of this class is simply to implement the common interface, and all behaviour is delegated to the real Library2.Foo. In effect this allows us to make the Library2.Foo object implement our common interface.
// In Shared.dll
public class Foo2Adapter : IFoo()
{
private Library2.Foo _realFoo;
public Foo2Adapter()
{
_realFoo= new Library2.Foo();
}
public int DoSomething()
{
_realFoo.DoSomething();
}
}
Now we need to modify all of our client code to use the common interface rather than the objects directly. Where before you might have had something like this...
if(arg == "a")
using LibraryA;
if(arg == "b")
using LibraryB;
namespace Project
{
public class MyClass
{
public void Bar()
{
var foo = new Foo();
foo.DoSomething();
}
}
}
Now your code should only use the interface...
namespace Project
{
public class MyClass
{
public void Bar(IFoo foo)
{
foo.DoSomething();
}
}
}
Now we have a new problem, how do we know which version of IFoo to use? Is it Library1.Foo, or Shared.Foo2Wrapper?
You can use dependency injection to solve this problem. An inversion of control container will provide objects for you, and you can configure it to provide different kinds of objects based on certain conditions. Here's a psuedocode example using a sytax similar to that used by StructureMap (my personal favourite IoC container)...
var container = new IocContainer();
if (arg == "a")
container.For<IFoo>().Use<Library1.Foo>();
else if (arg == "b")
container.For<IFoo>().Use<Shared.Foo2Adapter>();
var foo = container.GetInstance<IFoo>();
Now when we call GetInstance<IFoo>() the IoC container will give us back either a Library1.Foo or a Shared.Foo2Wrapper depending on how it was configured by the command line. We now need to go through all the places in our client code where we previously had new Foo() and replace it with container.GetInstance<IFoo>().
I hope that gets you moving :)
Here's an example of how you can achieve what you're after.
using System;
namespace StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.Data
{
public interface IDataSource
{
string GetTitle(int id);
}
public class Database: IDataSource
{
public string GetTitle(int id)
{
string result;
//logic to connect to a database and retrieve a value would go here
switch (id)
{
case 1: result = "DB First Title"; break;
case 2: result = "DB Second Title"; break;
default: throw new KeyNotFoundException(string.Format("ID '{0}' not found",id));
}
return result;
}
}
}
using System;
using StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.Data;
namespace StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.DataTest
{
public class DatabaseMock : IDataSource
{
public string GetTitle(int id)
{
string result;
switch (id)
{
case 1: result = "DBMock First Title"; break;
case 2: result = "DBMock Second Title"; break;
default: throw new KeyNotFoundException(string.Format("ID '{0}' not found", id));
}
return result;
}
}
}
using System;
using StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.Data;
namespace StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.Logic
{
public class SomeBusinessObject
{
private IDataSource myData;
public SomeBusinessObject(IDataSource myData)
{
this.myData = myData;
}
public void OutputTitle(int id)
{
Console.WriteLine(myData.GetTitle(id));
}
}
}
using System;
using StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.Data;
//using StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.DataTest; //we don't need the using statement if we use the whole path below, which I think relates to your question
using StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.Logic;
namespace StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo
{
class Program
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
IDataSource myData;
#if(DEBUG)
myData = new StackOverflowDemo.Applications.TestFrameworkDemo.DataTest.DatabaseMock();
#else
myData = new Database();
#endif
SomeBusinessObject sbo = new SomeBusinessObject(myData);
sbo.OutputTitle(1);
Console.WriteLine("Done");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}
More info on mocks is available here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff650441.aspx
There's also a load of stuff at Channel9: http://channel9.msdn.com/search?term=test+driven+development
Alternatively you may be interested in this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh549175(v=vs.110).aspx. It allows you to hijack methods of existing objects and replace them with dummy methods. I've not yet played with this, but it looks promising.

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