DevBuddy: Your Automated Development Assistant

DevBuddy is a command-line tool designed to streamline development by automating repetitive tasks like generating CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) and Faker classes. CRUD operations are fundamental for any database-driven application, allowing users to manage their data effectively. Faker classes, on the other hand, are used to create mock data that mimics real-world data structures, which is essential for testing and development environments.By using DevBuddy, developers can save time.

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Features

• CRUD Operations: Automatically generate classes that support all CRUD operations for your database models.
• Faker Support: Easily generate Faker classes to produce realistic and random data for testing. DevBuddy utilizes the Bogus library, a popular and powerful tool for creating fake data.
• Simple, flexible, and easy to use.

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Installation

Install DevBuddy as a .NET global tool by running:

dotnet tool install -g DevBuddy

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Getting Started

DevBuddy provides two main commands:

1. Generate CRUD Templates
2. Generate Faker Classes

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1. Generate CRUD Templates

The generate-CRUD command generates CRUD templates for a specified entity.

Command Syntax:

devbuddy generate-CRUD --entity <EntityName> --referenceEntity <ReferenceEntity> --templates <Templates> --config <ConfigPath> --rootPath <RootPath>

Options:

• --entity, -e (required): The name of the entity for which CRUD templates will be generated.
  Examples: Product, Order, Customer.

• --referenceEntity, -re (required): The name of the existing entity to use as a reference.
  Example: If your Customer entity follows the same structure as User, use --referenceEntity User.

• --templates, -t (required): Specify the templates to generate.
  Options:

  • Use all to generate all templates.
  • Specify templates as a comma-separated list, such as Controller, ViewModel, Service.

• --rootPath (optional): The root folder where files will be generated. Defaults to the current directory.

• --config (required): Path to a configuration file for custom settings (e.g., paths and default templates).
  Example: --config ./config.json.

Configuration File: config.json

The config.json file plays a crucial role in the DevBuddy tool by defining the templates and settings used for code generation. This configuration ensures that the tool generates code that is tailored to the specific architecture and naming conventions of your project. Explore the configuration file at Here, where you are welcome to view and adjust it to better align with your specific needs.

Structure:

• TemplateCategories: An array of different templates that AutoCRUD can generate. Each category is specified with attributes and a template information block that includes the project layer, subfolder path, and filename pattern.

Example:

{
    "TemplateCategories": [
      {
        "Name": "CountryController",
        "Attributes":["FullTemplate"],
        "TemplateInfo": {
          "ProjectLayer": "Web",
          "Subfolder": "Controllers/Api",
          "FileNamePattern": "{entityName}Controller.cs"
        }
      },
      {
        "Name": "Model",
        "Attributes": ["ReadOnly"],
        "TemplateInfo": {
          "ProjectLayer": "Domain",
          "Subfolder": "Models",
          "FileNamePattern": "{entityName}.cs"
        }
      },
   
      {
        "Name": "Controller",
        "Attributes": ["FullTemplate"],
        "TemplateInfo": {
          "ProjectLayer": "Web",
          "Subfolder": "Controllers",
          "FileNamePattern": "{entityName}Controller.cs"
        }
      }
    ]
}
  

Customizing Configurations:

You can customize the tool's behavior by modifying the TemplateCategories entries:

• Name: The identifier for the template category.
• Attributes: Modifiers such as FullTemplate, ReadOnly., that influence how the template is processed.
  • FullTemplate: Use this attribute for templates that require complete rendering without modifications during runtime. Ideal for scaffolding fully operational views or controllers directly from the template.
  • ReadOnly: Assign this attribute to templates that should not be altered post-generation. This is typically used for domain model definitions, ensuring their integrity and consistency throughout the application lifecycle.
• TemplateInfo: Details where and how the template files should be structured within your project.

File Patterns:

The FileNamePattern provides a template for the filenames that AutoCRUD will generate. For example:

• "FileNamePattern": "{entityName}Controller.cs" would result in filenames like UserAccountController.cs, where {entityName} is replaced by the actual entity name.

Usage:

To adapt the AutoCRUD tool to your project's needs, modify the config.json entries to match your desired output file structure and naming conventions. Ensure that each path and filename pattern correctly reflects the target directory structure in your project.

Important Note

• Configuring Model Templates in config.json: To ensure that DevBuddy accurately recognizes and processes your Model templates, it is crucial to precisely define each model's configuration settings in the config.json file. This configuration enables DevBuddy to effectively retrieve the properties from the model during code generation. The following example illustrates how to set up a Model template properly:

{
  "Name": "Model",
  "Attributes": ["ReadOnly"],
  "TemplateInfo": {
    "ProjectLayer": "Domain",
    "Subfolder": "Models",
    "FileNamePattern": "{entityName}.cs"
  }
}

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Examples:

• Generate all templates for an entity using a reference entity:

  devbuddy generate-CRUD --entity Product --referenceEntity Customer --templates all --config ./config.json

• Generate specific templates for an entity:

  devbuddy generate-CRUD --entity Order --referenceEntity User --templates Controller,ViewModel --config C:\Users\Documents\config.json

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2. Generate Faker Classes

The generate-Fakers command generates Faker classes to help seed your database with dummy data.

Command Syntax:

devbuddy generate-Fakers --model <ModelName> --modelsPath <ModelsPath> --outputPath <OutputPath>

Options:

• --model, -m (required): The name of the model for which Faker classes will be generated, or 'all' to generate for all models. Example: Product, User.

• --modelsPath (required): The directory path where the model definitions are located. Example: ./Models.

• --outputPath (required): The folder where the Faker class files will be generated. Example: ./Fakers.

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Examples:

• Generate Faker classes for all models:

  devbuddy generate-Fakers --model all --modelsPath ./Models --outputPath ./Fakers

• Generate a Faker class for a Product model:

  devbuddy generate-Fakers --model Product --modelsPath ./Models --outputPath ./Fakers

Integrating Generated Classes into Your Application

Once DevBuddy has generated Faker classes, you can integrate them into your application to seed data either to JSON files or directly to your database. Here are two methods to implement the generated classes:

Method 1: Seeding to JSON Files

You can initialize the seeding process during the application startup by including the following code in your startup class .

public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
    // Register Faker classes
    FakerRunner.RegisterFakers();

    // Optional: Run Fakers to generate JSON files
    // This will generate JSON files with 99 sets of data per model
    FakerRunner.RunFakersToJson("OutPutPathForTheJsonFiles", 99);
}

This method is useful for generating data in bulk that can be used for testing or initial loading scenarios.

Method 2: Seeding Directly to Database

To seed data directly into your database using the generated Faker classes, include the following code in your startup class:

public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
    using var scope = app.ApplicationServices.CreateScope();
    var dbContext = scope.ServiceProvider.GetRequiredService<YourAppDbContext>();

    // Seed data directly to the database
    // This will insert 100 sets of data directly into your database
    FakerRunner.RunFakerToDatabase(dbContext, 100);
}

Replace YourAppDbContext with the actual DbContext of your application. This approach is particularly effective for dynamically inserting test data into your development or test databases.

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Contributing

We welcome contributions to DevBuddy! If you have suggestions for improvements or have encountered bugs, please open an issue or submit a pull request on.GitHub

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License

DevBuddy is released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

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Important Note

• Version Control: This application creates and overwrites files, so ensure you have your code committed in Git or a similar version control system to avoid any loss of work.