Question: I need to read a CSV file. I use the FileHelpers library to achieve this.
The problem is I need a dynamic delimiter (user defined), meaning anything can be delimiter (Comma, semicolon, tab, newline, but also anything else).
The problem is, FileHelpers defines the delimiter in an attribute, which means at compile-time. This makes it impossible to do it dynamically.
What I can do is declare a new class, which inherits from one base class, and set the delimiter on this new class.
[FileHelpers.DelimitedRecord(",")]
public class CommaCustomer : BaseCustomer
{
}
That way I only have to make changes in the base class for every new delimiter. The problem is, this is I can't (and don't want to) create a child class for every possible delimiter.
This is the code I have so far:
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.IO;
//using FileHelpers;
//using FileHelpers.RunTime;
namespace Examples
{
class MainClass
{
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
FileHelpers.FileHelperEngine engine = new FileHelpers.FileHelperEngine(typeof(SemicolonCustomer));
// To read use:
string str = @"D:\Username\Desktop\FileHelpers_Examples_CSharp_VbNet\Data\SemicolonCustomers.txt";
//str = @"D:\Username\Desktop\FileHelpers_Examples_CSharp_VbNet\Data\CustomersDelimited.txt";
SemicolonCustomer[] custs = (SemicolonCustomer[])engine.ReadFile(str);
//Customer[] custs = (Customer[]) engine.ReadFile("yourfile.txt");
foreach (SemicolonCustomer cli in custs)
{
Console.WriteLine();
Console.WriteLine("Customer: " + cli.CustId.ToString() + " - " + cli.Name);
Console.WriteLine("Added Date: " + cli.AddedDate.ToString("d-M-yyyy"));
Console.WriteLine("Balance: " + cli.Balance.ToString());
Console.WriteLine();
Console.WriteLine("-----------------------------");
} // Next cli
Console.ReadKey();
Console.WriteLine("Writing data to a delimited file...");
Console.WriteLine();
// To write use:
//engine.WriteFile("myyourfile.txt", custs);
//If you are using .NET 2.0 or greater is
//better if you use the Generics version:
// FileHelperEngine engine = new FileHelperEngine<Customer>();
// To read use (no casts =)
// Customer[] custs = engine.ReadFile("yourfile.txt");
// To write use:
// engine.WriteFile("yourfile.txt", custs);
} // End Sub Main
} // End Class MainClass
//------------------------
// RECORD CLASS (Example, change at your will)
// TIP: Remember to use the wizard to generate this class
public class BaseCustomer
{
public int CustId;
public string Name;
public decimal Balance;
[FileHelpers.FieldConverter(FileHelpers.ConverterKind.Date, "ddMMyyyy")]
public DateTime AddedDate;
}
[FileHelpers.DelimitedRecord(";")]
public class SemicolonCustomer : BaseCustomer
{
}
[FileHelpers.DelimitedRecord(",")]
public class CommaCustomer : BaseCustomer
{
}
}
Is it somehow possible at runtime to compile a child class
[FileHelpers.DelimitedRecord(\"" + delimiter + "\")]
public class AnyDelimiterCustomer : BaseCustomer
{
}
And then reference this runtime compiled class in code ?
