Perfect Storm

Source code checked in, #22759

chriseyre2000 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:14:51 GMT

Updated Wiki: Home

chriseyre2000 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:02:21 GMT

Project Description
Perfect Storm started life as a code generation utility.

It now includes workflow utilities.

It requires .NET 3.0 to be installed.

PerfectStorm.CodeGen

Design Philosophy XML as a Domain Specific Language

This is a one stop code generation utility.
It permits model driven development leaving the user in total control.

Now includes the ability for the user to define their own Transformation Filters

The initial utility has the following syntax:

CodeGen model transform target [name value]*

This can be used to create a batch file which when run against the model document can be used to generate whatever source you want.
Look in the demo folder for an example.

The transform is an xslt document.

Since the transforms and the model are entirely customizable by the user this can be used to create almost anything.

This project was inspired by Code Generation in Microsoft.NET.

The application now includes a small suite of xslt Functions.

There are a number of demo projects.

Here is a quick xslt tutorial. I am not claiming to be an expert, but I can read xslt.

I would love to get feedback on this project - ideas for expansion, contributed samples, success stories (or otherwise).
All contributions will be credited.

About Version Numbers

Things I Have Generated

PerfectStorm.Rules

I have taken to experimenting with the rules engine from the WF framework. This is a place for me to keep the rules engine parts.

Source code checked in, #15333

chriseyre2000 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:31:59 GMT

Added useful filter plugin implementations.

Source code checked in, #15332

chriseyre2000 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:29:29 GMT

Split out helper methods.

Source code checked in, #15331

chriseyre2000 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:27:05 GMT

Documented the before transform.

Source code checked in, #15330

chriseyre2000 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:25:47 GMT

Plugins now have identity - you can have multiple instances with different parameters.

Source code checked in, #15329

chriseyre2000 — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:21:04 GMT

Move code to libraries.

Updated Wiki: Home

chriseyre2000 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:01:31 GMT

Project Description
Perfect Storm is a code generation utility.

It requires .NET 2.0 to be installed. This also works with Mono.
It is written in C#, but that should not prevent it from being used to generate anything (it can make raw text files and xml - what else do you need?).

Design Philosophy XML as a Domain Specific Language

This is a one stop code generation utility.
It permits model driven development leaving the user in total control.

Now includes the ability for the user to define their own Transformation Filters

The initial utility has the following syntax:

CodeGen model transform target [name value]*

This can be used to create a batch file which when run against the model document can be used to generate whatever source you want.
Look in the demo folder for an example.

The transform is an xslt document.

Since the transforms and the model are entirely customizable by the user this can be used to create almost anything.

This project was inspired by Code Generation in Microsoft.NET.

The application now includes a small suite of xslt Functions.

There are a number of demo projects.

Here is a quick xslt tutorial. I am not claiming to be an expert, but I can read xslt.

I would love to get feedback on this project - ideas for expansion, contributed samples, success stories (or otherwise).
All contributions will be credited.

About Version Numbers

Things I Have Generated

This project will not be updated during September as I am getting married. Updates will resume when I am back from my Honeymoon

Updated Wiki: Things I Have Generated

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:11:31 GMT

Things I Have Generated

In addition to being the developer of this project I am also a user of it.

Here are a list of the items that I have generated:

Sharepoint Content Type and Field defintions (as feature.xml)
Table creation scripts
Index creation scripts
Trigger creation scripts
Monorail Model components
Monorail Controller components

The real benefit of this is that you can create a whole project worth of identically structured files.
Any improvements that you think of will be applied everywhere.
You end up with very consistent code and the business analysts can keep changing their minds and you are not driven to distraction!

The only catch I have found is getting the whitespace to work properly. The trick is to use <xsl:value-of select="' '"/> between consectutive xslt tags where you want a space.

Updated Wiki: Things I Have Generated

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:11:04 GMT

!Things I Have Generated

In addition to being the developer of this project I am also a user of it.

Here are a list of the items that I have generated:

Sharepoint Content Type and Field defintions (as feature.xml)
Table creation scripts
Index creation scripts
Trigger creation scripts
Monorail Model components
Monorail Controller components

Updated Wiki: Home

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:03:59 GMT

Updated Wiki: Home

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:02:55 GMT

Updated Wiki: Code Generation in Microsoft.NET

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:00:11 GMT

Code Generation in Microsoft.NET

by Kathleen Dollard

This is the book that inspired the writing of this tool.

The price of the book is worth it for the xslt tutorial chapters alone!

The book describes a set of principles and techniques that can be used to develop code using code generation techniques.
The book intended to provide the reader with the knowledge required to create their own code generation utility.
However as the book provided a sample suite of generation tools to act as examples most discussions of the book treats it as an introduction to the supplied generation tools.
I have taken the other approach and have created my own tool based upon the presented techniques.

Here are the principles:

You have control of the templates that generate your code and can change them as required.
Collect metadata as a separate, distinct step with usable output that can independently evolve.
You or someone unfamiliar with the project can regenerate your code precisely as a one click process - now or at any point in the future.
You embrace handcrafted code by isolation and protecting it. Code generation is a supporting player to human programming and doesn't overwrite files unless they were generated and haven't been edited.
The code generated application is a high quality application. It allows more effective testing, has equal or better performance and is more easily maintained than a similar fully handcrafted application.

Currently Perfect Storm's CodeGen fails to acheive protection of handcrafted code - but I intend to add this as a feature soon.

Protection of handcrafted code can be implemented as a transform filter.

New Post: Suggestions for improvements

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:57:44 GMT

Dmitri Nesteruk suggested that I consider XQuery as an alternative to xslt.

Updated Wiki: Transformation Filters

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:54:46 GMT

!Transformation Filters

A transformation filter is a class that implements the ITransformFilter interface.

It is registered by adding an entry in the app.config file under filters.

The following is the definition of ITransformFilter:

public interface ITransformFilter
{
bool BeforeTransform(XmlDocument model, XmlDocument xslt, string outputFilename, Hashtable data, params string[] arguments);

MemoryStream AfterTransform(XmlDocument model, XmlDocument xslt, MemoryStream priorOutput, MemoryStream output, string outputFilename, Hashtable data, params string[] arguments);
}

BeforeTransform is used to prevent the transformation taking place.
If any registered filter returns false from the BeforeTransform then the output will not be written.
This allows specific files to be protected (effectively they can become write once)
It is passed:

the model file (as xml),
the transform file (as xml)
the name of the file to be created
A hashtable (intended to allow the filters to communicate with one another)
the command line parameters initially passed in

If it returns true then the filter permits the code generation to continue,

AfterTransform is used to alter the output. It can do anything to the output.
If it does not return null then the returned memorystream is used in place of the output.
It is passed:

the model file (as xml),
the transform file (as xml)
the previous output as a memorystream (or null if it did not previously exist).
the current output.
A hashtable (intended to allow the filters to communicate with one another)
the command line parameters initially passed in

If it returns a non-null memory stream then this is used in place of the current memory stream.

The minimal null transform would return true from the BeforeTransform and null from the AfterTransform.

Updated Wiki: Transformation Filters

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:53:08 GMT

the model file (as xml),
the transform file (as xml)
the name of the file to be created
A hashtable (intended to allow the filters to communicate with one another)
the command line parameters initially passed in

the model file (as xml),
the transform file (as xml)
the previous output as a memorystream (or null if it did not previously exist).
the current output.
A hashtable (intended to allow the filters to communicate with one another)
the command line parameters initially passed in

If it returns a non-null memory stream then this is used in place of the current memory stream.

Updated Wiki: Home

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:39:36 GMT

Project Description
Perfect Storm is a code generation utility.

It requires .NET 2.0 to be installed. This also works with Mono.
It is written in C#, but that should not prevent it from being used to generate anything (it can make raw text files and xml - what else do you need?).

This is a one stop code generation utility.
It permits model driven development leaving the user in total control.

Now includes the ability for the user to define their own Transformation Filters

The initial utility has the following syntax:

CodeGen model transform target [name value]*

This can be used to create a batch file which when run against the model document can be used to generate whatever source you want.
Look in the demo folder for an example.

The transform is an xslt document.

Since the transforms and the model are entirely customizable by the user this can be used to create almost anything.

This project was inspired by Code Generation in Microsoft.NET.

The application now includes a small suite of xslt Functions.

There are a number of demo projects.

Here is a quick xslt tutorial. I am not claiming to be an expert, but I can read xslt.

Design Philosophy

I would love to get feedback on this project - ideas for expansion, contributed samples, success stories (or otherwise).
All contributions will be credited.

XML as a Domain Specific Language

About Version Numbers

Closed Issue: Add a plugin framework for filters

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:38:03 GMT

This should allow extensions to be added to CodeGen to allow the process to be customized.
Filter Plugins may:

Prevent the transform from happening for a specific file.
Alter the transformed output (for example copy a version control header from an old file to the newly created one).
Comments: Implemented.

Commented Issue: Add a plugin framework for filters

chriseyre2000 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:37:43 GMT

Filters are now defined in the config file.

Released: Release 1.0.1.0 (Aug 20, 2008)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:36:31 GMT

This is the first release since the code has undergone a major restructure.
The main feature is the source is now covered by a small (but hopefully growing) suite of unit tests.
The driving force behind the restructure was to allow the code to be unit tested.
Along the way much of the functionality has been broken down into separate interfaces and made configurable.

Oddly there is no new direct functionality, however I have provided a plugin infrastructure that I plan to explore and document.
It is now possible to replace the logger with your own implementation.
It is also possible to add transform filters to the system.
Filters can change the output after the transformation or prevent the transformation from happening for a given file.
The only current filter removes the unicode header.

The app.config file has changed substantially and we now have a seperate dll with the guts of the processing.