Building Blazor Base Components

Introduction

This article describes how to build a suite of base components for Blazor.

Before I dive into the details, consider this simple component which displays a Bootstrap Alert.

@if (Message is not null)
{
    <div class="alert @_alertType">
        @this.Message
    </div>
}

@code {
    [Parameter] public string? Message { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public AlertType MessageType { get; set; } = BasicAlert.AlertType.Info;

    private string _alertType => this.MessageType switch
    {
        AlertType.Success => "alert-success",
        AlertType.Warning => "alert-warning",
        AlertType.Error => "alert-danger",
        _ =>  "alert-primary"
    };

    public enum AlertType
    {
        Info,
        Success,
        Error,
        Warning,
    }
}

It uses little of the functionality built into ComponentBase. There's no lifecycle code, no UI events or after render code.

Consider how many times instances of components such as this are loaded into memory every day, and how many times they are needlessly re-rendered. A huge number of calls to lifecycle async methods, constructing and then disposing Task state machines for no reason. Lots of wasted CPU cycles and memory you (and the planet) are paying for.

Such components cry out for a simpler, smaller footprint base component.

I'll stick my neck out [based on my own experience] and speculate that 99% of all components are candidates for lighter weight base components.

In this article, I'll describe how to build these simpler, smaller footprint base components. I have three. They form a simple hierarchy: the lowest component implements the core functionality needed by all components, the higher components adds extra functionality. The top level component is a Black Box replacement for ComponentBase with some added features.

Change the inheritance on FetchData or Counter or any other component you use to BlazrControlBase, and you probably won't see any difference. Update to BlazrComponentBase if you do.

Repository

The repository for this article is Blazr.BaseComponents.

The Three Components

1. BlazrUIBase is a simple UI component with minimal functionality.
2. BlazrControlBase is a mid level control component with a single lifecycle method and single render model.
3. BlazrComponentBase is a full ComponentBase replacement with some additional Wrapper/Frame functionality.

BlazrBaseComponent

All the components inherit from BlazrBaseComponent. Its the base class for the base components!

It's a standard class that implements the boilerplate code used by all components. It's abstract and doesn't implement IComponent. Inheriting classes implement IComponent, and can either set SetParametersAsync as virtual, or fix it.

It replicates most of the variables and properties of ComponentBase to keep things familiar.

The differences are:

1. The Initialized flag has changed. It's reversed and now protected, so inheriting classes can access it. It has a NotInitialized opposite: no need for the awkward if(!Initialized) conditional code.
2. It has a Guid identifier: useful for tracking instances in debugging, and used in some of my more advanced components.
3. It has two RenderFragments to implement Wrapper/Frame functionality. Frame defines the code to wrap around Body. Frame is nullable: if it's null, the component renders Body directly.

public abstract class BlazrBaseComponent
{
    private RenderHandle _renderHandle;
    private RenderFragment _content;
    private bool _renderPending;
    private bool _hasNeverRendered = true;

    protected bool Initialized;
    protected bool NotInitialized => !this.Initialized;

    protected virtual RenderFragment? Frame { get; set; }
    protected RenderFragment Body { get; init; }

    public Guid ComponentUid { get; init; } = Guid.NewGuid();

The constructor implements the wrapper functionality:

1. It assigns the render code BuildRenderTree to Body.
2. It sets up the lambda method assigned to _content: the render fragment StateHasChanged passes to the Renderer.
3. The lambda method assigns Frame to _content if it's not null, otherwise it assigns Body.
4. The lambda method sets Initialized to true when it completes.

More about the frame/wrapper functionality later.

public BlazrBaseComponent()
{
    this.Body = (builder) => this.BuildRenderTree(builder);

    _content = (builder) =>
    {
        _renderPending = false;
        _hasNeverRendered = false;
        if (Frame is not null)
            Frame.Invoke(builder);
        else
            BuildRenderTree(builder);

        this.Initialized = true;
    };
}

The rest of the code replicates essential methods from ComponentBase.

RenderAsync is an additional method that renders the component immediately. It works by calling StateHasChanged and immediately yielding by calling await Task.Yield(). The caller yields back to the Render and frees the UI Synchronisation Context: the Renderer services its queue and renders the component.

public void Attach(RenderHandle renderHandle)
    => _renderHandle = renderHandle;

protected abstract void BuildRenderTree(RenderTreeBuilder builder);

public async Task RenderAsync()
{
    this.StateHasChanged();
    await Task.Yield();
}

public void StateHasChanged()
{
    if (_renderPending)
        return;

    var shouldRender = _hasNeverRendered || this.ShouldRender() || 
                       _renderHandle.IsRenderingOnMetadataUpdate;

    if (shouldRender)
    {
        _renderPending = true;
        _renderHandle.Render(_content);
    }
}

protected virtual bool ShouldRender() => true;

protected Task InvokeAsync(Action workItem)
    => _renderHandle.Dispatcher.InvokeAsync(workItem);

protected Task InvokeAsync(Func<Task> workItem)
    => _renderHandle.Dispatcher.InvokeAsync(workItem);

Note: There are no lifecycle methods or implementation of SetParametersAsync. Inheriting classes implement IComponent. They can choose to make SetParametersAsync open by making it virtual or closed.

BlazrUIBase

This is the simple implementation:

public class BlazrUIBase : BlazrBaseComponent, IComponent
{
    public Task SetParametersAsync(ParameterView parameters)
    {
        parameters.SetParameterProperties(this);
        this.StateHasChanged();
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

It inherits from BlazrBaseComponent and implements IComponent.

1. It has a fixed SetParametersAsync: it can't be overridden.
2. It has no lifecycle methods. Simple components don't need them.
3. It doesn't implement IHandleEvent, i.e., it has no UI event handling. If you need any, call StateHasChanged manually.
4. It doesn't implement IHandleAfterRender, i.e., it has no after render handling. If you need it, implement it manually.

BlazrUIBase Demo

The demo implements the BasicAlert above, adding extra features to make it dismissible.

@inherits BlazrUIBase

@if (Message is not null)
{
    <div class="@_css">
        @this.Message
        @if(this.IsDismissible)
        {
            <button type="button" class="btn-close" @onclick=this.Dismiss>
            </button>
        }
    </div>
}

@code {
    [Parameter] public string? Message { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public bool IsDismissible { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public EventCallback<string?> MessageChanged { get; set; }
    [Parameter] public AlertType MessageType { get; set; } = Alert.AlertType.Info;

    private string _css => new CSSBuilder("alert")
        .AddClass(_alertType)
        .AddClass(this.IsDismissible, "alert-dismissible")
        .Build();
    
        private void Dismiss()
            => MessageChanged.InvokeAsync(null);
    
    //... AlertType and _alertType code
}

And the demo AlertPage.

@page "/AlertPage"
@inherits BlazrControlBase
<PageTitle>Index</PageTitle>

<h1>Hello, world!</h1>

Welcome to your new app.

<div class="m-2">
    <button class="btn btn-success" @onclick="() => 
     this.SetMessageAsync(_timeString)">Set Message</button>
    <button class="btn btn-danger" @onclick="() => 
     this.SetMessageAsync(null)">Clear Message</button>
</div>

<div class="m-3 p-2 border border-1 border-success rounded-3">
    <h5>Dismisses Correctly</h5>
    <Alert @bind-Message=@_message1 MessageType=Alert.AlertType.Success />
</div>

<div class="m-3 p-2 border border-1 border-danger rounded-3">
    <h5>Does Not Dismiss</h5>
    <Alert Message=@_message2 MessageType=Alert.AlertType.Error />
</div>

@code {
    private string? _message1;
    private string? _message2;
    private string _timeString => $"Set at {DateTime.Now.ToLongTimeString()}";

    private Task SetMessageAsync(string? message)
    {
        _message1 = message;
        _message2 = message;
        this.StateHasChanged();
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

There are some important design points to digest in this component.

Alert implements the Component Bind pattern: A Message incoming getter parameter and a MessageChanged outgoing EventCallback setter parameter. The parent can bind a variable/property to the component like this @bind-Message=_message.

Alert has a UI event, but there's no IHandleEvent handler implemented. The Render still handles the event by calling the UI event method directly. There's no built-in call to StateAsChanged().

In the demo page, there are two instances of Alert. One is wired through @bind-Message, two is wired through the Message parameter.

When you run the code and click on the buttons, two doesn't dismiss the Alert. The're nothing wired to MessageChanged.

On the other hand One works, even without a call to StateHasChanged.

Index inherits from BlazrControlBase, so there's a built-in call to StateHasChanged at the end of the UI event handler.

1. The Alert Dismiss method invokes MessageChanged passing a null string.
2. The UI handler invokes the Bind handler in Index.
3. The Bind handler [created by the Razor Compiler] updates _message to null.
4. The UI Handler completes and calls StateHasChanged.
5. Index renders.
6. The Renderer detects the Message parameter on Alert has changed. It calls SetParametersAsync on Alert passing in the modified ParameterView.
7. Alert renders: Message is null so it hides the alert.

The important lesson is: Always test whether you actually need to call StateHasChanged.

AlertPage Inheriting BlazrUIBase

We can downgrade the inheritance on AlertPage to BlazrUIBase to experiment with rendering.

Once you do so, nothing updates. No Alert appears because there's no StateHasChanged() calls happening [and no UI Render Updates] when UI events occur.

We can fix that by adding calls to StateHasChanged where they are needed.

Binding will no longer work as advertised becaaue there's no longer a registered UI handler. The renderer calls the bind handler directly. There's no built-in call to StateHasChanged.

To solve this, we wire up the binding manually.

1. Add a handler to assign to the MessageChanged callback. This calls StateHasChanged once it's set _message1. We've replicated the original process.
   C#

   private Task OnUpdateMessage(string? value)
   {
       _message1 = value;
       this.StateHasChanged();
       return Task.CompletedTask;
   }

2. Change the binding on the Alert component.
   XML

   <Alert @bind-Message:get=_message1 @bind-Message:set=
          this.OnUpdateMessage MessageType=Alert.AlertType.Success />

3. Update SetMessageAsync to call StateHasChanged.
   C#

   private Task SetMessageAsync(string? message)
   {
       _message1 = message;
       _message2 = message;
       this.StateHasChanged();
       return Task.CompletedTask;
   }

Everything now works, and we're being efficient by only driving render events when we need them.

BlazrControlBase

BlazrControlBase is the intermediate level component. It's my workhorse.

It:

1. implements the OnParametersSetAsync lifecycle method.
2. implements a single render UI event handler.
3. locks SetParametersAsync: you can't override it.

public abstract class BlazrControlBase : BlazrBaseComponent, IComponent, IHandleEvent
{
    public async Task SetParametersAsync(ParameterView parameters)
    {
        parameters.SetParameterProperties(this);
        await this.OnParametersSetAsync();
        this.StateHasChanged();
    }

    protected virtual Task OnParametersSetAsync()
        => Task.CompletedTask;  

    async Task IHandleEvent.HandleEventAsync(EventCallbackWorkItem item, object? obj)
    {
        await item.InvokeAsync(obj);
        this.StateHasChanged();
    }
}

Consider this.

You can code OnParametersSetAsync to run initialization code: BlazrBaseComponent provides access to Initialized and NotInitialized. OnInitialized{Async} is redundant.

In simple scenarios, you can code everything in OnParametersSetAsync. In more complex scenarios, you can break out the intialization code into one or more separate methods.

protected override async Task OnParametersSetAsync()
 {
     if (this.NotInitialized)
     {
         // do initialization stuff here
     }
 }

You don't need sync versions. There's no difference in overhead between:

private Task DoParametersSet()
{
    OnParametersSet();
    return OnParametersSetAsync();
}

protected virtual void OnParametersSet()
{
    // Some sync code
}

protected virtual Task OnParametersSetAsync()
    => Task.CompletedTask;

And:

protected virtual Task OnParametersSetAsync() 
{
    // some sync code
    return Task.CompletedTask;
}

I'd like to make it return a ValueTask, but that breaks compatibility.

BlazrControlBase Demo

The demo builds a new version of FetchData, and demonstrates how you can replace a ComponentBase page with one based on BlazrControlBase.

Modified Weather Forecast Data Pipeline

First, the modified Weather Forecast data class and service.

public class WeatherForecast
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public DateOnly Date { get; set; }
    public int TemperatureC { get; set; }
    public int TemperatureF => 32 + (int)(TemperatureC / 0.5556);
    public string? Summary { get; set; }
}

namespace Blazr.Server.Web.Data;

public class WeatherForecastService
{
    private List<WeatherForecast> _forecasts;
    private static readonly string[] Summaries = new[]
        { "Freezing", "Bracing", "Chilly", "Cool", "Mild", 
          "Warm", "Balmy", "Hot", "Sweltering", "Scorching"};

    public WeatherForecastService()
        => _forecasts = this.GetForecasts();

    public async ValueTask<IEnumerable<WeatherForecast>> GetForecastsAsync()
    {
        await Task.Delay(1000);
        return _forecasts.AsEnumerable();
    }

    public async ValueTask<WeatherForecast?> GetForecastAsync(int id)
    {
        await Task.Delay(1000);
        return _forecasts.FirstOrDefault(item => item.Id == id);
    }

    private List<WeatherForecast> GetForecasts()
    {
        var date = DateOnly.FromDateTime(DateTime.Now);
        return Enumerable.Range(1, 10).Select(index => new WeatherForecast
        {
            Id = index,
            Date = date.AddDays(index),
            TemperatureC = Random.Shared.Next(-20, 55),
            Summary = Summaries[Random.Shared.Next(Summaries.Length)]
        }).ToList();
    }
}

WeatherForecastViewer

This page demonstrates various features, so there's a set of buttons that use routing [rather than a button event handler that just updates the id and display] to switch between records. They route to the same page and modify the Id - /WeatherForecast/1.

The markup is self-evident. It's not efficient: it keep it simple demo code.

The code I want to look at in detail is OnParametersSetAsync.

1. NotInitialized provides the conditional control: only load the WeatherForecast list on initialization. In ComponentBase, this code would be in OnInitializedAsync.
2. hasIdChanged detects if the Id has changed. It's declared separately to make the code clearer and more expressive. The compiler will optimize this.
3. It only gets the new record if the Id has changed.

@page "/WeatherForecast/{Id:int}"
@inject WeatherForecastService service
@inherits BlazrControlBase

<h3>Country Viewer</h3>

<div class="bg-dark text-white m-2 p-2">
    @if (_record is not null)
    {
        <pre>Id : @_record.Id </pre>
        <pre>Name : @_record.Date </pre>
        <pre>Temp C : @_record.TemperatureC </pre>
        <pre>Temp F : @_record.TemperatureF </pre>
        <pre>Summary : @_record.Summary </pre>
    }
    else
    {
        <pre>No Record Loaded</pre>
    }
</div>

<div class="m-3 text-end">
    <div class="btn-group">
        @foreach (var forecast in _forecasts)
        {
            <a class="btn @this.SelectedCss(forecast.Id)" 
             href="@($"/WeatherForecast/{forecast.Id}")">@forecast.Id</a>
        }
    </div>
</div>
@code {
    [Parameter] public int Id { get; set; }

    private WeatherForecast? _record;
    private IEnumerable<WeatherForecast> _forecasts = 
                        Enumerable.Empty<WeatherForecast>();

    private int _id;

    private string SelectedCss(int value)
        => _id == value ? "btn-primary" : "btn-outline-primary";

    protected override async Task OnParametersSetAsync()
    {
        if (NotInitialized)
            _forecasts = await service.GetForecastsAsync();

        var hasIdChanged = this.Id != _id;

        _id = this.Id;

        if (hasIdChanged)
            _record = await service.GetForecastAsync(this.Id);
    }
}

BlazrComponentBase

The full ComponentBase implementation is too long to include here: it's in the Appendix.

I'll not bore you with an example because it can replace ComponentBase in any component.

BaseComponent Added Features

All the base components come with some extra features.

Wrapper/Frame Feature

A Demo Wrapper component.

Note the wrapper is defined in the Frame render fragment [not the main content section], and uses the Razor built-in __builder RenderTreeBuilder instance.

@inherits BlazrControlBase

@*Code Here is redundant*@

@code {
    protected override RenderFragment Frame => (__builder) => 
    {
        <h2 class="text-primary">Welcome To Blazor</h2>
        <div class="border border-1 border-primary rounded-3 bg-light p-2">
            @this.Body
        </div>
    };
}

And Index inheriting from Wrapper.

@page "/"
@page "/WrapperDemo"

@inherits Wrapper

<PageTitle>Index</PageTitle>

<h1>Hello, world!</h1>

Welcome to your new app.

<SurveyPrompt />

What you get is:

RenderAsync

When you move to the single render-on-completion or manual render UI event handling, you [the coder] get control of if and when you do intermediate renders. RenderAsync ensures the component is rendered immediately.

The following page demonstrates how it works:

@page "/Load"
@inherits BlazrControlBase
<h3>SequentialLoadPage</h3>

<div class="bg-dark text-white m-2 p-2">
    <pre>@this.Log.ToString()</pre>
</div>
@code {
    private StringBuilder Log = new();

    protected override async Task OnParametersSetAsync()
    {
        await GetData();
    }

    private async Task GetData()
    {
        for(var counter = 1; counter <= 10; counter++)
        {
            this.Log.AppendLine($"Fetched Record {counter}");
            await this.RenderAsync();
            await Task.Delay(500);
        }
    }
}

Miss out await this.RenderAsync(); and you only get the final result. If you ran this code in ComponentBase, you would get the first render, and then nothing would happen till the last. Comment out RenderAsync, change the inheritance and try it.

Manually Implementing OnAfterRender

If you need to implement OnAfterRender, it's relatively simple.

@implements IHandleAfterRender

//...  markup

@code {
    // Implement if need to detect first after render
    private bool _firstRender = true;

    Task IHandleAfterRender.OnAfterRenderAsync()
    {
        if (_firstRender)
        {
            // Do first render stuff
            _firstRender = false;
        }

        // Do subsequent render stuff
    }
}

Bringing It Together

This demo page extends the WeatherForecastViewer, adding status information as the page loads using the Alert component we developed earlier.

Again, the important code is in OnParametersSetAsync.

The code uses _message, _alertType and _dismissible class variables to control the alert box and switch the messaging. The final completed alert is set as dismissible.

@page "/WeatherForecastWithStatus/{Id:int}"
@inject WeatherForecastService service
@inherits BlazrControlBase

<h3>Weather Forecast Viewer</h3>

<Alert @bind-Message=_message IsDismissible=_dismissible MessageType=_alertType/>

<div class="bg-dark text-white m-2 p-2">
    @if (_record is not null)
    {
        <pre>Id : @_record.Id </pre>
        <pre>Name : @_record.Date </pre>
        <pre>Temp C : @_record.TemperatureC </pre>
        <pre>Temp F : @_record.TemperatureF </pre>
        <pre>Summary : @_record.Summary </pre>
    }
    else
    {
        <pre>No Record Loaded</pre>
    }
</div>

<div class="m-3 text-end">
    <div class="btn-group">
        @foreach (var forecast in _forecasts)
        {
            <a class="btn @this.SelectedCss(forecast.Id)" 
             href="@($"/WeatherForecastWithStatus/{forecast.Id}")">@forecast.Id</a>
        }
    </div>
</div>
@code {
    [Parameter] public int Id { get; set; }

    private WeatherForecast? _record;
    private IEnumerable<WeatherForecast> _forecasts = 
                        Enumerable.Empty<WeatherForecast>();
    private string? _message;
    private bool _dismissible;
    private Alert.AlertType _alertType = Alert.AlertType.Info;

    private int _id;

    private string SelectedCss(int value)
        => _id == value ? <span class="pl-s">"btn-primary" : 
                           "btn-outline-primary"</span>;

    protected override async Task OnParametersSetAsync()
    {
        _dismissible = false;

        if (NotInitialized)
        {
            _message = "Initializing";
            _alertType = Alert.AlertType.Warning;
            await this.RenderAsync();
            _forecasts = await service.GetForecastsAsync();
        }

        var hasIdChanged = this.Id != _id;

        _id = this.Id;

        if (hasIdChanged)
        {
            _message = "Loading";
            _alertType = Alert.AlertType.Info;
            await this.RenderAsync();
            _record = await service.GetForecastAsync(this.Id);
        }

        _message = "Loaded";
        _alertType = Alert.AlertType.Success;
        _dismissible = true;
        await this.RenderAsync();
    }
}

Summing Up

This article demonstrates how to code Blazor applications outside ComponentBase. You lose nothing, gain some important extra functionality and gain more control of the render process.

Take the plunge. Start using my component suite. Make BlazrControlBase your main base component.

I've included BlazrComponentBase, but I must confess to never using it. I only use ComponentBase where I used components that inherit from it such as the InputBase edit controls.

I'll leave you by quoting a comment at the top of the ComponentBase source code:

// Most of the developer-facing component lifecycle concepts are encapsulated in this
// base class. The core components rendering system doesn't know about them 
// (it only knows about IComponent). 
// This gives us flexibility to change the lifecycle concepts easily,
// or for developers to design their own lifecycles as different base classes. 

Appendix

Class Diagram

BlazrComponentBase

The full class code for BlazrComponentBase is as follows:

public class BlazrComponentBase : BlazrBaseComponent, 
             IComponent, IHandleEvent, IHandleAfterRender
{
    private bool _hasCalledOnAfterRender;

    public virtual async Task SetParametersAsync(ParameterView parameters)
    {
        parameters.SetParameterProperties(this);
        await this.ParametersSetAsync();
    }

    protected async Task ParametersSetAsync()
    {
        Task? initTask = null;
        var hasRenderedOnYield = false;

        // If this is the initial call then we need to run the OnInitialized methods
        if (this.NotInitialized)
        {
            this.OnInitialized();
            initTask = this.OnInitializedAsync();
            hasRenderedOnYield = await this.CheckIfShouldRunStateHasChanged(initTask);
            Initialized = true;
        }

        this.OnParametersSet();
        var task = this.OnParametersSetAsync();

        // check if we need to do the render on Yield i.e.
        //  - this is not the initial run or
        //  - OnInitializedAsync did not yield
        var shouldRenderOnYield = initTask is null || !hasRenderedOnYield;

        if (shouldRenderOnYield)
            await this.CheckIfShouldRunStateHasChanged(task);
        else
            await task;

        // run the final state has changed to update the UI.
        this.StateHasChanged();
    }

    protected virtual void OnInitialized() { }

    protected virtual Task OnInitializedAsync() => Task.CompletedTask;

    protected virtual void OnParametersSet() { }

    protected virtual Task OnParametersSetAsync() => Task.CompletedTask;

    protected virtual void OnAfterRender(bool firstRender) { }

    protected virtual Task OnAfterRenderAsync(bool firstRender) => Task.CompletedTask;

    async Task IHandleEvent.HandleEventAsync(EventCallbackWorkItem item, object? obj)
    {
        var uiTask = item.InvokeAsync(obj);

        await this.CheckIfShouldRunStateHasChanged(uiTask);

        this.StateHasChanged();
    }

    Task IHandleAfterRender.OnAfterRenderAsync()
    {
        var firstRender = !_hasCalledOnAfterRender;
        _hasCalledOnAfterRender = true;

        OnAfterRender(firstRender);

        return OnAfterRenderAsync(firstRender);
    }

    protected async Task<bool> CheckIfShouldRunStateHasChanged(Task task)
    {
        var isCompleted = task.IsCompleted || task.IsCanceled;

        if (!isCompleted)
        {
            this.StateHasChanged();
            await task;
            return true;
        }

        return false;
    }
}

CSSBuilder

/// ============================================================
/// Modification Author: Shaun Curtis, Cold Elm Coders
/// License: Use And Donate
/// If you use it, donate something to a charity somewhere
/// 
/// Original code based on CSSBuilder by Ed Charbeneau
/// and other implementations
/// 
/// https://github.com/EdCharbeneau/BlazorComponentUtilities/blob/
/// master/BlazorComponentUtilities/CssBuilder.cs
/// ============================================================
namespace Blazr.Components;

public sealed class CSSBuilder
{
    private Queue<string> _cssQueue = new Queue<string>();

    public static CSSBuilder Class(string? cssFragment = null)
        => new CSSBuilder(cssFragment);

    public CSSBuilder() { }

    public CSSBuilder(string? cssFragment)
        => AddClass(cssFragment ?? String.Empty);

    public CSSBuilder AddClass(string? cssFragment)
    {
        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(cssFragment))
            _cssQueue.Enqueue(cssFragment);
        return this;
    }

    public CSSBuilder AddClass(IEnumerable<string> cssFragments)
    {
        cssFragments.ToList().ForEach(item => _cssQueue.Enqueue(item));
        return this;
    }

    public CSSBuilder AddClass(bool WhenTrue, string cssFragment)
        => WhenTrue ? this.AddClass(cssFragment) : this;

    public CSSBuilder AddClass(bool WhenTrue, 
           string? trueCssFragment, string? falseCssFragment)
        => WhenTrue ? this.AddClass(trueCssFragment) : this.AddClass(falseCssFragment);

    public CSSBuilder AddClassFromAttributes
    (IReadOnlyDictionary<string, object> additionalAttributes)
    {
        if (additionalAttributes != null 
        && additionalAttributes.TryGetValue("class", out var val))
            _cssQueue.Enqueue(val.ToString() ?? string.Empty);
        return this;
    }

    public CSSBuilder AddClassFromAttributes
           (IDictionary<string, object> additionalAttributes)
    {
        if (additionalAttributes != null 
        && additionalAttributes.TryGetValue("class", out var val))
            _cssQueue.Enqueue(val.ToString() ?? string.Empty);
        return this;
    }

    public string Build(string? CssFragment = null)
    {
        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(CssFragment)) _cssQueue.Enqueue(CssFragment);
        if (_cssQueue.Count == 0)
            return string.Empty;
        var sb = new StringBuilder();
        foreach (var str in _cssQueue)
        {
            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(str)) sb.Append($" {str}");
        }
        return sb.ToString().Trim();
    }
}

History

• 14^th July, 2023: Initial version