// I hereby waive this project under the public domain - see UNLICENSE for details. /// /// Prompts the user with a yes/no question and returns their choice as a boolean value. /// /// The message to display to the user. /// True if the user selects 'Y' or presses Enter, otherwise false. bool UserChoice(string choice) { Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}{choice} Y/N"); var input = Console.ReadKey().Key; if (input == ConsoleKey.Y || input == ConsoleKey.Enter) return true; return false; } /// /// Generates a schedule of article publishing times, ensuring a randomized /// delay between each while avoiding time conflicts within a 30-minute window. /// /// A list of TimeSpan objects representing scheduled article times. List GenerateSchedule() { var numberOfArticles = 5; // Define how many articles to schedule var startTime = new TimeSpan(9, 0, 0); // Starting time at 9:00 AM var rng = new Random(); var scheduledTimes = new List(); for (int i = 0; i < numberOfArticles; i++) { var baseDelayHours = rng.Next(2, 4); // Randomly choose between 2-3 hours delay var minutesToAdd = rng.Next(0, 60); // Randomly choose minutes (0-59) // Calculate new time by adding base delay and random minutes var nextTime = startTime.Add(new TimeSpan(baseDelayHours, minutesToAdd, 0)); // Check if the new time is within 30 minutes of any existing time while (scheduledTimes.Exists(previousTime => Math.Abs((nextTime - previousTime).TotalMinutes) < 30)) { // If the new time is within 30 minutes of an existing time, adjust it nextTime = nextTime.Add(new TimeSpan(0, 30, 0)); } scheduledTimes.Add(nextTime); startTime = nextTime; // Update start time for the next article } return scheduledTimes; } /// /// Converts a TimeSpan into a 12-hour AM/PM formatted time string. /// /// The TimeSpan representing the time of day. /// A formatted string representing the time in AM/PM format. string ConvertTo12Hour(TimeSpan time) { var minutes = time.TotalMinutes; var hours12 = time.Hours % 12; if (hours12 == 0) hours12 = 1; var period = time.Hours >= 12 ? "PM" : "AM"; return $"{hours12}:{time.Minutes:D2} {period}"; } /// /// Prompts the user to select a topic from a given list /// and returns the chosen topic. /// /// An array of available topics. /// The selected topic as a string. string SelectTopics(List topics) { var topicChoice = ""; var topicNum = 0; var userChoices = new List(); var numOfTopics = 0; var topicDict = new Dictionary(); foreach (var topic in topics) { numOfTopics++; var title = topic.Trim(); topicDict.Add(numOfTopics, title); userChoices.Add($"{numOfTopics} {title}"); } var selection = string.Join(", ", userChoices.ToArray()); Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Select a Topic (Choose a Number){Environment.NewLine}{selection}"); var input = Console.ReadLine(); // Attempt to parse a number. if (int.TryParse(input, out topicNum) == true) topicChoice = topicDict[topicNum]; else NewTopic(topics); return topicChoice; } /// /// Allows the user to choose a new topic from a given list or default to placeholder if no selection is made. /// /// A list of available topics. /// The selected topic or a default placeholder if none is chosen. string NewTopic(List topics) { var newTopic = ""; if (UserChoice("Choose a Topic?")) newTopic = SelectTopics(topics); else newTopic = "==="; return newTopic; } /// /// Exports the scheduled articles to a file, allowing the user to modify /// the directory, filename, and list of topics based on /// a configuration file if available. /// void ExportSchedule(List storeSchedule) { // App directory is used for config file var appDir = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory; // File directory is used for file location set in config var outputDir = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(); var defaultTopics = new[] { "Games", "Politics", "Research", "Technology" }; var outputFile = "schedule.txt"; var cfgFile = "config.toml"; var cfgPath = Path.Combine(appDir, cfgFile); var filePath = Path.Combine(outputDir, outputFile); var appendSchedule = false; var topic = ""; // If the config file exists, read from that but don't assume anything is filled if (File.Exists(cfgPath)) { var toml = File.ReadAllText(cfgPath); var model = Toml.ToModel(toml); var usrDir = model.Path; var usrFileName = model.File; var tomlList = string.Join(", ", model.Topics); var usrList = tomlList.Split(','); if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(usrDir)) outputDir = usrDir; if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(usrFileName)) outputFile = usrFileName; if (usrList.Length > 0) defaultTopics = usrList; // Set new file Path filePath = Path.Combine(outputDir, outputFile); } topic = NewTopic(defaultTopics.ToList()); // If the file already exists, assume a previous schedule was written if (File.Exists(filePath)) { if (UserChoice("Add to existing file?")) appendSchedule = true; // Write to file. using (var outputFile = new StreamWriter(filePath, appendSchedule)) { outputFile.WriteLine($" === {topic} ==="); foreach (var line in storeSchedule) outputFile.WriteLine(line); } } // Clear list from memory before exit storeSchedule.Clear(); } /// /// Displays the scheduled article times in a formatted manner and provides /// options to export the schedule or restart the scheduling process. /// void PrintSchedule(bool isRestart = false) { var storeSchedule = new List(); var scheduledTimes = GenerateSchedule(); if (isRestart) Console.Clear(); Console.WriteLine("=== Publish Times ==="); foreach (var time in scheduledTimes) { var articleTime = $"Article {scheduledTimes.IndexOf(time) + 1} Scheduled at: {ConvertTo12Hour(time)}"; // Correct format string to display time in 12-hour format with AM/PM Console.WriteLine(articleTime); // Store the schedule to memory for option export storeSchedule.Add(articleTime); } // Give the user an option to export the schedule if (UserChoice("Retry?")) PrintSchedule(true); // Give the user an option to export the schedule if (UserChoice("Export?")) ExportSchedule(storeSchedule); if (UserChoice("Generate A New Batch?")) PrintSchedule(true); else { Console.Clear(); Environment.Exit(Environment.ExitCode); } } // Start the loop PrintSchedule();