Fixed loads of oversights

- Forgot I used IList instead of List
- Introduced the Tracer class. This allows writing text to the terminal in Debug mode, regardless of if a Debugger is attached.
Added version to 0.2.101 (0.1 outputting the original .txt file)
- Default config settings (if no file is found) is now set in GetConfig()

Honestly, this turned out to be bigger than I anticipated, but I'm enjoying myself.

Config.cs

@@ -10,15 +10,16 @@ public class Config
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets or sets the name of the schedule file.
     /// </summary>
-    public string File { get; set; } = "schedule.json";
+    public string? File { get; set; }
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets or sets the directory path where the schedule file is stored.
     /// </summary>
-    public string Path { get; set; } = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
+    public string? Path { get; set; }
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Gets or sets the list of available topics from the configuration file.
     /// </summary>
-    public IList<string> Topics { get; set; } = new[] { "Games", "Politics", "Research", "Technology" };
+    public List<string> Topics { get; set; } = new List<string>();
+
 }

GlobalUsings.cs

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+global using System.Diagnostics;
 global using Tomlyn;
 global using Tomlyn.Model;
 global using PublishTimes;

Program.cs

@@ -18,8 +18,13 @@ Config GetConfig(string file = "config.toml")
 
         return model;
     }
-
-    return new Config();
+    var defaultList = new[] { "Games", "Politics", "Research", "Technology" };
+    return new Config()
+    {
+        File = "schedule.json",
+        Path = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments),
+        Topics = defaultList.ToList()
+    };
 }
 
 /// <summary>
@@ -42,7 +47,7 @@ bool UserChoice(string choice)
 /// delay between each while avoiding time conflicts within a 30-minute window.
 /// </summary>
 /// <returns>A list of TimeSpan objects representing scheduled article times.</returns>
-List<TimeSpan> GenerateSchedule()
+List<TimeSpan> GenerateTimes()
 {
     var numberOfArticles = 5; // Define how many articles to schedule
     var startTime = new TimeSpan(9, 0, 0); // Starting time at 9:00 AM
@@ -149,7 +154,7 @@ string NewTopic(List<string> topics)
 void ExportSchedule(List<String> storeTimes)
 {
     // App directory is used for config file
-    var appDir = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory;
+    var appDir = Tracer.AppDirectory;
     // File directory is used for file location set in config
     var outputDir = Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
     var cfgFile = "config.toml";
@@ -166,24 +171,32 @@ void ExportSchedule(List<String> storeTimes)
     // If the config file exists, read from that but don't assume anything is filled
     if (File.Exists(cfgPath))
     {
+        Tracer.WriteLine(cfgPath);
         var toml = File.ReadAllText(cfgPath);
         var usrDir = config.Path;
         var usrFileName = config.File;
         // Convert list into array
-        var usrTopics = config.Topics;
+        var list = config.Topics;
+        var tomlList = string.Join(", ", list);
+        var usrTopics = tomlList.Split(',');
 
-        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(usrDir))
-            outputDir = usrDir;
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(usrDir))
+            return;
 
-        if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(usrFileName))
-            outputFile = usrFileName;
+        outputDir = usrDir;
+
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(usrFileName))
+            return;
+
+        outputFile = usrFileName;
+
+        // If array is empty, return; otherwise, apply config
+        if (usrTopics.Length < 0)
+            return;
+
+        foreach (var usrTopic in usrTopics)
+            topics.Add(usrTopic);
 
-        // If array is populated, apply config
-        if (!usrTopics.Any())
-        {
-            foreach (var usrTopic in usrTopics)
-                topics.Add(usrTopic);
-        }
 
         // Set new file Path
         filePath = Path.Combine(outputDir, outputFile!);
@@ -211,10 +224,14 @@ void ExportSchedule(List<String> storeTimes)
         Times = times,
     });
 
-    var jsonString = JsonSerializer.Serialize(jsonList);
-    Console.WriteLine(jsonList);
+    var jsonOptions = new JsonSerializerOptions()
+    {
+        WriteIndented = true,
+    };
+
+    var jsonString = JsonSerializer.Serialize(jsonList, jsonOptions);
     File.WriteAllText(filePath, jsonString);
-    Console.WriteLine($"{Environment.NewLine}Written to: {filePath}");
+    Tracer.WriteLine($"{jsonString}{Environment.NewLine}Written to: {filePath}");
 
     // Clear list from memory
     storeTimes.Clear();
@@ -224,10 +241,10 @@ void ExportSchedule(List<String> storeTimes)
 /// Displays the scheduled article times in a formatted manner and provides
 /// options to export the schedule or restart the scheduling process.
 /// </summary>
-void PrintSchedule(bool isRestart = false)
+void PrintTimes(bool isRestart = false)
 {
     var storeSchedule = new List<String>();
-    var scheduledTimes = GenerateSchedule();
+    var scheduledTimes = GenerateTimes();
 
     // Clear the screen on restart
     if (isRestart)
@@ -245,14 +262,14 @@ void PrintSchedule(bool isRestart = false)
 
     // Give the user an option to export the schedule
     if (UserChoice("Retry?"))
-        PrintSchedule(true);
+        PrintTimes(true);
 
     // Give the user an option to export the schedule
     if (UserChoice("Export?"))
         ExportSchedule(storeSchedule);
 
     if (UserChoice("Generate A New Batch?"))
-        PrintSchedule(true);
+        PrintTimes(true);
     else
     {
         Console.Clear();
@@ -261,4 +278,4 @@ void PrintSchedule(bool isRestart = false)
 }
 
 // Start the loop
-PrintSchedule();
+PrintTimes();

PublishTimes.csproj

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
     <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
     <TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>
     <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
+    <Version>0.2.101</Version>
     <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
   </PropertyGroup>
 

README.md

@@ -6,12 +6,29 @@ It is not recommended for use with hot topics. Instead, you should focus on over
 
 ## Exporting
 
-Once it generates a list of times, you can retry or export the times. If you export, you're requested to select from a number of topics or default to none if no selection is made. Upon export, you can start over or exit.
+Once it generates a list of times, you can retry or export it as a JSON format. If you export, you're requested to select from a number of topics or default to none if no selection is made. Upon export, you can start over or exit.
 
 Choice selection is based on the Y/N keys. ``Enter`` works the same as ``Y`` while pressing any other key is the equivalent of ``N``. You can make mistakes, but it expects failure.
 
 An optional ``config.toml`` file allows for further customization of file name, directory, and topics.
 
+### Example
+
+```json
+[
+  {
+    "topic": "Games",
+    "times": [
+      "11:41 AM",
+      "2:05 PM",
+      "5:05 PM",
+      "8:18 PM",
+      "11:02 PM"
+    ]
+  }
+]
+```
+
 ## Background
 
 A while back, I [found a tool](https://schedule.lemmings.world) to schedule articles on Lemmy. I've been posting within a few hours apart at random minutes and I wanted to something decide that for me. I had AI write the base algorithm, everything else is my own touches.

Tracer.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+// I hereby waive this project under the public domain - see UNLICENSE for details.
+namespace PublishTimes;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Provides debug-only console output methods.
+/// These methods are only executed when the application is compiled in DEBUG mode.
+/// </summary>
+internal static class Tracer
+{
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Writes a line of text to the console, but only when in DEBUG mode.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="content">The text to write to the console.</param>
+    [Conditional("DEBUG")]
+    internal static void WriteLine(string content) =>
+        Console.WriteLine(content);
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Writes text to the console without a newline, but only when in DEBUG mode.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="content">The text to write to the console.</param>
+    [Conditional("DEBUG")]
+    internal static void Write(string content) =>
+        Console.Write(content);
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Writes multiple lines of text to the console, but only when in DEBUG mode.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="contents">A collection of text lines to write to the console.</param>
+    [Conditional("DEBUG")]
+    internal static void WriteLine(IEnumerable<string> contents)
+    {
+        foreach (var content in contents)
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine(content);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Writes multiple text entries to the console without newlines, but only when in DEBUG mode.
+    /// </summary>
+    /// <param name="contents">A collection of text entries to write to the console.</param>
+    [Conditional("DEBUG")]
+    internal static void Write(IEnumerable<string> contents)
+    {
+        foreach (var content in contents)
+        {
+            Console.Write(content);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Gets the current working directory in DEBUG mode or the application's base directory in release mode.
+    /// </summary>
+    internal static string AppDirectory
+    {
+        get
+        {
+#if DEBUG
+            return Directory.GetCurrentDirectory();
+#else
+  return  AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory;
+#endif
+        }
+    }
+}