ConverterBase.cs :  » Persistence-Frameworks » FileHelpers-Library » FileHelpers » C# / CSharp Open Source

using System;

#region "   Copyright 2005-07 to Marcos Meli - http://www.marcosmeli.com.ar" 

// Errors, suggestions, contributions, send a mail to: marcos@filehelpers.com.

#endregion

namespace FileHelpers{
  /// <summary>
  /// Base class to provide bidirectional
  /// Field - String convertion.
  /// </summary>
  public abstract class ConverterBase
  {

        private static string mDefaultDateTimeFormat = "ddMMyyyy";


        /// <summary>
        /// <para>Allow you to set the default Date Format used for the converter.</para>
        /// <para>With the same format that the .NET framework.</para>
        /// <para>By default: "ddMMyyyy"</para>
        /// </summary>
        public static string DefaultDateTimeFormat
        {
            get { return mDefaultDateTimeFormat; }
            set 
            {
                try
                {
                    string tmp = DateTime.Now.ToString(value);
                }
                catch
                {
                    throw new BadUsageException("The format: '" + value + " is invalid for the DateTime Converter.");
                }

                mDefaultDateTimeFormat= value;
            }
        }


    /// <summary>
    /// Convert a string in the file to a field value.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="from">The string to convert.</param>
    /// <returns>The field value.</returns>
    public abstract object StringToField(string from);

    /// <summary>
    /// Convert a field value to an string to write this to the file.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>The basic implementation performs a: from.ToString();</remarks>
    /// <param name="from">The field values to convert.</param>
    /// <returns>The string representing the field value.</returns>
    public virtual string FieldToString(object from)
    {
      if (from == null)
        return string.Empty;
      else
        return from.ToString();
    }

    /// <summary>If the class retures false the engines dont pass null values to the converter. If true the engines pass all the values to the converter.</summary>
    protected internal virtual bool CustomNullHandling
    {
      get { return false; }
    }

    internal Type mDestinationType;

    /// <summary>
    /// Thorws a ConvertException with the passed values
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="from">The source string.</param>
    /// <param name="errorMsg">The custom error msg.</param>
    protected void ThrowConvertException(string from, string errorMsg)
    {
      throw new ConvertException(from, mDestinationType, errorMsg);
    }

//    internal object mDefaultValue;
//    /// <summary>
//    /// Indicates 
//    /// </summary>
//    protected object DefaultValueFromField
//    {
//      get
//      {
//        return mDefaultValue;
//      }
//    }

  }
}