Add fluent config types to CSLA

[rockfordlhotka]

It would be easier to configure CSLA if we had a set of fluent configuration types in Csla.Configuration, following the model of config types used in ASP.NET Core and other scenarios.

Something like

    Csla.Configuration.ConfigureCsla()
        .DefaultDataPortalProxy("proxyTypeName", "serverUrl")
        .Authentication("Windows")
        .SerializationFormatter("MobileFormatter")

[rockfordlhotka]

Also add an extension method for ASP.NET Core as per this doc.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/fundamentals/dependency-injection?view=aspnetcore-2.1

[itgoran]

@rockfordlhotka
Should CSLA have his own configuration section in the appsettings.json file for this and further configurations?

Example (just a few of them):

{
   "csla": {
      "proxyType":"name",
      "authentication":"windows",
      "serializationFormatter":"MobileFormatter"
    }
}

Beside fluent interface, existing configuration mechanism implemented in the .net core can be used.

[rockfordlhotka]

Yes, it should.

A couple versions ago I switched everything inside the framework to use Csla.Configuration instead of System.Configuration to decouple from the .NET Framework.

So if you are running on .NET Framework then you get the legacy behavior from app.config/web.config unchanged.

I didn't implement any of the new behaviors from .NET Core, as I didn't have time - but that should absolutely happen!

Not just for appsettings.json, but the higher level abstractions, because .NET Core's config subsystem is smart enough to pull from ENV variables or other locations common in cloud scenarios (where config files are a bad idea in general).

[rockfordlhotka]

@itgoran - interested in helping?

[itgoran]

@rockfordlhotka
I would like to help.

[rockfordlhotka]

@itgoran wonderful! The next steps are

1. I created Read CSLA config values from .NET Core config subsystem #967, a new work item for the .NET Core config subsystem integration as I think it is related to, but not the same as, this fluent config enhancement
2. We need to figure out how this'll work - ideally abstracted within Csla.Configuration and ApplicationContext in a nice way - we can discuss in the other issue thread
3. I need you to review CONTRIBUTING.MD and send me a contributor agreement
4. If you haven't done GitHub open source work, you may want to review my GitHub workflow blog post

[rockfordlhotka]

Need to clean up some of the method names, especially in the CslaDataPortalConfiguration type, as the names seem messy.

Also, the configuration sub-types for data/dataportal/security/serialization should be attached to the base config type by extension methods, not as explicit methods. Using extension methods allows other/future subareas of CSLA to add themselves to the fluent config API.

[github-actions]

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