Merge pull request #492 from LogExperts/470-settings-deserialization-fails-if-filterparamscurrentcolumnizer-cant-be-deserialized

This pull request introduces several improvements and refactors across multiple columnizer implementations, focusing on interface consistency, code modernization, and minor bug fixes. The most significant changes are the addition of a new GetCustomName() method to the ILogLineColumnizer interface and its implementations, various code cleanups (including modern C# syntax), and updates to build requirements.

Interface and API Consistency:

Added GetCustomName() method to the ILogLineColumnizer interface and implemented it in all columnizer classes (AutoColumnizer, CsvColumnizer, GlassfishColumnizer, JsonColumnizer, and Log4jXmlColumnizer). This ensures a consistent way to retrieve user-assigned names for columnizers. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
Code Modernization and Cleanup:

Replaced explicit array constructions and LINQ .ToArray() calls with collection expressions and spread operators for brevity and clarity in column assignments. [1] [2] [3]
Used StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase in string comparisons for more robust and culture-invariant checks. [1] [2] [3]
Updated variable and constant naming to follow C# conventions (e.g., separatorChar to SEPARATOR_CHAR). [1] [2]
Replaced repeated empty string assignments with string.Empty for clarity.
Used CultureInfo.InvariantCulture in date formatting for consistent output. [1] [2]
Removed unnecessary using directives for cleaner files. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Bug Fixes and Minor Improvements:

Fixed a typo in the Glassfish columnizer name from "Classfish" to "Glassfish".
Improved error handling by discarding unused return values with _ = in calls like MessageBox.Show and csv.Read(). [1] [2] [3]
Simplified conditional logic and method bodies for readability and maintainability. [1] [2]
Build and Documentation Updates:

Updated build instructions and prerequisites to require .NET 10.0.100 SDK, target net10.0-windows, and recommend Visual Studio 2026+ for development.
Columnizer-Specific Refactors:

Refactored the handling of columnizer line splitting and timestamp parsing for improved reliability and maintainability in the CsvColumnizer, GlassfishColumnizer, and Log4jXmlColumnizer classes. [1] [2] [3]
These changes collectively improve the maintainability, usability, and future extensibility of the codebase.

Author: Hirogen

.github/copilot-instructions.md

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 ## Build Instructions
 
 ### Prerequisites
-**CRITICAL**: This project requires Windows development environment and .NET 9.0.301 SDK or compatible.
+**CRITICAL**: This project requires Windows development environment and .NET 10.0.100 SDK or compatible.
 
 ### Environment Setup
 1. **Install .NET SDK**: Project requires .NET 10.0.100 SDK (specified in `global.json`)

src/AutoColumnizer/AutoColumnizer.cs

@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-using System;
-
 using LogExpert;
 
 namespace AutoColumnizer;
@@ -20,6 +18,11 @@ public string GetName ()
         return "Auto Columnizer";
     }
 
+    public string GetCustomName ()
+    {
+        return GetName();
+    }
+
     public string GetDescription ()
     {
         return "Automatically find the right columnizer for any file";

src/ColumnizerLib/ILogLineColumnizer.cs

@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
-using System;
-
 namespace LogExpert;
 
 ///<summary>
 /// This interface defines a so-called 'Columnizer' for LogExpert.
 /// A columnizer splits a single text line into well defined columns. These columns
 /// are used in the data grid view of LogExpert.
-/// <br></br><br></br> 
+/// <br></br><br></br>
 /// Optionally a columnizer can parse the log line to determine the date/time of
 /// the log line (assuming that all log lines have a timestamp). This is needed for
 /// some of the features of LogExpert (see user documentation for more information).
@@ -20,45 +18,50 @@ public interface ILogLineColumnizer
     /// <summary>
     /// Returns the name for the columnizer. This name is used for the columnizer selection dialog.
     /// </summary>
-    string GetName();
+    string GetName ();
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Returns the name that is given by the user for this columnizer.
+    /// </summary>
+    string GetCustomName ();
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Returns the description of the columnizer. This text is used in the columnizer selection dialog.
     /// </summary>
-    string GetDescription();
+    string GetDescription ();
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Returns the number of columns the columnizer will split lines into. 
+    /// Returns the number of columns the columnizer will split lines into.
     /// </summary>
     /// <remarks>
-    /// This value does not include the column for displaying the line number. The line number column 
+    /// This value does not include the column for displaying the line number. The line number column
     /// is added by LogExpert and is not handled by columnizers.
     /// </remarks>
-    int GetColumnCount();
+    int GetColumnCount ();
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Returns the names of the columns. The returned names are used by LogExpert for the column headers in the data grid view.
-    /// The names are expected in order from left to right. 
+    /// The names are expected in order from left to right.
     /// </summary>
-    string[] GetColumnNames();
+    string[] GetColumnNames ();
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Given a single line of the logfile this function splits the line content into columns. The function returns 
+    /// Given a single line of the logfile this function splits the line content into columns. The function returns
     /// a string array containing the splitted content.
     /// </summary>
     /// <remarks>
     /// This function is called by LogExpert for every line that has to be drawn in the grid view. The faster your code
     /// handles the splitting, the faster LogExpert can draw the grid view content.<br></br>
     /// <br></br>
     /// Notes about timeshift handling:<br></br>
-    /// If your columnizer implementation supports timeshift (see <see cref="IsTimeshiftImplemented">IsTimeshiftImplemented</see>) 
+    /// If your columnizer implementation supports timeshift (see <see cref="IsTimeshiftImplemented">IsTimeshiftImplemented</see>)
     /// you have to add the timestamp offset to the columns representing the timestamp (e.g. columns like 'date' and 'time').
-    /// In practice this means you have to parse the date/time value of your log line (see <see cref="GetTimestamp">GetTimestamp</see>) 
+    /// In practice this means you have to parse the date/time value of your log line (see <see cref="GetTimestamp">GetTimestamp</see>)
     /// add the offset and convert the timestamp back to string value(s).
     /// </remarks>
     /// <param name="callback">Callback interface with functions which can be used by the columnizer</param>
     /// <param name="line">The line content to be splitted</param>
-    IColumnizedLogLine SplitLine(ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine line);
+    IColumnizedLogLine SplitLine (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine line);
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Returns true, if the columnizer supports timeshift handling.
@@ -67,23 +70,23 @@ public interface ILogLineColumnizer
     /// If you return true, you also have to implement the function SetTimeOffset(), GetTimeOffset() and GetTimestamp().
     /// You also must handle PushValue() for the column(s) that displays the timestamp.
     /// </remarks>
-    bool IsTimeshiftImplemented();
+    bool IsTimeshiftImplemented ();
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Sets an offset to be used for displaying timestamp values. You have to implement this function, if 
+    /// Sets an offset to be used for displaying timestamp values. You have to implement this function, if
     /// your IsTimeshiftImplemented() function return true.
     /// </summary>
     /// <remarks>
-    /// You have to store the given value in the Columnizer instance and add this offset to the timestamp column(s) returned by SplitLine() 
+    /// You have to store the given value in the Columnizer instance and add this offset to the timestamp column(s) returned by SplitLine()
     /// (e.g. in the date and time columns).
     /// </remarks>
     /// <param name="msecOffset">The timestamp offset in milliseconds.</param>
-    void SetTimeOffset(int msecOffset);
+    void SetTimeOffset (int msecOffset);
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Returns the current stored timestamp offset (set by SetTimeOffset()).
     /// </summary>
-    int GetTimeOffset();
+    int GetTimeOffset ();
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Returns the timestamp value of the given line as a .NET DateTime object. If there's no valid timestamp in the
@@ -99,7 +102,7 @@ public interface ILogLineColumnizer
     /// </remarks>
     /// <param name="callback">Callback interface with functions which can be used by the columnizer</param>
     /// <param name="line">The line content which timestamp has to be returned.</param>
-    DateTime GetTimestamp(ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine line);
+    DateTime GetTimestamp (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine line);
 
     /// <summary>
     /// This function is called if the user changes a value in a column (edit mode in the log view).
@@ -114,7 +117,7 @@ public interface ILogLineColumnizer
     /// <param name="column">The column number which value has changed.</param>
     /// <param name="value">The new value.</param>
     /// <param name="oldValue">The old value.</param>
-    void PushValue(ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, int column, string value, string oldValue);
+    void PushValue (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, int column, string value, string oldValue);
 
     #endregion
 }

src/CsvColumnizer/CsvColumnizer.cs

@@ -61,19 +61,22 @@ public string PreProcessLine (string logLine, int lineNum, int realLineNum)
             return null; // hide from LogExpert
         }
 
-        if (_config.CommentChar != ' ' && logLine.StartsWith("" + _config.CommentChar))
-        {
-            return null;
-        }
-
-        return logLine;
+        return _config.CommentChar != ' ' &&
+               logLine.StartsWith("" + _config.CommentChar, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase)
+                    ? null
+                    : logLine;
     }
 
     public string GetName ()
     {
         return "CSV Columnizer";
     }
 
+    public string GetCustomName ()
+    {
+        return GetName();
+    }
+
     public string GetDescription ()
     {
         return "Splits CSV files into columns.\r\n\r\nCredits:\r\nThis Columnizer uses the CsvHelper. https://github.com/JoshClose/CsvHelper. \r\n";
@@ -105,12 +108,9 @@ public string[] GetColumnNames ()
 
     public IColumnizedLogLine SplitLine (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine line)
     {
-        if (_isValidCsv)
-        {
-            return SplitCsvLine(line);
-        }
-
-        return CreateColumnizedLogLine(line);
+        return _isValidCsv
+            ? SplitCsvLine(line)
+            : CreateColumnizedLogLine(line);
     }
 
     private static ColumnizedLogLine CreateColumnizedLogLine (ILogLine line)
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ private static ColumnizedLogLine CreateColumnizedLogLine (ILogLine line)
         {
             LogLine = line
         };
+
         cLogLine.ColumnValues = [new Column { FullValue = line.FullLine, Parent = cLogLine }];
         return cLogLine;
     }
@@ -153,13 +154,15 @@ public void Selected (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback)
         if (_isValidCsv) // see PreProcessLine()
         {
             _columnList.Clear();
-            var line = _config.HasFieldNames ? _firstLine : callback.GetLogLine(0);
+            var line = _config.HasFieldNames
+                ? _firstLine
+                : callback.GetLogLine(0);
 
             if (line != null)
             {
                 using CsvReader csv = new(new StringReader(line.FullLine), _config.ReaderConfiguration);
-                csv.Read();
-                csv.ReadHeader();
+                _ = csv.Read();
+                _ = csv.ReadHeader();
 
                 var fieldCount = csv.Parser.Count;
 
@@ -229,7 +232,7 @@ public void LoadConfig (string configDir)
             }
             catch (Exception e)
             {
-                MessageBox.Show($"Error while deserializing config data: {e.Message}", "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
+                _ = MessageBox.Show($"Error while deserializing config data: {e.Message}", "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
                 _config = new CsvColumnizerConfig();
                 _config.InitDefaults();
             }
@@ -252,16 +255,16 @@ public Priority GetPriority (string fileName, IEnumerable<ILogLine> samples)
 
     #region Private Methods
 
-    private IColumnizedLogLine SplitCsvLine (ILogLine line)
+    private ColumnizedLogLine SplitCsvLine (ILogLine line)
     {
         ColumnizedLogLine cLogLine = new()
         {
             LogLine = line
         };
 
         using CsvReader csv = new(new StringReader(line.FullLine), _config.ReaderConfiguration);
-        csv.Read();
-        csv.ReadHeader();
+        _ = csv.Read();
+        _ = csv.ReadHeader();
 
         //we only read line by line and not the whole file so it is always the header
         var records = csv.HeaderRecord;
@@ -275,7 +278,7 @@ private IColumnizedLogLine SplitCsvLine (ILogLine line)
                 columns.Add(new Column { FullValue = record, Parent = cLogLine });
             }
 
-            cLogLine.ColumnValues = columns.Select(a => a as IColumn).ToArray();
+            cLogLine.ColumnValues = [.. columns.Select(a => a as IColumn)];
         }
 
         return cLogLine;

src/GlassfishColumnizer/GlassfishColumnizer.cs

@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-using System;
 using System.Globalization;
-using System.Linq;
 
 using ColumnizerLib;
 
@@ -15,7 +13,7 @@ internal class GlassfishColumnizer : ILogLineXmlColumnizer
     public const int COLUMN_COUNT = 2;
     private const string DATETIME_FORMAT = "yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffzzzz";
     private const string DATETIME_FORMAT_OUT = "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.fff";
-    private const char separatorChar = '|';
+    private const char SEPARATOR_CHAR = '|';
 
     private static readonly XmlConfig xmlConfig = new();
 
@@ -44,7 +42,7 @@ public ILogLine GetLineTextForClipboard (ILogLine logLine, ILogLineColumnizerCal
     {
         GlassFishLogLine line = new()
         {
-            FullLine = logLine.FullLine.Replace(separatorChar, '|'),
+            FullLine = logLine.FullLine.Replace(SEPARATOR_CHAR, '|'),
             LineNumber = logLine.LineNumber
         };
 
@@ -53,7 +51,12 @@ public ILogLine GetLineTextForClipboard (ILogLine logLine, ILogLineColumnizerCal
 
     public string GetName ()
     {
-        return "Classfish";
+        return "Glassfish";
+    }
+
+    public string GetCustomName ()
+    {
+        return GetName();
     }
 
     public string GetDescription ()
@@ -73,21 +76,23 @@ public string[] GetColumnNames ()
 
     public IColumnizedLogLine SplitLine (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine line)
     {
-        ColumnizedLogLine cLogLine = new();
-        cLogLine.LogLine = line;
+        ColumnizedLogLine cLogLine = new()
+        {
+            LogLine = line
+        };
 
         var temp = line.FullLine;
 
         var columns = Column.CreateColumns(COLUMN_COUNT, cLogLine);
-        cLogLine.ColumnValues = columns.Select(a => a as IColumn).ToArray();
+        cLogLine.ColumnValues = [.. columns.Select(a => a as IColumn)];
 
         // delete '[#|' and '|#]'
-        if (temp.StartsWith("[#|"))
+        if (temp.StartsWith("[#|", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
         {
             temp = temp[3..];
         }
 
-        if (temp.EndsWith("|#]"))
+        if (temp.EndsWith("|#]", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
         {
             temp = temp[..^3];
         }
@@ -108,7 +113,7 @@ public IColumnizedLogLine SplitLine (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLi
                     columns[1].FullValue = temp;
                 }
 
-                var newDate = dateTime.ToString(DATETIME_FORMAT_OUT);
+                var newDate = dateTime.ToString(DATETIME_FORMAT_OUT, CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);
                 columns[0].FullValue = newDate;
             }
             catch (Exception)
@@ -156,12 +161,12 @@ public DateTime GetTimestamp (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine logL
         var temp = logLine.FullLine;
 
         // delete '[#|' and '|#]'
-        if (temp.StartsWith("[#|"))
+        if (temp.StartsWith("[#|", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
         {
             temp = temp[3..];
         }
 
-        if (temp.EndsWith("|#]"))
+        if (temp.EndsWith("|#]", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
         {
             temp = temp[..^3];
         }
@@ -171,8 +176,8 @@ public DateTime GetTimestamp (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine logL
             return DateTime.MinValue;
         }
 
-        var endIndex = temp.IndexOf(separatorChar, 1);
-        if (endIndex > 28 || endIndex < 0)
+        var endIndex = temp.IndexOf(SEPARATOR_CHAR, 1);
+        if (endIndex is > 28 or < 0)
         {
             return DateTime.MinValue;
         }
@@ -182,12 +187,9 @@ public DateTime GetTimestamp (ILogLineColumnizerCallback callback, ILogLine logL
         try
         {
             // convert glassfish timestamp into a readable format:
-            if (DateTime.TryParseExact(value, DATETIME_FORMAT, cultureInfo, DateTimeStyles.None, out var timestamp))
-            {
-                return timestamp.AddMilliseconds(timeOffset);
-            }
-
-            return DateTime.MinValue;
+            return DateTime.TryParseExact(value, DATETIME_FORMAT, cultureInfo, DateTimeStyles.None, out var timestamp)
+                ? timestamp.AddMilliseconds(timeOffset)
+                : DateTime.MinValue;
         }
         catch (Exception)
         {