StrictId 1.1.0

dotnet add package StrictId --version 1.1.0                
NuGet\Install-Package StrictId -Version 1.1.0                
This command is intended to be used within the Package Manager Console in Visual Studio, as it uses the NuGet module's version of Install-Package.
<PackageReference Include="StrictId" Version="1.1.0" />                
For projects that support PackageReference, copy this XML node into the project file to reference the package.
paket add StrictId --version 1.1.0                
#r "nuget: StrictId, 1.1.0"                
#r directive can be used in F# Interactive and Polyglot Notebooks. Copy this into the interactive tool or source code of the script to reference the package.
// Install StrictId as a Cake Addin
#addin nuget:?package=StrictId&version=1.1.0

// Install StrictId as a Cake Tool
#tool nuget:?package=StrictId&version=1.1.0                

StrictId

Strongly-typed, ergonomic, compatible, fun to use identifiers for your entities

Get on NuGet:
StrictId EFCore HotChocolate


What

public class Person {
    public Id<Person> Id { get; init; } // Strongly typed ID, lexicographically sortable, and round-trip convertible to Guid, Ulid, and string
    public Id<Dog> BestFriendId { get; set; } // No confusion about what ID we are looking for here
    public List<Id> Friends { get; set; } // Non-strict/non-generic version also included
}
  • Strongly-typed IDs for your entities, or anything else
  • Ulid as the underlying value, which can easily be converted to and from Guid, string, or byte arrays
  • Ergonomic, developer-friendly usage without ceremony, boilerplate, or annoyance
  • Cure to primitive obsession by being a DDD-friendly value object
  • Built-in JSON conversion support for System.Text.Json
  • Plug-and-play support for Entity Framework Core incl. value converters and value generators, with StrictId.EFCore
  • Plug-and-play support for HotChocolate GraphQL incl. custom scalars for Id<T> and Id, with StrictId.HotChocolate
  • Easy to create your own integrations and converters thanks to lack of magic
  • Tiny memory footprint and highly efficient

How

Recommended, but optional
In your global usings file, add the following to save yourself a few keystrokes:

global using StrictId;

Create

Id<Person>.NewId(); // Generate a new random ID
new Id<Person>("01HV9AF3QA4T121HCZ873M0BKK"); // Create from ULID string
new Id<Person>("018ED2A7-8EEA-2682-20C5-9F41C7402E73"); // Create from GUID string
new Id<Person>(Ulid.NewUlid()); // Create from ULID
new Id<Person>(Guid.NewGuid()); // Create from GUID
new Id<Person>(Id.NewId()); // Create from non-typed ID

Id<Person> id = Ulid.NewUlid(); // Convert implicitly from Ulid
Id<Person> id = Guid.NewGuid(); // Convert implicitly from Guid
Id<Person> id = Id.NewId(); // Convert implicitly from non-typed Id
var id = (Id<Person>)"01HV9AF3QA4T121HCZ873M0BKK"; // Cast from string

Id<Person> id = Id<Person>.Parse("018ED2A7-8EEA-2682-20C5-9F41C7402E73"); // Parse from Guid or Ulid
bool success = Id<Person>.TryParse("01HV9AF3QA4T121HCZ873M0BKK", out Id<Person> id); // Safely parse from Guid or Ulid

Usage of the non-typed Id is identical.

Convert

var id = new Id<Person>("01HV9AF3QA4T121HCZ873M0BKK");

id.ToString(); // "01HV9AF3QA4T121HCZ873M0BKK"
id.ToUlid(); // Same as Ulid.Parse("01HV9AF3QA4T121HCZ873M0BKK");
id.ToGuid(); // Same as Guid.Parse("018ED2A7-8EEA-2682-20C5-9F41C7402E73");
id.ToByteArray(); // byte[]
id.ToId() // Id("018ED2A7-8EEA-2682-20C5-9F41C7402E73")

Benefit

StrictId will prevent you from accidentally doing bad things, and lets you do nice things instead:

var personId = Id<Person>.NewId();
var dogId = Id<Dog>.NewId();

if (personId == dogId) Console.Write("Uh oh"); // Compiler error

public void Feed(Id<Dog> id) { 
    GetDog(id).FeedLeftovers();
}

Feed(personId); // Compiler error

// But:
public class Diet {
    public void Feed(Id<Dog> id) { 
        GetDog(id).FeedLeftovers();
    }
    
    public void Feed(Id<Person> id) { 
        GetPerson(id).FeedMichelinStarMeal();
    }
}

Feed(personId); // We eat well tonight. Better method overloads!

With Entity Framework Core

Install StrictId.EFCore via NuGet

In your DbContext:

using StrictId.EFCore;

public class MyDatabase (DbContextOptions<MyDatabase> options) : DbContext(options)
{
    protected override void ConfigureConventions (ModelConfigurationBuilder builder)
    {
        // ...
        
        builder.ConfigureStrictId();
    }
}

To generate values:

using StrictId.EFCore;

// ...

builder.Property(e => e.Id)
    .ValueGeneratedOnAdd()
    .HasStrictIdValueGenerator();
Notes

Id values are stored as fixed-length Ulid strings in the database (e.g. "01HV9AF3QA4T121HCZ873M0BKK"). An alternative value converter for storing them as Guid is also included (StrictId.EFCore.ValueConverters.IdToGuidConverter). Keep in mind that storing the IDs as Guid makes the database representation visually different from the normal string representation, which can be inconvenient. If you would prefer to store IDs as byte arrays, you can create your own value generator and converter based on the ones included. Keep in mind, though, that the small improvement you gain in database performance and storage by using byte arrays is most likely not worth the loss of readability and clarity.

With Hot Chocolate GraphQL

Install StrictId.HotChocolate via NuGet

On the request executor builder, configure strict IDs:

builder.Services.AddGraphQLServer()
    // ...
    .AddStrictId();

Scalars will be created for each strict ID, named {Type}Id. For example, Id<Person> would become PersonId in the GraphQL schema.

Why

  • Using primitives such as Guid or Ulid as the type for IDs can easily lead to mixing up method arguments and assignments
  • Using value objects makes your code easier to read and more DDD-friendly (see primitive obsession)
  • Other similar packages are cumbersome, non-compatible, and full of magic™, while StrictId's Id is just a simple generic type, no source generation or other hocus-pocus needed
  • Ulid as the underlying type provides neat benefits over simple Guids, as they are ordered, making databases less fragmented, and look nicer as strings

Acknowledgements

  • Ulid - Library for ULID in C#, used for much of the underlying functionality
  • StronglyTypedId - For doing this first, but in a much more convoluted, non-ergonomic way

License

MIT

Product Compatible and additional computed target framework versions.
.NET net8.0 is compatible.  net8.0-android was computed.  net8.0-browser was computed.  net8.0-ios was computed.  net8.0-maccatalyst was computed.  net8.0-macos was computed.  net8.0-tvos was computed.  net8.0-windows was computed. 
Compatible target framework(s)
Included target framework(s) (in package)
Learn more about Target Frameworks and .NET Standard.
  • net8.0

NuGet packages (2)

Showing the top 2 NuGet packages that depend on StrictId:

Package Downloads
StrictId.EFCore

Support for StrictId in Entity Framework Core.

StrictId.HotChocolate

Support for StrictId in Hot Chocolate.

GitHub repositories

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