C# Framework Extensions

The .NET base class libraries leave gaps — methods that obviously belong on a type and are not there, and whole types you end up rewriting in every project. These packages fill both, and Backports lets the same code use modern C# on runtimes that never had it.

🧭 Vision

The .NET base class libraries are missing things in two different ways: methods that obviously belong on a type and are not there, and whole types you end up writing again in every project. These packages fill both, and the Backports package adds a third — letting code written against modern C# compile and run on runtimes that predate it.

The aim is that reaching for an extension should feel like reaching for the BCL: the method is where you would have looked for it, named what you would have called it, and available on the oldest target you still have to support.

✨ Features

• Extension methods on the BCL types, placed where you would look for them
• The types the BCL lacks, rather than a copy of them per project
• Backports — modern C# language and library features on runtimes that never had them
• Split per assembly surface (Corlib, WinForms, WPF, System.Drawing, ASP.NET, Win32, DirectoryServices, Office) so a project takes only what it uses
• Multi-targeted from .NET Framework through current .NET

📦 Installation

dotnet add package FrameworkExtensions.Corlib

Every package is listed in the package table below; take only the ones matching the assemblies your project already references.

🚀 Quick start

using System;

// Methods that should have been on the type in the first place.
"a,b,,c".Split(',').Where(i => !string.IsNullOrEmpty(i)).ForEach(Console.WriteLine);

The complete surface of each package is generated into its own REFERENCE.md, linked from the package's README on nuget.org.

📚 Packages

Package	Description	Version	Downloads
FrameworkExtensions.Backports	Extensions to assure newer compiler features work in older versions.
FrameworkExtensions.Corlib	Extensions for every type of project.
FrameworkExtensions.ASP.NET	Extensions to ASP.NET.
FrameworkExtensions.DirectoryServices	Extensions to DirectoryServices.
FrameworkExtensions.Microsoft.Office	Extensions to Microsoft Office.
FrameworkExtensions.Microsoft.Win32	Extensions to Microsoft.Win32.
FrameworkExtensions.PresentationCore	Extensions to WPF.
FrameworkExtensions.System.Drawing	Extensions to System.Drawing.
FrameworkExtensions.System.Windows.Forms	Extensions to WindowsForms.

🛠️ Building

# Restore + build a single package (cross-platform packages build anywhere):
dotnet build Corlib.Extensions/Corlib.Extensions.csproj --configuration Release

# Run the unit tests (Windows; multi-target frameworks):
dotnet test Tests/Corlib.Tests/Corlib.Tests.csproj --configuration Release

CI builds the cross-platform packages on Linux and runs the test suite on Windows across the supported target frameworks — see CI/CD.

🤝 Contributing

• give credit to Hawkynt when using
• please open pull requests if you add something
• report issues and get in contact via GitHub

See CONTRIBUTING for the contribution rules.

❤️ Support

If this project saves you time or money, consider supporting its development:

📜 License

Licensed under LGPL-3.0-or-later — see LICENSE.