I propose “would you rather use this API or have a poke in the eye” as the new selection criteria for 3rd party projects.
Here is what passes my poke in the eye test.
Json.net
- XML seemed to rub a lot of people the wrong way on its meteoric rise to “total serialisation format domination”
- Json is like someone turned the list of bad things about XML into a design specification document.
- Newtonsofts port to c# has been popular. here
- There are some gotchas and a few inelegant areas, but overall its a very good option for serialisation
- Boasts fast performance like a teenager with a play-station
NuGet
- Bridges many of the issues associated with using 3rd party libraries in your code.
- You probably already know about it.
- here
Zedgraph
- Plots, quick dirty reliable
- Examples
- here
Markdown
- Because “the software should output valid html” is a system requirement that makes you frown.
- Because you often need to output something as “plain text or html”
- Because its just plain awesome
- Originally made for Perl here
- Ported to C# by different people. eg markdownsharp
- There is also an editor,
Objectlistview
- A list view that you wish was part of c#
- So pretty, you will blush at client presentations
- Highly configurable
- Well documented
- here
This Ribbon thing on Code Project
- “Is there a good free ribbon for c#”… YES
- here
SFML.Net
- There are a lot of 2D graphics libraries So I recommend writing your own wrapper so you don’t get coded into a corner.
- SFML.NET is the current hotness for me.
- Up and going in one sitting
- Minimal head scratching.
- Well thought out.
- See more here
Aforge.NET
- It’s been around for a while, production seems to have stalle as of a year ago.
- Accord.NET is pickling up where Aforge left off.
- Plays nicely with the software development process.
- Get it here.
Colin Greens Fast replacement for System.Random
- There are lots of random number packages, but sometimes you Just want a drop in replacement for System.Random that’s faster.
- This works and its all in one .cs file so you can just add it into your toolbox and forget about it.
- Well documented, no license, no stress.
- Get it here.
