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Migrate binding from .NET nanoFramework to .NET IoT

So you have created your shiney .NET nanoFramework binding for a cool sensor or device. That's great! But did you know that with minimal efforts you can make your hard word available for even more .NET developers? This article describes the steps you can take to port a .NET nanoFramework binding to .NET IoT.

Steps

1. Fork the .NET IoT repo

Since we can't push directly to the .NET IoT repo, we need to create a fork. This can easily be done from the GitHub web UI, or by the GitHub CLI (see the instructions on in the GitHub docs).

2. Clone and build the forked repo

Once we have created the fork, we can clone the forked repo. (update the URL in the command below, to match the URL of the forked repo):

git clone https://github.com/YOUR-GITHUB-ACCOUNT/iot.git

It's recommended to also create a branch for the work you are going to do:

git checkout -b BRANCHNAME

To verify your development environment has the correct .NET SDK's, and all dependencies are available locally it's recommneded to try to build the code. You can do that by running Build.cmd (on Windows) or build.sh (on Linux) which can be found in the root of the code base.

3. Create a new project for your binding and copy code

In the /src/devices folder, create a new subfolder for your binding (e.g. by using the name of the sensor).

In this folder , create a new empty .NET project. Make sure to create the solution file (.sln) file as well. This can be done with the Visual Studio UI, or by using the command line:

dotnet new classlib
dotnet new sln

You can delete the .cs files (e.g. Class1.cs) which could have been created automatically based on your chosen template.

From your nanoFramework binding source code, copy over all .cs files to the folder you created in step 3.

Repead the process (project creation and copying .cs files) for the code samples as well.

4. Fix the code

At this point in time, probably your code does not build correctly. Here are some pointers on how to fix them:

  • Adjust the Solution (.sln) file: Modify the newly created .sln file so it matches the structure below. Pay attention to:
    • SENSORNAME: replace it with the name of the sensor for which you are creating the binding.
    • All GUIDS should be replaced with new GUID's and should be formatted following this sample: {XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}. It could be you manually have to add the references to your samples project.
    • Pay attention to the ProjectConfigurationPlatforms section, it should include the 6 configurations per project, both for Debug and Release.
Microsoft Visual Studio Solution File, Format Version 12.00
# Visual Studio 15
VisualStudioVersion = 15.0.26124.0
MinimumVisualStudioVersion = 15.0.26124.0
Project("{2150E333-8FDC-42A3-9474-1A3956D46DE8}") = "samples", "samples", "{48D9E6A2-6DF4-4A4F-87E3-70B961F344F4}"
EndProject
Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "SENSORNAME.Samples", "samples\SENSORNAME.Samples.csproj", "{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}"
EndProject
Project("{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}") = "SENSORNAME", "SENSORNAME.csproj", "{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}"
EndProject
Global
	GlobalSection(SolutionConfigurationPlatforms) = preSolution
		Debug|Any CPU = Debug|Any CPU
		Debug|x64 = Debug|x64
		Debug|x86 = Debug|x86
		Release|Any CPU = Release|Any CPU
		Release|x64 = Release|x64
		Release|x86 = Release|x86
	EndGlobalSection
	GlobalSection(SolutionProperties) = preSolution
		HideSolutionNode = FALSE
	EndGlobalSection
	GlobalSection(ProjectConfigurationPlatforms) = postSolution
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Debug|x64.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Debug|x64.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Debug|x86.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Debug|x86.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Release|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Release|x64.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Release|x64.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Release|x86.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C}.Release|x86.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Debug|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Debug|Any CPU.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Debug|x64.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Debug|x64.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Debug|x86.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Debug|x86.Build.0 = Debug|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Release|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Release|Any CPU.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Release|x64.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Release|x64.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Release|x86.ActiveCfg = Release|Any CPU
		{4E23EAAD-D6CF-451C-AAD0-E80991CF8EDD}.Release|x86.Build.0 = Release|Any CPU
	EndGlobalSection
	GlobalSection(NestedProjects) = preSolution
		{E6797049-4558-4E85-81CF-18576A6D384C} = {48D9E6A2-6DF4-4A4F-87E3-70B961F344F4}
	EndGlobalSection
EndGlobal
  • Project (.csproj) files: modify your .csproj files so they match the settings used across the .NET IoT repo:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFrameworks>$(DefaultBindingTfms)</TargetFrameworks>
    <!--Disabling default items so samples source won't get build by the main library-->
    <EnableDefaultItems>false</EnableDefaultItems>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <Compile Include="*.cs" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>
  • Replace SpanByte: in normal .NET code we have to replace SpanByte from nanoFramework with Span<Byte>. Below you can find some common code nanoFramework patterns and how they should be changed. It's also recommended to use stackalloc instead of the new keyword to allocate the memory on the stack (see .NET docs):
// nanoFramework code:
public abstract void ReadBytes(I2cDevice i2CDevice, byte reg, SpanByte readBytes);
// Replace with:
public abstract void ReadBytes(I2cDevice i2CDevice, byte reg, Span<Byte> readBytes);

// nanoFramework code:
SpanByte dataout = new byte[]
{
    reg,
    data
};
i2cDevice.Write(dataout);
// Replace with:
Span<Byte> dataout = stackalloc byte[]
{
    reg,
    data
};
  • Replace Debug.WriteLine with Console.WriteLine, typically in your sample code:
// nanoFramework code:
Debug.WriteLine($"ABC: {xyz}");
// Replace with:
Console.WriteLine($"ABC: {xyz}");

  • Remove nanoFramework specific code: if your (sample) code contains any code specific to the nanoFramework, it has to replaced or removed. For example sample code using ESP32 pin.

  • Infinite while loop: in a nanoFramework app it's quite common to have an infinite while loop, or a Thread.Sleep with the Timeout.Infinite. Probably you want to replace them with more appropriate code, e.g.:

// nanoFramework code:
while(true)
{ 
}
// Replace with:
while(!Console.KeyAvailable)
{
}

// nanoFramework code:
Thread.Sleep(Timeout.Infinite);
// Replace with:
Console.ReadKey();
  • Replace GpioPin with the corresponding code to use GpioController : GpioPin doesn't exist in .NET IoT, see the docs here to learn how to use the GpioController instead. This will change the way how I2C and SPI devices are instantiated in code, see the I2C docs and SPI docs.

5. Create PR

Once your code builds again, if possible test it for example on a Rapsberry Pi with your sensor attached. Now you are ready to create a PR from your newly created branch, back to the .NET IoT repo.