HTML5
Exploring generating PDF files from HTML in ASP.NET Core
calendar_today 30 November 2022 13:45
Back in 2008, I wrote a series of articles about using iTextSharp to generate PDF files in an ASP.NET application. I still use iTextSharp in a large MVC 5 application that I'm in the process of migrating to ASP.NET Core. The version I use is very old (4.1.6), and the API is very low level so it takes quite a while to write the code required to generate even a moderately complex PDF. Ideally I need a replacement for the new application that can generate PDF files purely from HTML, which is an API I'm much more comfortable with. This ancient version of iTextSharp doesn't support HTML as a source of content. In this article, I consider some alternatives.
Using the HtmlAgilityPack to parse HTML in ASP.NET
calendar_today 30 April 2015 13:26
Hardly a week goes by without someone asking a question in the ASP.NET forums about parsing HTML for one purpose or another. Mostly, the questions are couched in terms of 'finding values' or similar, prompting responses from the community that recommend one regular expression pattern or another, treating HTML as a string of text with no structure or rules. In fact, HTML is a structured document format with a set of very clearly defined rules, which means that it can easily be parsed given the right tool. My favourite tool for parsing HTML is the HtmlAgilityPack.
HTML5 Form Helpers For WebMatrix
calendar_today 20 September 2012 14:56
It's an odd thing: WebMatrix 2 is lauded for its support of HTML5, but the Web Pages framework doesn't include any helpers for the new HTML5 form input types such as email or color. It's fair to say that support among browsers for the new inputs is patchy at the moment, but with barely a week flying past without a new version of one or other browser being released, it won't take long for that to change. So in the meantime, if you prefer to use helpers, you have to write your own for rendering HTML5 forms.
