HTML Renderer - .NET Application

A .NET 8 ASP.NET Core web application that demonstrates loading and rendering HTML content from various sources.

Features

• String-based HTML rendering: Load HTML content from string variables
• File-based HTML rendering: Load HTML content from files
• File upload support: Upload and render HTML files through a web interface
• Sample HTML files: Pre-built examples demonstrating different capabilities
• Interactive control panel: Web-based interface for testing different rendering methods
• CORS enabled: Allows cross-origin requests
• Real-time rendering: Immediate display of HTML content in the browser

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 8 SDK (for local development)
• Docker (for containerized deployment)

Option 1: Local Development

1. Clone or download the project
2. Navigate to the project directory
3. Build the application:

   dotnet build

4. Run the application:

   dotnet run

5. Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:54568

Option 2: Docker Container (Recommended)

1. Ensure Docker is installed and running
2. Use the provided build script:

   chmod +x docker-run.sh
   ./docker-run.sh

3. Access the application at http://localhost:8080

For detailed Docker instructions, see DOCKER.md.

Available Endpoints

Main Routes

• / - Displays sample HTML content loaded from a string
• /control - Interactive control panel for testing different rendering methods

API Endpoints

• POST /render - Render HTML from string or file

  {
    "source": "string|file",
    "content": "HTML content (for string source)",
    "filePath": "path/to/file.html (for file source)"
  }

• POST /upload - Upload and render HTML file
• GET /samples - Get list of available sample files
• GET /samples/{fileName} - Render a specific sample file

Sample Files

The application includes three sample HTML files in the samples/ directory:

1. simple.html - Basic HTML with modern CSS styling
2. interactive.html - Interactive elements with JavaScript functionality
3. dashboard.html - Complex dashboard with real-time updates and animations

Usage Examples

1. Basic HTML Rendering

Visit http://localhost:54568 to see HTML content loaded from a string variable.

2. Interactive Control Panel

Visit http://localhost:54568/control to:

• Enter custom HTML content and render it
• Upload HTML files for rendering
• Browse and load sample files

3. API Usage

# Render HTML from string
curl -X POST http://localhost:54568/render \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"source": "string", "content": "<h1>Hello World!</h1>"}'

# Render HTML from file
curl -X POST http://localhost:54568/render \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"source": "file", "filePath": "/path/to/your/file.html"}'

Key Implementation Details

• Minimal API: Uses .NET 8's minimal API approach for clean, concise code
• Content-Type handling: Properly sets text/html content type for browser rendering
• Error handling: Comprehensive error handling for file operations and invalid requests
• Security: File upload validation to ensure only HTML files are processed
• Performance: Async/await pattern for file I/O operations

Architecture

The application demonstrates several important concepts:

1. String-based HTML rendering: Shows how to serve HTML content stored as strings
2. File-based rendering: Demonstrates reading HTML files and serving their content
3. Dynamic content: Includes server-side data (like current timestamp) in rendered HTML
4. Interactive features: JavaScript functionality works seamlessly in rendered content
5. RESTful API design: Clean API endpoints for different rendering scenarios

Extending the Application

You can easily extend this application by:

• Adding more sample HTML files to the samples/ directory
• Implementing HTML template engines (Razor, Handlebars, etc.)
• Adding authentication and authorization
• Implementing HTML content validation and sanitization
• Adding database storage for HTML templates
• Creating a rich text editor for HTML content creation

Technical Notes

• The application listens on http://0.0.0.0:54568 to allow external access
• CORS is enabled for cross-origin requests
• Static file serving is configured (though no static files are currently used)
• The application uses the development environment by default

This application serves as a solid foundation for any system that needs to dynamically load and render HTML content in a .NET environment.