Output Targets

Dumpify supports multiple output destinations, allowing you to send dump output to the console, debug window, trace listeners, or capture it as a string.

Table of Contents

Built-in Output Targets

Method Output Target Use Case
Dump() Configured default General use (Console by default)
DumpConsole() Console.WriteLine Terminal/console applications
DumpDebug() System.Diagnostics.Debug IDE debug windows
DumpTrace() System.Diagnostics.Trace Trace listeners, logging
DumpText() Returns string Logging, file output, testing

Console Output

Using DumpConsole 

myObject.DumpConsole();
myObject.DumpConsole("My Label");

Always outputs to Console.WriteLine, regardless of the global default.

Console Features

  • Full color support (ANSI escape codes)
  • Respects console width
  • Works in terminals that support colors

Debug Output

Using DumpDebug 

myObject.DumpDebug();
myObject.DumpDebug("Debug Data");

Outputs to System.Diagnostics.Debug, which appears in:

  • Visual Studio Debug Output window
  • JetBrains Rider Debug Output
  • VS Code Debug Console
  • Other debugger-attached outputs

Debug-Specific Settings

DumpDebug uses a wider default width (250 characters) since debug windows typically support wider output:

// Default behavior
myObject.DumpDebug();  // WidthOverride = 250

// Custom width
myObject.DumpDebug(outputConfig: new OutputConfig { WidthOverride = 300 });

Conditional Compilation

Debug output is typically removed in Release builds:

#if DEBUG
myObject.DumpDebug("Development Only");
#endif

Trace Output

Using DumpTrace 

myObject.DumpTrace();
myObject.DumpTrace("Trace Data");

Outputs to System.Diagnostics.Trace, which can be captured by:

  • Configured trace listeners
  • Logging frameworks
  • Diagnostic tools

Trace-Specific Settings

Like DumpDebug, DumpTrace uses a wider default width (250 characters).

Adding Trace Listeners 

// Add a file listener
Trace.Listeners.Add(new TextWriterTraceListener("trace.log"));

// Now DumpTrace output goes to the file
myObject.DumpTrace("Logged to file");

// Don't forget to flush
Trace.Flush();

Text Output

Using DumpText 

string output = myObject.DumpText();
string labeledOutput = myObject.DumpText("My Object");

Returns the formatted output as a string instead of writing it anywhere.

Text-Specific Settings

DumpText has special defaults:

// Default behavior
string text = myObject.DumpText();
// ColorConfig = NoColors (no ANSI codes)
// WidthOverride = 1000
// HeightOverride = 1000

Use Cases

Logging 

logger.Info(myObject.DumpText("Request Data"));
logger.Error(exception.DumpText("Exception Details"));

File Output 

File.WriteAllText("dump.txt", myObject.DumpText());
File.AppendAllText("log.txt", $"{DateTime.Now}: {myObject.DumpText()}\n");

Testing Assertions 

var output = myObject.DumpText();
Assert.Contains("Expected Value", output);

String Building 

var sb = new StringBuilder();
sb.AppendLine("=== Report ===");
sb.AppendLine(data.DumpText("Current State"));
sb.AppendLine(metrics.DumpText("Metrics"));
return sb.ToString();

Custom Output

Setting the Default Output 

// Change default output to Debug
DumpConfig.Default.Output = Dumpify.Outputs.Debug;

// Now Dump() goes to Debug
myObject.Dump();        // Goes to Debug
myObject.DumpConsole(); // Still goes to Console

Custom IDumpOutput Implementation

Create your own output target by implementing IDumpOutput:

public class FileOutput : IDumpOutput
{
    private readonly string _path;
    
    public FileOutput(string path)
    {
        _path = path;
    }
    
    public void WriteRenderedObject(IRenderedObject renderedObject, OutputConfig config)
    {
        using var writer = new StreamWriter(_path, append: true);
        // Write to file
    }
}

// Use custom output
DumpConfig.Default.Output = new FileOutput("dumps.log");

Per-Call Custom Output 

// Use custom output for specific call
myObject.Dump(output: new FileOutput("special.log"));

Default Output Configuration

Accessing Built-in Outputs 

// Built-in outputs
Dumpify.Outputs.Console  // Console output
Dumpify.Outputs.Debug    // Debug output
Dumpify.Outputs.Trace    // Trace output

Changing the Default 

// At application startup
DumpConfig.Default.Output = Dumpify.Outputs.Debug;

// Later, all Dump() calls go to Debug
myObject.Dump();  // Debug output

Checking Current Default 

var currentOutput = DumpConfig.Default.Output;

Output Dimensions

Control output dimensions via OutputConfig:

// Global settings
DumpConfig.Default.OutputConfig.WidthOverride = 200;
DumpConfig.Default.OutputConfig.HeightOverride = 500;

// Per-call settings
myObject.Dump(outputConfig: new OutputConfig 
{ 
    WidthOverride = 300,
    HeightOverride = 1000 
});

See Output Configuration for details.

Output and Colors

Different outputs handle colors differently:

Output Colors
Console Full ANSI color support
Debug ANSI codes may not render
Trace ANSI codes may not render
Text No colors by default

Disabling Colors 

// For Debug/Trace where colors don't render well
myObject.DumpDebug(colors: ColorConfig.NoColors);

Examples

Multi-Output Debugging 

// Output to multiple destinations
myObject.Dump("Console");
myObject.DumpDebug("Debug Window");

// Save to file for later analysis
File.WriteAllText("debug.txt", myObject.DumpText("Full Details"));

Conditional Output 

public void Process(Data data)
{
#if DEBUG
    data.DumpDebug("Input");
#endif

    var result = DoProcessing(data);
    
#if DEBUG
    result.DumpDebug("Output");
#endif

    return result;
}

Logging Integration 

public class DumpifyLogger : IDumpOutput
{
    private readonly ILogger _logger;
    
    public DumpifyLogger(ILogger logger)
    {
        _logger = logger;
    }
    
    public void WriteRenderedObject(IRenderedObject renderedObject, OutputConfig config)
    {
        // Convert to string and log
        using var writer = new StringWriter();
        renderedObject.Output(new DumpOutput(writer), config);
        _logger.LogDebug(writer.ToString());
    }
}

See Also