Custom Progress Reporting Functionality

SiticoneBackgroundWorker enhances standard progress reporting by providing an extended event and method to include custom messages with progress updates.

Overview

Custom progress reporting allows developers to track background operations more effectively by providing additional context alongside progress percentages. This feature introduces the ProgressChangedEx event and the ReportProgressEx method, enabling the transmission of messages that describe the current processing state.

Key Points

Feature	Description
Enhanced Progress Event	ProgressChangedEx event allows developers to receive both progress percentage and custom messages.
Simplified Reporting Method	ReportProgressEx(int percentProgress, string message) streamlines progress reporting.
Extended Event Arguments	ProgressChangedExEventArgs class extends ProgressChangedEventArgs to include a custom message.

Best Practices

Practice	Explanation
Use ProgressChangedEx instead of ProgressChanged	Ensures you receive both progress updates and descriptive messages.
Keep messages concise	Helps maintain clarity in progress updates without excessive verbosity.
Call ReportProgressEx from DoWork	Prevents cross-thread issues and ensures smooth progress updates.

Common Pitfalls

Issue	Solution
Using ReportProgressEx outside DoWork	Always invoke this method from within the worker thread to avoid threading issues.
Not handling ProgressChangedEx	Ensure an event handler is assigned to process progress updates effectively.
Excessive logging in ProgressChangedEx handler	Keep UI updates lightweight to prevent performance bottlenecks.

Usage Scenarios

Scenario 1: Displaying Detailed Progress Updates in a UI

A developer wants to display a progress bar while showing a textual description of the current processing state.

Implementation:

using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Threading;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using SiticoneNetFrameworkUI;

public partial class MainForm : Form
{
    private SiticoneBackgroundWorker _worker;
    private ProgressBar progressBar;
    private Label statusLabel;

    public MainForm()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        InitializeWorker();
    }

    private void InitializeWorker()
    {
        _worker = new SiticoneBackgroundWorker();
        _worker.ProgressChangedEx += Worker_ProgressChangedEx;
        _worker.DoWork += Worker_DoWork;
    }

    private void Worker_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
    {
        for (int i = 0; i <= 100; i += 10)
        {
            Thread.Sleep(500); // Simulate processing
            _worker.ReportProgressEx(i, $"Processing step {i}% completed");
        }
    }

    private void Worker_ProgressChangedEx(object sender, SiticoneBackgroundWorker.ProgressChangedExEventArgs e)
    {
        progressBar.Value = e.ProgressPercentage;
        statusLabel.Text = e.Message;
    }
}

Real-Life Usage Scenarios

Scenario	Explanation
File Copy Operations	Report progress percentage along with the current file being copied.
Data Migration	Show completion percentage while indicating the current database table being processed.
Background Calculations	Provide updates about the computation stage and estimated time remaining.

Troubleshooting Tips

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
No progress updates received	ProgressChangedEx event not attached	Ensure the event handler is correctly assigned.
UI not updating	UI thread blocked	Perform UI updates inside ProgressChangedEx event, not DoWork.
Performance issues	Excessive calls to ReportProgressEx	Throttle updates to avoid overwhelming the UI.

Review

Aspect	Evaluation
Ease of Use	Simplifies progress reporting while adding custom messages.
Flexibility	Allows developers to provide informative progress updates.
Performance	Efficient when used correctly without excessive updates.

Summary

Feature	Benefit
ProgressChangedEx event	Allows progress tracking with messages for better UI feedback.
ReportProgressEx method	Simplifies reporting of progress updates in background tasks.
Extended event arguments	Provides additional context for progress updates.

By integrating these features properly, developers can create more informative and responsive WinForms applications.