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02 projects and solution

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02 — Projects & Solution

The solution SimpleLauncher.sln and the two documented projects in depth. Related: 01 — Overview · 04 — Architecture

Solution layout (10 projects)

Project Kind Role
SimpleLauncher WPF app (WinExe) The launcher — UI, ViewModels, services, launch handlers, scanners, DI composition root
SimpleLauncher.Core Class library Shared logic — services, models, interfaces, persistence, emulator config injection
SimpleLauncher.Tests xUnit test project ~152 test files; references SimpleLauncher (and transitively Core)
SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.Tests xUnit test project ~48 test files (534 tests, net10.0, runs on Windows + Linux/WSL2 via Avalonia.Headless)
SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.Updater Avalonia app (WinExe) The single updater (Updater.exe) for both apps — downloads the unified release zip, extracts over the app folder, relaunches the app that launched it
SimpleLauncher.Avalonia Avalonia UI app Cross-platform port (Windows + Linux); phases 1–11 of References/AvaloniaPlan.md done
SimpleLauncher.ResourceTranslator Tool Translates missing keys in the shared packs (SimpleLauncher.Core\Localization\strings.*.json) via the OpenRouter API (default z-ai/glm-5.3-flash); see its README
Tools\Mame.DatCreator WPF tool Builds mame.dat (MessagePack) from MAME -listxml + software lists
Tools\RetroAchievements.DataFetcher CLI tool Fetches the RA game database into RetroAchievements.dat
Tools\XmlToBinaryConverter WPF tool Converts history.xml ↔ history.dat (MessagePack)

Dependency edges: SimpleLauncher → SimpleLauncher.Core; SimpleLauncher.Tests → SimpleLauncher; SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.Tests → SimpleLauncher.Avalonia; SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.Updater standalone (no compile reference — the Avalonia app publishes it and copies Updater.exe next to itself); SimpleLauncher.Avalonia references Core (via InternalsVisibleTo). SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.Tests targets net10.0 (not -windows) so it runs on Linux CI/WSL2 without the Windows desktop pack.

SimpleLauncher\SimpleLauncher.csproj (the app)

Key properties:

<TargetFramework>net10.0-windows</TargetFramework>
<OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
<UseWPF>true</UseWPF>
<LangVersion>14</LangVersion>
<Nullable>enable</Nullable>
<RuntimeIdentifiers>win-x64;win-arm64</RuntimeIdentifiers>
<ApplicationManifest>app.manifest</ApplicationManifest>
<StartupObject>SimpleLauncher.App</StartupObject>
<AssemblyVersion>/<FileVersion>/<Version>5.8.0</Version>
<AllowUnsafeBlocks>true</AllowUnsafeBlocks>
<RuntimeFrameworkVersion>10.0.2</RuntimeFrameworkVersion>
<SupportedOSPlatformVersion>7.0</SupportedOSPlatformVersion>
  • Versioning: 5.8.0; kept consistent with Core, tests and app.manifest (VersionConsistencyTests enforces it).
  • InternalsVisibleTo("SimpleLauncher.Tests") — tests reach internal members.
  • Copy-to-output payloads (<None Update=... CopyToOutputDirectory>):
    • appsettings.json (Always), WhatsNew.md (PreserveNewest), mame.dat (Always), system images images\systems\*.png (Always), audio\*.mp3.
    • tools\* payloads: findromcover\, createbatchfilesforscummvmgames\, createbatchfilesforwindowsgames\, BatchConvertTo7z\, CreateBatchFilesForPS3Games\ (stale entries for ps3batchlaunchercreator\ remain in the csproj but have no folder on disk — see 11 — Bundled Tools), plus 7za binaries, system images, and more.
  • Global usings: System.IO, System.Net.Http, Serilog.
  • NoWarn: NU1903;CS0436.
  • Startup object is SimpleLauncher.App (see 04 — Architecture).

App packages (selected)

Package Version Used for
MahApps.Metro 2.4.11 UI theme/controls
CommunityToolkit.Mvvm 8.4.2 ViewModels (ObservableObject, RelayCommand)
MessagePack 3.1.8 Binary data files
Microsoft.Extensions.* 10.0.12 Configuration, DI, HTTP, resilience
Microsoft.Extensions.Http.Resilience 10.10.0 Polly retry policy on downloads
Microsoft.Data.Sqlite / SourceGear.sqlite3 10.0.12 / 3.53.4 SQLite (unified settings.dat, Amazon scan, Stella settings)
SharpCompress 0.50.4 Archive extraction
NAudio (Core / Wasapi / WinMM / SoundFile / Alsa) 3.1.0 UI sound effects (Windows + Linux)
SharpDX + XInput + DirectInput 4.2.0 Gamepad input
InputSimulatorCore 1.0.5 Mouse simulation from gamepad
Serilog (+ Sinks.Async/Debug/File) 4.4.0 Logging
Tomlyn 2.10.1 TOML parsing (Xenia, Yumir configs)
YamlDotNet 18.1.0 YAML parsing (RPCS3 config)
PBPSharp 1.1.1 PBP disc extraction (NuGet package replacing the old vendored copy)
Meziantou.Analyzer 3.0.259 Static analysis (PrivateAssets)
Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.NetAnalyzers 10.0.401 Static analysis

SimpleLauncher.Core\SimpleLauncher.Core.csproj (the library)

Key properties: net10.0-windows, IsPackable=true, Nullable enabled, LangVersion 14, DebugType=embedded, version 5.8.0.

  • InternalsVisibleTo: SimpleLauncher.Tests, SimpleLauncher, SimpleLauncher.New, SimpleLauncher.Avalonia, SimpleLauncher.New.Tests.
  • Global usings: System.IO, System.Net.Http, Serilog — so every Core service takes a Serilog ILogger by convention.
  • Packages: the same core set as the app (CommunityToolkit.Mvvm, MessagePack, Microsoft.Extensions., SharpCompress, NAudio, SharpDX, Serilog, Tomlyn, YamlDotNet, SourceGear.sqlite3, Meziantou.Analyzer) — no WPF/MahApps (it targets net10.0-windows because of DPAPI ProtectedData, System.Drawing-adjacent helpers, and Windows-specific services, but stays UI-agnostic). RetroAchievements hashing is not a package: all hash computation is delegated to the bundled tools\RetroAchievementsSharp\ CLI binaries (see 09 — RetroAchievements).
  • Shared localization packs: Localization\strings.{lang}.json (18 languages, canonical strings.en.json) are the single source for both apps — both embed them in their assemblies (WPF pack resources, Avalonia manifest resources; see 15 — Development).

SimpleLauncher.Avalonia\SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.csproj (the cross-platform port)

Key properties: net10.0 + net10.0-windows (dual target — the net10.0 TFM is Linux-only and rejects Windows RIDs via a build guard), Avalonia 12.1.1, UseWindowsForms=False, version synced to the WPF app (5.8.0), StartupObject = SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.Program.

  • Reuses SimpleLauncher.Core for all business logic (launch, scanning, persistence, emulator config injection, RA).
  • Windows-only services (#if WINDOWS, net10.0-windows): F8 global hotkey (AvaloniaGlobalHotkeyService), active-window screenshot (AvaloniaActiveWindowScreenshotService + WindowScreenshot Win32 helpers, System.Drawing.Common package conditional on the windows TFM).
  • Cross-platform services: AvaloniaTrayIconManager (Avalonia TrayIcon + NativeMenu; icon\icon.ico copied to output), AvaloniaFilePickerService, AvaloniaDispatcherService, embedded JSON localization (manifest resources SimpleLauncher.Avalonia.Resources.strings.*.json sourced from SimpleLauncher.Core\Localization, 18 languages, 2669 keys each, all files in full key parity with strings.en.json).
  • Port status and remaining work: References/AvaloniaPlan.md and References/TODO.md. All 44 windows and 21 Inject* dialogs are headless-smoke-tested via AvaloniaViewSmokeTests (45 window + 21 inject tests); RetroAchievementsViewModel and RetroAchievementsSettingsViewModel have full unit coverage in both WPF and Avalonia (30 + 19 tests).

Folder structure of the app project

SimpleLauncher/
├── App.xaml(.cs)            DI composition root, startup sequence
├── MainWindow.xaml(.cs)     + 12 partials (hosts, menus, pagination, search, close events…)
├── *.xaml(.cs)              22 root windows (About, Debug, EasyMode, EditSystem, InjectConfig…)
├── InjectConfigWindows/     21 emulator config-injection dialogs
├── Pages/                   Favorites, GlobalSearch, PlayHistory
├── ViewModels/              44 ViewModels (incl. 21 Inject*ConfigViewModel)
├── Services/                UI services, launch handlers, scanners, RA, favorites, play history…
├── Interfaces/              host & service interfaces (29)
├── Models/                  app-side models (SearchResult, WindowScreenshot, RaAchievement…)
├── resources2/              theme overrides (HighContrast, Midnight)
├── tools/                   bundled executables (see 11)
├── samples/                 emulator config templates (samples\{Emulator}\*)
├── audio/ images/ icon/     shipped assets
└── appsettings.json, app.manifest, mame.dat, parameters.md, WhatsNew.md

Folder structure of the Core project

SimpleLauncher.Core/
├── Services/                ~30 areas (see 07 — Core Services)
├── Models/                  data models (Ra*, History, emulator settings, converters…)
├── Interfaces/              service contracts
└── (no UI, no XAML)

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