Table of Contents

ConApiWpfClientApp

A WPF desktop application demonstrating the IDEA StatiCa Connection API. It provides a graphical interface for opening connection projects, running structural analyses, exporting results, managing templates, and visualizing connections in 3D.

Architecture

The application follows the MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) pattern with dependency injection via Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection.

ConApiWpfClientApp/
├── App.xaml(.cs)              # Entry point, DI container configuration
├── MainWindow.xaml(.cs)       # Main application window
├── appsettings.json           # Configuration (API endpoint, setup path)
├── Models/
│   ├── ProjectModel.cs        # Currently open project state
│   ├── ConnectionLibraryModel.cs  # Connection library search state
│   └── ExpressionModel.cs     # Expression evaluation input
├── Services/
│   ├── IConnectionApiService.cs   # Main API abstraction (interface)
│   ├── ConnectionApiService.cs    # API implementation wrapping IConnectionApiClient
│   ├── IExpressionProvider.cs     # Expression input provider (interface)
│   ├── ExpressionProvider.cs      # Builds default expressions from member data
│   ├── ITemplateProvider.cs       # Template loading abstraction (interface)
│   ├── TemplateProviderFile.cs    # Loads templates from .contemp files
│   ├── ConnectionLibraryProposer.cs # Browses connection library for templates
│   ├── JsonEditorService.cs       # Generic JSON object editor
│   ├── TextEditorService.cs       # Plain text editor
│   └── TemplateMappingSetter.cs   # Template member/cross-section mapping editor
├── ViewModels/
│   ├── ViewModelBase.cs           # Base class (ObservableObject)
│   ├── MainWindowViewModel.cs     # Main VM with all commands
│   ├── ConnectionViewModel.cs     # Wraps ConConnection for data binding
│   ├── JsonEditorViewModel.cs     # JSON editor dialog VM
│   ├── ConnectionLibraryViewModel.cs  # Connection library browser VM
│   └── ProposedCdiViewModel.cs    # Connection design item with lazy-loaded details
├── Views/
│   ├── JsonEditorWindow.xaml(.cs)          # JSON/text editor dialog
│   ├── ConnectionLibraryWindow.xaml(.cs)   # Connection library browser dialog
│   ├── DesignItemsView.xaml(.cs)           # Design item list control
│   └── DesignItemDetailView.xaml(.cs)      # Design item detail control
└── Tools/
    └── JsonTools.cs               # JSON formatting utilities

Layer responsibilities

Layer Responsibility
Model Domain data (ProjectModel holds the ConProject returned by the API). No UI logic.
ViewModel UI state (IsBusy, Connections, SelectedConnection, OutputText), relay commands, and orchestration of service calls. Uses CommunityToolkit.Mvvm source generators ([ObservableProperty], [RelayCommand]).
View XAML only. Data-binds to ViewModel properties and commands. No code-behind logic beyond InitializeComponent.
Services All business logic and API communication. IConnectionApiService is the main abstraction; other services handle templates, expressions, JSON editing, and file dialogs.

Dependency injection

All services, models, and view models are registered in App.xaml.cs:

Registration Lifetime Purpose
IConfiguration Singleton appsettings.json + environment variables
IPluginLogger Singleton Serilog-based diagnostic logging
IConnectionApiService / ConnectionApiService Singleton Connection API wrapper
ProjectModel Singleton Current project state
MainWindowViewModel Singleton Main view model
ISceneController / SceneController Singleton 3D scene rendering
IFileDialogService / FileDialogService Transient Open/save file dialogs
JsonEditorViewModel Transient JSON editor instances
IomEditorWindowViewModel Singleton IOM generator dialog

The ViewModel never instantiates services or dialogs directly -- everything is injected through the constructor.

Configuration

Edit appsettings.json to match your environment:

{
  "CONNECTION_API_ENDPOINT": "http://localhost:5000",
  "CONNECTION_API_RUNSERVER": "true",
  "IdeaStatiCaSetupPath": "C:\\Program Files\\IDEA StatiCa\\StatiCa 26.0"
}
Setting Description
CONNECTION_API_ENDPOINT REST API base URL when attaching to an existing service
CONNECTION_API_RUNSERVER "true" to launch a new API server process, "false" to attach to CONNECTION_API_ENDPOINT
IdeaStatiCaSetupPath Path to the IDEA StatiCa installation directory (used when CONNECTION_API_RUNSERVER is "true")

Available commands

The main window toolbar exposes all operations, each backed by an async relay command with CanExecute guards:

Connection lifecycle

Command Description
Start service Connect to the API (start new server or attach to endpoint)
Open Project Open an .ideacon project file
Import IOM Import an .iom or .xml Open Model file
Generate connection Open the IOM generator dialog to define connection geometry
Close Project Close the current project
Download Save the current project to a file

Analysis and results

Command Description
Calculate Run structural analysis (Stress-Strain or Stiffness, with optional buckling)
Get Members Retrieve beams and columns as JSON
Get Operations Retrieve manufacturing operations (bolts, welds, etc.)
Delete Operations Remove all operations from the selected connection
Get topology Retrieve geometry and connectivity data
Scene3D Data Retrieve raw 3D scene JSON
Evaluate Expression Evaluate a parametric expression against the connection

Export and reporting

Command Description
Report PDF / Word Generate a calculation report
Export IOM / IFC Export the connection to IOM XML or IFC format

Templates

Command Description
Create template Export the selected connection as a .contemp template
Apply template Load a template from file and apply it to the selected connection
Apply from CL Browse the connection library, select a design, and apply it

Other

Command Description
Get/Update Settings Read and write project-level settings as JSON
Update loading Edit load effects (forces and moments) via a JSON editor
Edit Parameters Edit user-defined connection parameters
WeldSizing Run weld pre-design using the selected sizing method
Logs Open the IDEA StatiCa logs folder in Explorer
Diagnostics Open IdeaDiagnostics.config in Notepad

Technology stack

  • .NET 10.0 (WPF, net10.0-windows)
  • CommunityToolkit.Mvvm -- source-generated ObservableProperty, RelayCommand
  • Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection -- constructor injection
  • Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration -- JSON + environment variable config
  • Newtonsoft.Json -- JSON serialization/formatting
  • IdeaStatiCa.ConnectionApi -- REST client for the Connection API
  • IdeaStatiCa.ConRestApiClientUI -- 3D scene rendering (WebGL)
  • IdeaStatiCa.PluginLogger -- Serilog logging facade
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