Upcoming HexGadgetTM .NET versions

• Overview
• Details
  • HexValidEmail
  • HexDns
  • HexWhois
  • HexNetwork
  • HexTcpQuery
  • HexIcmp
  • HexLookup
• Pricing

Overview

Yes, we have .NET versions of our HexGadget components on the way. Our new HexWhois.NET is already available. We currently have HexValidEmail.NET, HexDns.NET, and HexNetwork.NET in beta testing. Please contact us if you would like to participate in the beta. We have not set official release dates yet.

We plan to release HexNetwork.NET free of charge. More about that below.

Details

Unlike most .NET components available today, HexGadget .NET components form a cohesive networking class library with a fully objected-oriented architecture.

Typical components consist of a main class with perhaps a few small support classes. Almost all the component's functionality is crammed into one class. While this was okay for COM components (for which it was difficult to do much else), such a design often misses out on the flexibility, power, and type safety that .NET offers.

HexGadget .NET components are designed to be granular, layered, and flexible. They start with basic network types such as DomainName, EmailAddress, and PortNumber, then build more complex types from there. The HexGadget .NET libraries will allow you to choose your level of abstraction and often define your own first-class types if you desire. By "first-class", we mean that you can define your own types to work with or even replace the supplied types. For example, you can derive your own DNS record class and replace one of the supplied classes. Your class will then be used to parse incoming DNS data.

HexValidEmail

HexValidEmail has been radically redesigned with a modular architecture that provides a variety of new tests, allows you to fine-tune the testing sequence, and even define your own tests. Or, you can just keep it very simple.

New features include:

• Asynchronous operation
• In-memory cache of domain records
• User-defined blacklists and whitelists
• Filtering based on user-defined regular expressions
• Optimizations for fast batch processing

HexDns

HexDns.NET adds a number of new features and conveniences:

• Zone transfers
• Zone file output
• Built-in parsing of at least 12 more record types, for a total of at least 22 (more may be added by the final release).
• Support for user-defined record types. Users can write their own record classes or extend one of the provided classes. User classes can be registered to work along side or even replace the provided classes.

HexWhois

We have created a new component for Whois called HexWhois.NET. It offers features that you won't find in any other Whois component: 

• Automatic discovery of the correct Whois server for the domain name or IP address you specify
• Parsing of Whois output into a standard data structure
• Removal of header and footer from raw record text 
• Raw query function for your own special queries

Learn more about HexWhois on our RegistryFusion unified Whois page.

HexNetwork

HexNetwork is new for .NET. It provides basic network classes and other types, filling in what Microsoft left out and providing a foundation for higher-level networking classes. HexNetwork offers many features, including:

• DomainName class
• EmailAddress class
• IPAddress class (to interchangeably replace Microsoft's)
• PortNumber class
• HexDump class (for displaying binary network data)
• High resolution counter classes for precise timing
• Socket error enumeration (something Microsoft left out)
• Interfaces and base classes for network data types
• A TcpQuery class that provides the functionality of our HexTcpQuery COM component

HexTcpQuery

We originally planned not to create a .NET version of HexTcpQuery, as the System.Net.Sockets classes—particularly TcpClient—render it unnecessary. However, we decided to include it because it still offers simplicity, character set conversion, and the convenience of automatic end-of-line character normalization. It has been rolled into the new HexNetwork library.

HexIcmp

We do not have any immediate plans to release a .NET version of HexIcmp.

HexLookup

There is no .NET version of HexLookup. Use the System.Net.Dns class or the HexDns Resolver class instead.

Pricing

The pricing structure for HexGadget .NET components is different from the COM versions. The .NET versions will be licensed per machine instead of per processor. We also plan to release HexNetwork.NET free of charge, with support plans available at extra cost.

The following prices are preliminary and subject to change before final release.