CEL_Payroll/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Overview

CEL Payroll is a .NET Framework 4.5 WinForms desktop payroll/HR application (C#) backed by SQL Server. Solution: CEL Payroll.sln (VS 2019 format; folder name refers to the original VS2015 port). There are no test projects and no linter.

Build

Build from Visual Studio, or with MSBuild from a Developer Command Prompt:

msbuild "CEL Payroll.sln" /p:Configuration=Debug

Startup project is Payroll.UI (WinExe, entry Payroll.UI/Payroll.UI/Program.cs → frmMain). Third-party and in-house framework assemblies (Ease.CoreV35, Ease.Controls, Ease.Report, ReportViewer, NPOI, ClosedXML, iTextSharp, etc.) are checked in as binaries under Library/ and referenced by HintPath, not NuGet. Crystal Reports 10.5 runtime must be installed for Payroll.Report to build.

Architecture

Layered, with project dependencies flowing downward:

• Payroll.UI — WinForms screens, grouped by module folder (Salary, Tax, Bonus, Leave, PF, Gratuity, FinalSettlement, …).
• Payroll.Report — report classes (Class/rpt*.cs), the report viewer (UI/fReportViewer.cs), typed datasets (PayrollDataSet), and .rdlc files under RDLC/ (plus some Crystal reports).
• Ease.UICreator — generic, config-driven master/detail form generator used for simple setup screens.
• Payroll.Controls — shared custom WinForms controls.
• Payroll.Service — service implementations + data access (SQL).
• Payroll.BO — business objects and the service interfaces.
• Ease.SvcHost — Windows service exposing Payroll.Service over .NET Remoting (TCP) for a 3-tier deployment.
• Payroll.NotifProcessInterface — console exe that runs notification/mail processing.

BO / Service / DA pattern

Each entity spans three files that share a module folder name across projects, e.g. Bonus:

1. Payroll.BO/Bonus/Bonus.cs — class deriving from BasicBaseObject (or similar Ease.CoreV35 base), properties call OnPropertyChange, static Get(...)/instance Save()/Delete() methods that use a per-type Cache and delegate to Service. The service interface (IBonusService) is declared at the bottom of the same BO file. Service is resolved via Services.Factory.CreateService<IBonusService>(...).
2. Payroll.Service/Bonus/Service/BonusService.cs — ServiceTemplate subclass implementing the interface. Every method wraps work in TransactionContext.Begin() / tc.End(), with tc.HandleError() + ExceptionLog.Write(e) + throw new ServiceException(...) in the catch. MapObject maps DataReader columns to BO properties and sets ObjectState.Saved.
3. Payroll.Service/Bonus/DA/BonusDA.cs — internal static class of raw SQL. Queries use Ease's placeholder formatting, not SqlParameters: %n number, %s string, %d date (e.g. tc.ExecuteNonQuery("UPDATE Bonus SET code=%s WHERE BonusID=%n", ...)).

Adding a method to an entity means touching all three: interface + BO wrapper, service implementation, DA query. IDs use the Ease ID type (.Integer for the int value). Many queries are scoped by SystemInformation.CurrentSysInfo.PayrollTypeID.

Service location is controlled by serviceHandler in Payroll.UI/Payroll.UI/App.config: Payroll.Service.dll/conn loads the services in-process using the conn entry in <dbSettings>; a host:port/Payroll.Service value goes through Ease.SvcHost remoting instead.

Menus and forms

The main menu is driven by Payroll.UI/Payroll.UI/Menu.xml. Each <permissioninfo> names a <formname> and <showfunction>; frmMain resolves the form type by reflection (Payroll.UI.<formname> unless the name is assembly-qualified) and invokes the parameterless show method. Simple setup screens use BasicUIForms (CreateUI.cs), whose show* methods build forms through Ease.UICreator. Adding a screen to the menu means adding a Menu.xml entry whose names match exactly.

Reports

RDLC files are compiled as EmbeddedResource in Payroll.Report.csproj and loaded by manifest name, e.g. "Payroll.Report.RDLC.BankAdvice.rdlc" (see Class/rptBankAdvice.cs, UI/fReportViewer.cs). A new .rdlc must be added to the csproj as an EmbeddedResource, and its dataset fields must match the DataTable passed in (typed datasets live in PayrollDataSet).

Repository conventions

• Branching: work on dev_shahadat, PRs into devqc (Gitea-hosted).
• Commit messages are prefixed with the ticket ID in the form YYYYMMDD-NNNN <description>, e.g. 20260929-3216 Bank advice Salary Report Modification.
• Release commits typically bump AssemblyVersion/AssemblyFileVersion in Payroll.UI/Payroll.UI/Properties/AssemblyInfo.cs to a date-based YY.M.DD.0 value.
• App.config contains live DB connection strings and is frequently changed per environment; don't commit connection-string changes unless intended.