Introducing SharpShip 1.0 UPS API Library for .Net

In a project I am working on I need to make use of the UPS API. I could do this in the code directly without much trouble, but in an attempt to be “best practice” I first searched to see if there was a library already built. I did find one, but it seemed a little out dated and I figured I could update it using some newer technology. So for about a week straight I worked out the details of how to get this up and running. It is my first attempt at a NuGet package and an Open Source project. (Nothing like tackling everything all at once.)

I was reading about LINQ to XML and figured this would be a great place to make use of this technology. In a previous post I was trying to work out some issues with LINQ to XML and finally figured out what I was doing wrong. Once I had the issue figured out everything else just kind of fell into place. My hope is that the library helps other access the UPS API easier. I may expand it to include other shipping services in the future. (The original one I found did USPS and FedEx.) This brings to mind a couple of different ideas for libraries.

I am filling the Open Source portion already by setting this out on BitBucket and available for download. I am adding issues and getting the wiki set up for use.

UPDATE:

I uploaded the package to NuGet just to test the “market” so to say. Instantly we received 4 downloads. This actually scared me a little bit. I didn’t think the library would find such a quick use. As I started to think about how the library worked and what was needed to make it work, I decided to hide it for a little bit to work out some of the issues that I see.

New post when everything is live again.