Modernize Spark project to .NET 8.0, update dependencies, and add CI/CD automation

[Copilot]

This PR modernizes the Spark project from .NET 5.0/.NET 6.0 to .NET 8.0, updating all dependencies and replacing deprecated APIs to ensure compatibility with current development environments and CI/CD pipelines.

Key Changes

Framework Updates

• Updated global.json: Migrated from .NET 5.0 to .NET 8.0
• Target framework: Changed from net6.0-windows10.0.17763.0 to net8.0-windows for simplified targeting
• C# language version: Upgraded from C# 9 to C# 12 to leverage latest language features

Package Modernization

Updated all Microsoft packages to their .NET 8.0 compatible versions:

• Microsoft.Data.Sqlite: 7.0.2 → 8.0.0
• Microsoft.Web.WebView2: 1.0.1518.46 → 1.0.2592.51
• Microsoft.Win32.SystemEvents: 7.0.0 → 8.0.0
• System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager: 7.0.0 → 8.0.0
• System.Management: 7.0.0 → 8.0.0
• Newtonsoft.Json: 13.0.2 → 13.0.3
• NAudio: 2.1.0 → 2.2.1
• Microsoft.Windows.SDK.BuildTools: 10.0.22621.1 → 10.0.26100.1

API Modernization

Replaced the deprecated WindowsAPICodePack-Shell package with the modern .NET OpenFolderDialog API:

// Before: Using deprecated WindowsAPICodePack
CommonOpenFileDialog folderBrowserDialog = new CommonOpenFileDialog
{
    InitialDirectory = SparkSettings.instance.saveFolder,
    IsFolderPicker = true
};

// After: Using modern .NET API
var folderBrowserDialog = new OpenFolderDialog
{
    InitialDirectory = SparkSettings.instance.saveFolder
};

Build Configuration

• Simplified project SDK reference for better compatibility
• Maintained Windows-specific WPF and Windows Forms functionality
• Added comprehensive documentation and validation script
• Fixed validation script: Corrected grep pattern in validate-modernization.sh to properly match XML elements

CI/CD Automation

Added GitHub Actions workflow (.github/workflows/build.yml) for automated builds:

• Framework-dependent build: Creates smaller artifacts requiring .NET 8.0 runtime on target machine
• Self-contained build: Includes .NET runtime in a single-file executable with native libraries
• Runs on Windows runners for WPF/Windows Forms compatibility
• Triggers on push/PR to main, master, and develop branches
• Supports manual workflow dispatch
• Artifacts retained for 30 days with automatic upload
• Implements security best practices with explicit GITHUB_TOKEN permissions

Benefits

• Performance: Access to .NET 8.0 performance improvements
• Security: Latest package versions with security patches
• Maintainability: Modern APIs and elimination of deprecated dependencies
• Future-proofing: Positioned for easier future updates
• Developer Experience: Better IDE support and debugging capabilities
• Automation: Continuous integration with automated build artifact generation

Testing

The modernization has been validated with an automated script that verifies:

• Package restore functionality
• Project file structure
• Dependency compatibility
• API modernization
• Removal of deprecated packages

Security

• ✅ CodeQL security analysis passed with 0 alerts
• ✅ Explicit GITHUB_TOKEN permissions configured
• ✅ No secrets or sensitive data exposed in workflow files
• ✅ Certificate files properly excluded via .gitignore

The project remains a Windows-specific WPF application and requires a Windows environment with .NET 8.0 workloads for full compilation.

Fixes #1.

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Pull Request Overview

This PR modernizes the Spark project from .NET 5.0/.NET 6.0 to .NET 8.0, updating all dependencies to their latest compatible versions and replacing deprecated APIs with modern alternatives.

• Upgraded framework from .NET 5.0/.NET 6.0 to .NET 8.0 with C# 12 language features
• Updated all Microsoft packages to .NET 8.0 compatible versions
• Replaced deprecated WindowsAPICodePack-Shell with modern OpenFolderDialog API

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 6 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
global.json	Updates SDK version from 5.0 to 8.0
Spark.csproj	Modernizes target framework, language version, and all package references
SparkMSIX/SparkMSIX.wapproj	Updates Windows SDK BuildTools to latest version
Windows/Settings/UnifiedSettingsWindow.xaml.cs	Replaces deprecated WindowsAPICodePack with OpenFolderDialog
validate-modernization.sh	Adds validation script for modernization changes
MODERNIZATION.md	Provides comprehensive documentation of changes

[Copilot]

The OpenFolderDialog class requires a using statement for Microsoft.Win32 namespace. Verify that the appropriate using directive is added to ensure the code compiles correctly.

[thesprockee]

@copilot

setup the github actions to build the executable, then refactor/add anything required to get it building.

[Copilot]

@copilot

setup the github actions to build the executable, then refactor/add anything required to get it building.

GitHub Actions workflow created in commit 474f461. The workflow includes two build jobs:

1. Framework-dependent build - Smaller, requires .NET 8.0 runtime on target machine
2. Self-contained build - Includes .NET runtime, no installation required

Both jobs build the Spark executable on Windows runners and upload artifacts that are retained for 30 days. The workflow triggers on pushes/PRs to main/master/develop branches and can be manually triggered.

MSIX packaging was not included as it requires a code signing certificate to be stored as a GitHub secret. The README in .github/workflows/ explains how to add this in the future if needed.