Category: Software

  • 10 .NET Libraries for generating PDF’s

    10 .NET Libraries for generating PDF’s

    When working with PDFs in .NET, developers have several powerful libraries at their disposal. These libraries vary in functionality, licensing, and ease of use, catering to different needs such as creating, editing, and printing PDFs. Below is a list of ten popular PDF libraries used in the .NET ecosystem, each with a brief description, a link for more information, and a note on whether it is free or commercial.

    1. QuestPDF

    • Description: QuestPDF is a modern library designed to create PDF documents using simple and intuitive APIs. It offers flexibility and a focus on high-quality output.
    • Link: QuestPDF
    • License: Free for most uses, with commercial options available.

    2. PdfSharp & Migradoc

    • Description: PdfSharp and MigraDoc are open-source libraries that work together to create PDFs. PdfSharp focuses on PDF creation and editing, while MigraDoc handles document layout and design.
    • Link: PdfSharp | MigraDoc
    • License: Free, open-source.

    3. Syncfusion PDF Framework

    • Description: Syncfusion provides a comprehensive PDF framework that allows for creating, editing, and converting PDFs. It is feature-rich and supports a wide range of PDF functionalities.
    • Link: Syncfusion PDF Framework
    • License: Free for small businesses and individuals under the community license; commercial options available.

    4. IronPDF

    • Description: IronPDF is a commercial library known for its ease of use and robust PDF generation and manipulation features. It supports advanced functionalities like rendering and editing.
    • Link: IronPDF
    • License: Commercial.

    5. freeSpire.PDF

    • Description: freeSpire.PDF is a free version of the Spire.PDF library, offering essential PDF creation and manipulation features. It’s a solid choice for basic PDF tasks.
    • Link: freeSpire.PDF
    • License: Free, with a commercial version available.

    6. X39.Solutions.PdfTemplate

    • Description: A specialized library focused on generating PDF documents based on templates. It’s a simple and effective solution for template-driven PDF generation.
    • Link: X39.Solutions.PdfTemplate
    • License: Free.

    7. VectSharp

    • Description: VectSharp is a versatile vector graphics library that includes support for PDF generation. It’s particularly useful for projects requiring custom vector drawing.
    • Link: VectSharp
    • License: Free, open-source.

    8. FastReport

    • Description: FastReport is a powerful reporting tool that can generate complex PDF reports. It includes a wide range of features for generating PDFs from various data sources.
    • Link: FastReport
    • License: Free for basic use; advanced features require a commercial license.

    9. iTextSharp

    • Description: iTextSharp (part of iText) is a well-known library for creating and manipulating PDFs. It’s a robust and versatile tool that supports a wide range of PDF features.
    • Link: iTextSharp
    • License: Free for open-source projects under AGPL; commercial licenses available.

    10. Aspose.PDF

    • Description: Aspose.PDF is a commercial library offering extensive PDF processing capabilities. It supports creation, conversion, editing, and a wide array of other PDF operations.
    • Link: Aspose.PDF
    • License: Commercial.

    This list includes a mix of free and commercial options, ensuring there’s a library suitable for almost any .NET project involving PDF generation or manipulation.

  • Checking Open Source CRM and ERP – Odoo

    Checking Open Source CRM and ERP – Odoo

    I bumbed by change to Odoo website and started to look their offering. At first clance Odoo seems to target to enterprise market by aiming to be an alternative to Oracle and Salesforce as a business management software. But once I started to look a bit deeper I noticed that you can use the system for any size of businesses.

    Odoo has a composable “apps” concept where you first you have the Odoo foundation and then you choose which apps you want use.

    Different Apps on Odoo

    Company

    Odoo founded in 2005 is a Belgium-based provider of open-source-based business software that ranges from inventory management and ERP to human resources and CRM software, marketing tools and more. Odoo has raised a total of $439.5M in funding over 5 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jun 8, 2022 from a Private Equity round. They have around 2000 employees growing ~50% per year. Odoo’s estimated annual revenue is currently $234.6M per year.

    Technology

    Odoo is typical multitenant, three-tier architecture written in JavaScript and Python. Data storage is PostgreSQL.

    Odoo in 90 seconds

    Odoo’s elevator pitch

    Customers

    Used by over 5.000. 000 users worldwide ranging from startup companies (1 user) to large enterprises (300,000+ users). About 90% of Odoo’s customer base takes the free tier, he said, with only 10% taking the paid, proprietary tier. But with 7 million users, that is enough to run the business at a profit big enough that it can continue investing in growth without giving away more equity.

    Pricing

    Odoo Community edition is available for free but of course you need to put price on hosting and operations. Their SaaS offering, Odoo Enterprise edition costs $20/user/month (annual billing) or $25/user/month (monthly billing). On top of that you can add different Apps that raises the price.

    Summary

    Is it better than Salesforce, SAP, Dynamics, etc.? Probably not. Is it good enough given the price point and flexibility, for smaller businesses? Looks like yes.

    Other alternatice in Open Source world for Odoo