ShopAPI - .NET 8 Web API Project

Project Structure

ShopApI/
├── Controllers/          # API Controllers (HTTP endpoints)
│   └── ProductsController.cs
├── Models/              # Domain/Entity models
│   └── Product.cs
├── DTOs/                # Data Transfer Objects (API contracts)
│   └── ProductDto.cs
├── Services/            # Business logic layer
│   ├── IProductService.cs
│   └── ProductService.cs
├── Repositories/        # Data access layer
│   ├── IProductRepository.cs
│   └── ProductRepository.cs
├── Data/                # Database context and configurations
│   └── ApplicationDbContext.cs
├── Middleware/          # Custom middleware
│   └── ExceptionHandlingMiddleware.cs
├── Helpers/             # Utility classes and helpers
├── Properties/          # Launch settings
├── Program.cs           # Application entry point
└── appsettings.json     # Configuration files

Folder Descriptions

📁 Controllers/

Contains API controllers that handle HTTP requests and responses.

• Define your API endpoints here
• Controllers should be lightweight and delegate business logic to services
• Use attribute routing: [Route("api/[controller]")]

Example:

[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class ProductsController : ControllerBase
{
    // Your endpoints here
}

📁 Models/

Contains domain entities that represent your database tables.

• These are your core business objects
• Map directly to database tables when using Entity Framework

Example:

public class Product
{
    public int Id { get; set; }
    public string Name { get; set; }
    // Other properties...
}

📁 DTOs/ (Data Transfer Objects)

Contains objects used for API requests and responses.

• Separate from domain models for security and flexibility
• Include: CreateDto, UpdateDto, ResponseDto
• Helps prevent over-posting attacks

Example:

public class CreateProductDto { /* properties */ }
public class ProductDto { /* properties */ }

📁 Services/

Contains business logic and orchestrates operations.

• Implements interfaces for dependency injection
• Handles complex business rules
• Coordinates between repositories

Example:

public interface IProductService { /* methods */ }
public class ProductService : IProductService { /* implementation */ }

📁 Repositories/

Contains data access logic.

• Abstracts database operations
• Implements the Repository pattern
• Works with DbContext (Entity Framework)

Example:

public interface IProductRepository { /* methods */ }
public class ProductRepository : IProductRepository { /* implementation */ }

📁 Data/

Contains database context and configurations.

• ApplicationDbContext for Entity Framework
• Entity configurations
• Database migrations

📁 Middleware/

Contains custom middleware components.

• Exception handling
• Authentication/Authorization
• Logging
• Request/Response modification

📁 Helpers/

Contains utility classes and helper methods.

• Extension methods
• Mapping helpers
• Validation utilities
• Common functions

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• .NET 8 SDK
• Your preferred IDE (Visual Studio, VS Code, Rider)

Running the Application

dotnet restore
dotnet build
dotnet run

The API will be available at:

• HTTPS: https://localhost:7xxx
• HTTP: http://localhost:5xxx
• Swagger UI: https://localhost:7xxx/swagger

Adding a Database (Optional)

To add Entity Framework Core with SQL Server:

dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer
dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Design
dotnet add package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools

Update appsettings.json:

{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "DefaultConnection": "Server=.;Database=ShopDB;Trusted_Connection=true;TrustServerCertificate=true;"
  }
}

Uncomment the DbContext registration in Program.cs and the context in Data/ApplicationDbContext.cs.

Create Migrations

dotnet ef migrations add InitialCreate
dotnet ef database update

Best Practices

1. Separation of Concerns: Keep controllers thin, move logic to services
2. Dependency Injection: Use interfaces and inject dependencies
3. DTOs: Always use DTOs for API contracts, never expose domain models directly
4. Async/Await: Use async methods for I/O operations
5. Error Handling: Use middleware for global exception handling
6. Logging: Inject ILogger and log important operations
7. Validation: Use Data Annotations or FluentValidation

Next Steps

1. Implement your business logic in Services
2. Add database configuration and Entity Framework
3. Create additional controllers for other resources
4. Add authentication and authorization
5. Implement input validation
6. Add unit tests
7. Configure environment-specific settings

Resources

• ASP.NET Core Documentation
• Entity Framework Core
• RESTful API Design