Part 1 Getting started

This part is an introductory section explaining the main topics of the book and showing how to deal with them properly. The main goals here are to understand a web API and the fundamental concepts of representational state transfer (REST) and to see how we can use ASP.NET Core to implement what we need.

In chapter 1, we’ll define and introduce the most important characteristics of a web API, as well as present an overview of the main architectures and message protocols available today (REST, SOAP, and GraphQL). Then we’ll take a look at the overall architecture of the ASP.NET Core framework and discuss the reasons to use it.

Using ASP.NET Core requires setting up an integrated development environment (IDE), which is the topic of chapter 2. We’ll determine the required software and installation prerequisites; choose a suitable IDE, such as Visual Studio; and eventually create our first project. Right after that, we’ll extensively inspect the preassembled templates to understand the structure, conventions, and standards of a typical ASP.NET Core application.

Chapter 3 is dedicated to RESTful principles and guidelines. We’ll review these principles to understand how they work and why they’re important, using real-world examples and practical use scenarios. Eventually, we’ll learn how to implement them within our new ASP.NET Core application.