ASP.NET Core is Microsoft's high-performance, open-source, cross-platform framework for building web applications and web APIs. A web API lets clients access and update data through an HTTP-based service; ASP.NET Core supplies the components for building that service. section 1.2 section 1.0
An ASP.NET Core application is assembled from reusable services and middleware. Services provide functionality and can be supplied to other components through dependency injection. Middleware handles the HTTP request pipeline. In the .NET 6 minimal hosting model, both are registered and configured in Program.cs, the application's entry point. section 1.2.1 section 1.3
For a board-game API, a practical starting path is:
- Install the .NET SDK and required runtimes, unless the chosen IDE installs them; then create a project with Visual Studio's ASP.NET Core web API template. section 2.6
- Inspect Program.cs for setup, appsettings.json for configuration, and launchSettings.json for development-server settings. section 2.6
- Replace the template's weather-forecast data class and controller with board-game-related classes. Controllers are one API-building option; minimal APIs offer a simpler, lower-overhead alternative for straightforward APIs. section 2.6 section 1.3
The framework also supports concerns beyond the first endpoint. Built-in services and middleware can configure CORS; response headers can control caching; response DTOs can include links and metadata. Swashbuckle can generate and customize OpenAPI documentation. These choices help turn a working endpoint into an API that clients can access, navigate, and understand. section 3.5 section 11.5
