Web service
A web service is a programmatic software interface that exposes functionality or data through web technologies or network protocols, typically HTTP.
Building Web APIs with ASP.NET Core
A web API is an application programming interface exposed through web protocols, commonly HTTP, for communication between software systems.
- How it is used
- Provides multiple software clients with structured access to data without exposing the database directly.
- How deep it goes
- Moves from definition and architecture to project creation and controller routing, while excluding non-HTTP messaging protocols.
- Examples
- Uses a board-game catalog serving a website, mobile app, management portal, and analysis service, alongside a generated weather-forecast endpoint.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch with the ASP.NET Core web API template, then map controller actions and verify the application runs.
Read how Building Web APIs with ASP.NET Core explains web service →
Rust Servers, Services, and Apps
A web service is a software service that exposes functionality for network clients through web communication protocols.
- How it is used
- Provides HTTP APIs for application data, first as a server exercise and then as the backend for a separate web app.
- How deep it goes
- Builds from a limited GET-only HTTP implementation toward REST handlers, database state, and tests; the initial server is not production-ready.
- Examples
- Uses a JSON shipping-orders endpoint and a tutor API consumed by a server-rendered tutor-list page.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch as a limited HTTP/JSON server, then apply Actix Web and SQLx to a tested database-backed REST service.
Read how Rust Servers, Services, and Apps explains web service →
ASP.NET Core in Action, 3e
An HTTP API application exposes application functionality through endpoints that communicate using the HTTP protocol.
- How it is used
- Exposes application data or functionality to single-page applications, mobile apps, and other backend services through HTTP endpoints.
- How deep it goes
- Defines endpoints and JSON responses, compares ASP.NET Core API approaches, and identifies HttpClient lifecycle pitfalls; defers factory-based remedies.
- Examples
- Illustrates JSON requests from a single-page application, an email service used by other applications, and third-party services for e-commerce.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch with an ASP.NET Core minimal API template, or call an external API while recognizing HttpClient lifecycle pitfalls.
Pro ASP.NET Core 7, Tenth Edition
A web service is a network-accessible software interface that exposes application functionality through web protocols.
- How it is used
- Provides application data to HTTP clients, including JavaScript and Blazor WebAssembly applications.
- How deep it goes
- Works through minimal API routes, request values, JSON bodies, responses, and tests while identifying controllers as another implementation choice.
- Examples
- Uses product GET and POST routes, browser GET requests, a PowerShell POST command, and a Blazor WebAssembly client.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch with ASP.NET Core endpoints, test product routes, and consume a service through HttpClient.
Read how Pro ASP.NET Core 7, Tenth Edition explains web service →
.NET in Action, Second Edition
A web service is a software service that exposes functionality or data for interaction over a network, commonly through web protocols.
- How it is used
- Positions web services as a common .NET job and a way to expose an existing console program through a browser-accessible endpoint.
- How deep it goes
- Builds a minimal ASP.NET Core service from an empty template, mapping GET routes and handling optional query input.
- Examples
- Ports an ASCII-art console program to GET endpoints, including a route that accepts text and an optional font query parameter.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch with ASP.NET Core’s empty web template and map GET endpoints for text-to-ASCII-art conversion.
Read how .NET in Action, Second Edition explains web service →
Pro Angular 16
A web service is a network-accessible software service that provides data or operations to clients through web protocols.
- How it is used
- Delivers SportsStore model data to Angular through asynchronous HTTP requests and supports product and order operations.
- How deep it goes
- Defines REST around HTTP verbs and URLs, compares common operations, and cautions that implementations vary.
- Examples
- Uses products and orders, a Kayak response, localhost URLs, json-server, and an HTTP verb table.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure json-server, test product endpoints, and choose HTTP methods for collection and object operations.
Related concepts
- RESTincludes · REST is an architectural style for distributed hypermedia systems that organizes interactions around resources and representations through constraints including a uniform interface, stateless communication, cacheability, and layered components.
- HTTPuses · HTTP is a standardized application-layer protocol that defines request-and-response messages for transferring resource representations between networked systems.
- databaseuses · A database is an organized collection of persistent data managed by software for storage, retrieval, querying, and modification.
- contractkind of · An API contract is a specification of the operations, data, and behavioral expectations that govern interactions between software components.
- request messageuses · An HTTP request is a message sent by a client to a server that specifies a method and target and may include headers and a body.
These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.