AI Instructor Live Labs Included

ASP.NET Core Web API Development

Learn to build production-ready REST APIs with ASP.NET Core. From HTTP basics through authentication, testing, and deployment — build a complete API from scratch.

Intermediate

1d 12h 0m

26 Lessons

ASPNET-API

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About This Course

A comprehensive course on building production-ready REST APIs with ASP.NET Core. Covers HTTP fundamentals, controllers, routing, Entity Framework Core, dependency injection, validation, JWT authentication, authorization, testing, caching, rate limiting, and deployment. Students progressively build a TaskFlow API from scratch, then apply all patterns to a capstone project.

Course Curriculum

26 Lessons

AI Lesson

Introduction to Web APIs and REST

45m

Lab Exercise

Introduction to Web APIs - Lab Exercises

2h 5m 4 Exercises

Explore the ASP.NET Core Project Structure Run the starter project, test the root endpoint, and explore the key files that make up an ASP.NET Core Web API application. ~15 min

Add OpenAPI/Swagger Support Install Swashbuckle, configure Swagger middleware, and explore your API through an interactive documentation UI. ~20 min

Build Your First API Endpoints Create GET and POST minimal API endpoints that return JSON, accept route parameters, and echo request bodies. ~25 min

Working with HTTP Methods and Status Codes Build a notes API with GET, POST, and DELETE endpoints that return proper HTTP status codes for each operation. ~20 min

AI Lesson

Minimal APIs vs Controllers

45m

Lab Exercise

Minimal APIs and Controllers - Lab Exercises

1h 45m 3 Exercises

Create Your First Controller Create a TaskItem model and a TasksController with the ApiController attribute, then wire up controller routing in Program.cs. ~20 min

Implement Full CRUD Operations Add GET by ID, POST with CreatedAtAction, PUT, and DELETE actions to the TasksController with proper HTTP status codes. ~25 min

Compare Minimal APIs and Controllers Implement the same task list endpoint as both a minimal API and a controller, then compare the two approaches side by side. ~15 min

AI Lesson

Routing, Parameters, and Model Binding

45m

Lab Exercise

Routing and Model Binding - Lab Exercises

1h 45m 3 Exercises

Add Query String Filtering Add filtering to GET /api/tasks using [FromQuery] parameters for status, priority, and search ~20 min

Implement PUT and DELETE Add PUT and DELETE endpoints with route constraints and proper status codes ~20 min

Advanced Parameter Binding Use [FromHeader] and [FromQuery] for request IDs and pagination ~20 min

AI Lesson

Data Models, DTOs, and AutoMapper

45m

Lab Exercise

DTOs and AutoMapper - Lab Exercises

1h 50m 3 Exercises

Create Data Transfer Objects Create separate DTOs for create, update, and response operations ~20 min

Install and Configure AutoMapper Set up AutoMapper with mapping profiles for TaskItem and DTOs ~20 min

Refactor Controller to Use DTOs Replace TaskItem with DTOs in all controller actions using AutoMapper ~25 min

AI Lesson

Entity Framework Core Integration

45m

Lab Exercise

Entity Framework Core - Lab Exercises

2h 20m 4 Exercises

Set Up EF Core with SQLite Install EF Core packages, create a DbContext, configure entity mappings, and create the initial database migration. ~25 min

Add the Category Entity Create a Category model, configure the one-to-many relationship with TaskItem, seed initial data, and apply a new migration. ~20 min

Refactor Controller to Use EF Core Replace the in-memory static list with async EF Core queries, use eager loading for related data, and update DTOs. ~30 min

Create a Categories Controller Build a full CRUD controller for categories with task count aggregation and test the complete API. ~20 min

AI Lesson

Dependency Injection and the Service Layer

45m

Lab Exercise

Service Layer and DI - Lab Exercises

2h 0m 3 Exercises

Create the Repository Layer Define a repository interface and implement it with EF Core to encapsulate data access logic. ~25 min

Create the Service Layer Build a service layer that encapsulates business logic, uses the repository for data access, and AutoMapper for DTO transformations. ~25 min

Refactor the Controller Refactor the TasksController to use ITaskService instead of DbContext, achieving thin controllers with clean separation of concerns. ~25 min

AI Lesson

Input Validation and Error Handling

45m

Lab Exercise

Validation and Error Handling - Lab Exercises

1h 50m 3 Exercises

Add Data Annotations Validation Add validation attributes to DTOs and observe how [ApiController] triggers automatic model validation. ~15 min

Implement FluentValidation Replace basic data annotations with FluentValidation for more powerful, testable validation rules. ~25 min

Build Global Exception Handling Create custom exceptions and middleware to return consistent ProblemDetails JSON for all error responses. ~25 min

AI Lesson

Authentication with JWT Bearer Tokens

45m

Lab Exercise

JWT Authentication - Lab Exercises

2h 10m 4 Exercises

Configure JWT Authentication Install the JWT Bearer package and configure authentication middleware with token validation parameters. ~20 min

Create the Auth Controller Build a user model, auth service with JWT generation, and login endpoint. ~25 min

Protect Your API Endpoints Apply [Authorize] and [AllowAnonymous] attributes and test token-based access control. ~20 min

Associate Tasks with Users Add user ownership to tasks so each user only sees their own data. ~20 min

AI Lesson

Authorization — Roles, Policies, and Claims

45m

Lab Exercise

Authorization - Lab Exercises

1h 45m 3 Exercises

Implement Role-Based Authorization Add role claims to JWT tokens and restrict the DELETE endpoint to Admin users only ~20 min

Create Authorization Policies Build custom authorization policies with requirements and handlers to enforce task ownership ~25 min

Build an Admin Dashboard Endpoint Create an admin-only endpoint that returns all users tasks with user information ~15 min

AI Lesson

OpenAPI/Swagger, Logging, and Middleware

45m

Lab Exercise

Swagger, Logging, and Middleware - Lab Exercises

1h 50m 3 Exercises

Enrich Swagger Documentation Add XML comments, response type attributes, and JWT authentication to Swagger UI ~20 min

Create Custom Middleware Build request timing and correlation ID middleware components for the HTTP pipeline ~25 min

Configure Strongly-Typed Settings Use the Options pattern to bind configuration values and inject them into controllers ~20 min

AI Lesson

Testing ASP.NET Core APIs

45m

Lab Exercise

Testing APIs - Lab Exercises

2h 5m 3 Exercises

Set Up the Test Project Create an xUnit test project, add project references, and install testing packages. ~20 min

Write Unit Tests for TaskService Write unit tests for the TaskService using Moq to mock dependencies and verify business logic. ~30 min

Write Integration Tests Write integration tests using WebApplicationFactory to test the full HTTP pipeline including authentication. ~30 min

AI Lesson

Pagination, Caching, Rate Limiting, and CORS

45m

Lab Exercise

Advanced Features - Lab Exercises

2h 5m 4 Exercises

Implement Pagination Add pagination support to the tasks API with a reusable PagedResult class. ~25 min

Add Sorting and Filtering Add dynamic sorting with whitelisted property names and descending/ascending order support. ~20 min

Configure Rate Limiting Add fixed-window rate limiting with per-user partitioning to protect API endpoints. ~20 min

Configure CORS Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing to allow frontend applications to call the API. ~15 min

AI Lesson

Capstone Briefing — Building a Production API

45m

Lab Exercise

Capstone Project — BookShelf API

2h 45m 2 Exercises

Build the BookShelf API Apply all course patterns to build a complete library management API from requirements alone. ~90 min

Test and Document Your API Write unit and integration tests, add XML documentation, and perform final verification. ~30 min

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This course includes:

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Live Lab Environments
13 Hands-on Lessons
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ASP.NET Core Web API Development

About This Course

Course Curriculum

Introduction to Web APIs and REST

Introduction to Web APIs - Lab Exercises

Minimal APIs vs Controllers

Minimal APIs and Controllers - Lab Exercises

Routing, Parameters, and Model Binding

Routing and Model Binding - Lab Exercises

Data Models, DTOs, and AutoMapper

DTOs and AutoMapper - Lab Exercises

Entity Framework Core Integration

Entity Framework Core - Lab Exercises

Dependency Injection and the Service Layer

Service Layer and DI - Lab Exercises

Input Validation and Error Handling

Validation and Error Handling - Lab Exercises

Authentication with JWT Bearer Tokens

JWT Authentication - Lab Exercises

Authorization — Roles, Policies, and Claims

Authorization - Lab Exercises

OpenAPI/Swagger, Logging, and Middleware

Swagger, Logging, and Middleware - Lab Exercises

Testing ASP.NET Core APIs

Testing APIs - Lab Exercises

Pagination, Caching, Rate Limiting, and CORS

Advanced Features - Lab Exercises

Capstone Briefing — Building a Production API

Capstone Project — BookShelf API

This course includes:

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ASP.NET Core Web API Developer

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