ASP.NET Core Fundamentals

Introduction to ASP.NET Core

ASP.NET Core is a cross-platform, high-performance, open-source framework for building modern, cloud-enabled, Internet-connected applications.

Architecture and Concepts

Core Components

Understand the key components that make up an ASP.NET Core application, such as the Kestrel web server, Host, and Application Builder.

Key concepts include:

• Host: Manages the application's lifecycle and configuration.
• Startup Class: Configures services and the request pipeline.
• Middleware: Components that process HTTP requests and responses.

Middleware Pipeline

Explore how the middleware pipeline handles incoming requests and outgoing responses. Learn to add, remove, and reorder middleware to customize application behavior.

Common middleware includes:

• Static Files Middleware
• Routing Middleware
• Authentication Middleware
• Authorization Middleware
• Error Handling Middleware

Example of configuring middleware in Startup.cs:

public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
    if (env.IsDevelopment())
    {
        app.UseDeveloperExceptionPage();
    }

    app.UseRouting();
    app.UseEndpoints(endpoints =>
    {
        endpoints.MapGet("/", async context =>
        {
            await context.Response.WriteAsync("Hello from ASP.NET Core!");
        });
    });
}
                    

Routing

Understand how ASP.NET Core matches incoming requests to the appropriate code for execution. Learn about attribute routing and convention-based routing.

Attribute Routing

Define routes directly on controller actions or Razor Page models.

[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class ProductsController : ControllerBase
{
    [HttpGet("{id}")]
    public IActionResult GetProduct(int id)
    {
        // ... logic to retrieve product
        return Ok();
    }
}
                    

Dependency Injection (DI)

Discover the built-in DI container in ASP.NET Core. Learn how to register services and consume them in your application components.

DI promotes loose coupling and testability.

// In Startup.cs
services.AddScoped<IMyService, MyService>();

// In a controller or Razor Page
public class MyController : Controller
{
    private readonly IMyService _myService;

    public MyController(IMyService myService)
    {
        _myService = myService;
    }

    // ...
}
                    

Configuration

Learn how ASP.NET Core uses configuration providers (e.g., JSON files, environment variables, command-line arguments) to manage application settings.

Access configuration values via the IConfiguration interface.

Razor Pages

A page-focused programming model for building web UI with ASP.NET Core. It simplifies building page-model-based applications.

Model-View-Controller (MVC)

A well-established pattern for building dynamic websites. ASP.NET Core MVC provides a powerful framework for implementing this pattern.

Web APIs

Build powerful HTTP services that can be consumed by a wide range of clients. ASP.NET Core makes it easy to create RESTful APIs.

Data Access

Explore common strategies for accessing data in ASP.NET Core applications, including Entity Framework Core and other ORMs.

Authentication & Authorization

Implement security measures to authenticate users and authorize access to application resources.

Deployment

Learn the best practices for deploying your ASP.NET Core applications to various environments, including IIS, Docker, and cloud platforms.