Gareth Bradleys Blog
garfbradaz new blog, hosted on github. Rambling about coding, running and any other of my ramblings.
Episode 1 - JSON API using ASP.NET Core, Docker & MongoDB
18 Dec 2018 - garfbradaz - blog
Inspiration
There is a series on dev.to that I have followed by Nathan Bland who has recorded as series of videos around creating a JSON API, using Node.js, docker and Express.
I liked the idea around this, so I’m going to do the same, but in a blog style, but replacing Node.js and Express with ASP.NET Core WebAPI. I also want to use a MongoDB as a the backend.
Set the Scene
The API itself will be for a Book Shop Chain who want to expose their stores and titles via a public RESTful service for other companies to use. This can be used for stock lookups and to see which stores have stock available to sell.
Here are some example Epics to show the shape of the API needed:
As a book store I can add our store to the database So we can be accessible
As a book store I can add our inventory to our database So we can expose our inventory
As a book store We can update a books stock level For an accurate stock level
As a API consumer I can look up a stores address So we know where to buy a book
As a API consumer I can look up a book So we can get a list of stores who sell a book
As book store IT Security We can add API Keys to the API For API Consumers to use when querying the API
What to expect
My plan is to release weekly blog posts covering in a similar fashion like Nathan’s:
- Setting up your .NET Core Project Structure.
- Setting up docker environment using docker-compose.
- Modelling API JSON back end using Mongo.
- Modelling API using Swagger.
- Unit Tests with Xunit.
- Integration Tests with Postman.
- Skeleton Book Store API (Routes etc).
- Skeleton Inventory API (Routes etc).
- Securing your API.
- Data validation.
- Pagination for large data queries.
- Filter and Search.
- Hooking up to Azure Dev Ops for Build and Release Pipeline.
- Publisher Swagger Documentation on Github.
I will post any code on Github as well.
Start at Zero
So before starting cracking on with this, make sure your environment is set up. Because this is .NET Core, this is cross platform, so if you own a Mac or Linux box, feel free to join in. I’m going to be building this on a Surface Book, but I will try to be a good Xpat-Citizen and test across environments.
Please make sure the following is installed:
- Dotnet Core - I’m currently using 2.2.
- Docker - You will need to also create a login for Docker Hub if you do not have one.
- Powershell Core - PowerShell Core is cross-platform and runs on Windows, Linux, and MacOS while the old one runs on Windows only(CLI). There are options to install on the OS of choice.
We wont need to install Mongo as we will be running it using Docker.
IDE
I will be using Visual Studio Code for cross platform .NET Core support. I use a bunch of extension which I have put here:
https://gist.github.com/garfbradaz/be010080df076d19892bf4ec71127b53
You can import these using the following Settings Sync extension on the marketplace:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Shan.code-settings-sync
If you already use VSCode, you may just want to find the C#, Docker GitLens and .NET Core Test Explorer extensions.
Note:My list contains extensions like Jekyll support which you wont need for this.
Next time
We will create the ASP.NET Core WebAPI template, set up the project structure. Join me next time!.