I am new to web services kind of things, wanted to know what are web services and how we can implement that in our asp.net project.
Searched on many sites but couldn't get the exact solution or a basic example of how to use that.
Could anyone please help.
There are many ways of implementing webservices. In .Net probably you want to have a look to:
Web API, if you want HTTP Rest webservices
WCF, if you want to implement SOAP services
In order to take that decision you need to think about the requirements of your services. Who are going to be the clients? Do you need distributed transactions?
Related
I've tried, but I couldn't find any info about it.
Let's say that I have some webapis for my company that other devs (or qa) are going to use in theirs applications, and for easier use of my apis I'd like to create a library with client so that I can control how other devs are communicating with my api. So basically they can just install this package, add webapi url to configuration, inject necessary dependencies and use it. Is there any pattern, guidance etc. for creating such packages with client? I'm not talking about good practices how to create web api, rest api etc, but just this specific client package.
I've tried googling some tips or guidance about this (or maybe just generic instructions), but all I could find is how to create REST API...
You can use NSwag. With NSwag you can:
Generate Open API/Swagger specification from your Web API controllers. It is just a JSON document describing you API
Include an Html/JavaScript front end in your Web API application where users can see your API and invoke it.
Generate C# clients to invoke your web API.
Useful links:
https://github.com/RicoSuter/NSwag
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/tutorials/getting-started-with-nswag?view=aspnetcore-7.0&tabs=visual-studio
Pretty new to WCF
I was browsing through various WCF Terminologies and seems stuck understanding this.
WSDL is used to describe the web service.
Currently, only SOAP based web services seems to have an associated WSDL while REST based services doesn't seem too.
Why?
Is it possible to generate WSDL for REST too?
Or are there any third party programs to do it ?
WADL is equivalent to WSDL for RESTful services
Since Microsoft .NET does not natively support WADL (WADL is WSDL for REST) providing a specific answer to your question is a bit difficult. That said, if you are interested in discovering more about RESTful services and WADL, you may want to consider experimenting with the open-source soapUI web service test utility (http://www.soapui.org/), which provides support for WADL.
The idea of codifying a RESTful API into a never-changing contract is antithetical to REST. Yes, WADL exists, but its purpose is to try and make REST more like SOAP, and with it destroy the primary benefit of REST: its evolvability.
If you feel like you want to use WADL, just use WSDL/SOAP instead.
You can use swagger.json as definitions for REST services.
you can check their github page for more information.
https://github.com/RSuter/NSwag
I'm looking for the difference summary between ASP.NET MVC Web API and WCF Service.
I've seen this question What is the difference between Asp.Net Web API and WCF Service?
and this question WCF vs ASP.NET Web API too, but they don't summarize what I can achieve with the one, what I cannot achieve with the other.
Both can be contacted via url, I first thought that was a difference between them.
So in short:
What can I do with WCF what I cannot do with ASP.NET Web API and visa versa?
this list is by no means exhaustive.
Things WCF does that you cannot do (with ease) using Web API.
Supports SOAP based XML format.
Supports strongly typed data contracts.
Supports a single point of metadata information exchange using WSDL etc.
Supports varied bindings like TCP, Named Pipes, MSMQ, even UDP etc.
Supports varied hosting options like console apps, WAS, IIS, Windows Services.
Supports one way messaging, duplex, message queues out of the box.
Supports multiple authentication schemes like Windows, Forms, Certificates etc.
Things Web API does that you cannot do (with ease) using WCF.
Supports the full features of HTTP. (Uri based access, Http Requests/Response, Http Caching etc.) To do this in WCF you need to additional work to configure it as REST service etc.
Is Lightweight with minimal configuration.
Supports the Routing, Controller/Action MVC paradigm, Model Binding etc.
Basically Web API is an easy way to do RESTful services over Http without knowing much about Web services.
To do the same in WCF, you need to do additional work in terms of httpBindings, UriTemplates, Verbs etc. And that means, understanding WCF first. And then using WCF to implement a RESTFul service over http, which is what Web Api provides out of the box.
This is not a summary per se. Its a sort of practical guide I hope.
For me it ultimately boils down to how simple I want my front-end application code to look like, and also something to do with how to achieve maximum productivity.
Traditional WCF over http is SOAP based messaging protocol. You add a service reference in your project, and Visual Studio takes care of generating the proxy classes. And you work with the instance of the proxy classes. So when you are writing your front-end code, you have intellisense to help you. Don't be fooled. This is just the IDE making life simpler for you. Underneath its pretty complicated. But my productivity is boosted to a degree. I don't have to write proxy classes. Hence, this is what I'd opt for a c# based front-end.
Alternatively, if I had to deal with a Webapi endpoint, I do not have the luxury of any IDE generated proxy classes. Therefore I'd have write code for everything. Typically I use the HttpClient classes to talk to my web api end points. Hypothetically, I could write a proxy classes to talk to web api. But it isn't as simple as in your wcf case where they were auto-generated for you.
On another line or reasoning, if my front-end was JavaScript, then my only best bet is have the web service hosted over web api, rather than wcf. If I were to talk to wcf endpoints from Js, that would be a PITN.
So it ultimately rests on your product plan, design, project schedules, etc software development plan. All the best.
I am trying to create a sort of "bootstrap" web service using a classic .net C# .asmx page and not WCF. (The business requirements for this project are specific and do not want a WCF service).
Basically, I am trying to do this:
Create a new web service (I have no problem doing this)
That service needs to make a SOAP based call to a Sharepoint Web Service
I need to consume that service
I need to add additional pieces of information for my web service to the SOAP result (No problem here either)
The issue I have having is with point #2 and #3. I have found plenty of articles using WCF to consume SOAP based Web Services or using "Linq" to connect to sharepoint etc., but that's not what I'm looking for.
What I am looking for is simply a step by step process of what I need to do to push me in the right direction.
Example:
add a web service reference??
add this line(s) of code to create a new SOAP request??
add this line(s) of code to parse and consume the service??
Thank you very much in advance!!!
Sample code would be greatly appreciated as well!
There's nothing magical about the fact that it's a web service. Just use "Add Service Reference" and then treat it like any other piece of code referencing a web service.
Also, are those who wrote the requirements aware that a WCF service can expose a basicHttpBinding endpoint that looks exactly like an ASMX web service endpoint? It would also have the benefit of all of the features of WCF, in addition to not using what Microsoft considers a "legacy technology".
The SharePoint Developer Center at MSDN would be a good place to refer to for general information, tutorials, etc. Server and Site Architecture: Object Model Overview in the Windows SharePoint Services 3 SDK would be a good place to start learning about the SharePoint object model, as the terms (SPSite, SPWeb, etc.) that you'll come across in examples can be confusing.
Basically you will want to add your web reference to the SharePoint web service that you intend to use. The specific reference that you use will depend on what you're trying to accomplish, there's a whole list of available Windows SharePoint Services Web Services. Those are for general SharePoint tasks such as interacting with lists and sites; there's also a whole separate set of web services for SharePoint Server which is what you would use for interacting with the Business Data Catalog, Enterprise Search, and any of the other features that come with SharePoint Server, not Windows SharePoint Services.
When you add the web reference in visual studio, it will automatically generate the proxy in your project against the remote web service and you use the generated proxy to do what you want to do. However, working directly against the web services, pretty much everything will return a generic XmlNode that you'll have to deal with, so if you're working in .NET, a much better alternative to using the web services directly would be to download the SharePoint SDK and program against the server object model.
If you do end up using the object model, make sure you read both of these thoroughly:
Best Practices: Common Coding Issues When Using the SharePoint Object Model
Best Practices: Using Disposable Windows SharePoint Services Objects
Here is small tutorial on what you're trying to do:
http://www.xefteri.com/articles/show.cfm?id=15
I am starting development of the new project and since I am new in the WCF world I want to ask your advice.
I am going to implement web-service which will provide data for WPF client and for ASP.NET site. Web site and web service should be hosted in the Windows share hosting (not didicated server) and this fact is bothering me. WPF client and web site will provide almost the same functionality for the user, so I want to implement all logic inside web service not to duplicate it in the client and web site.
Not sure what is the best way to implement such web-service - REST, SOAP or something else? Please, help me with selecting technology for web-service creation, I just want to get direction for optimal solution. 10x.
Update: Sorry I did not wrote details. Service will be something like on-line shop with admin panel, so web service will be used for getting products and for adding new product to the system. It does not support tons of customers, it's just solution for small web-shops.
since you are developing a Web based solution and a WPF client, i would recommend the following options for your WCF services:
REST Option - This option is good if you have some complex Ajax architecture on the client using Json and stuff, or if you want to expose your services publicly. In this case the option is to expose an HTTP endpoint using webHttpBinding on your service. Since your deployment will be on a shared web server, you can host your service inside IIS. I would recommend considering a SSL option for security.
Soap Option - This options is the easy one, and should be more familiar to most developers, since it acts like a usual web service. In this case i would use an HTTP endpoint with wsHttpBinding on the service for enhanced security. Since your deployment will be on a shared web server, you can host your service inside IIS. I would recommend considering a SSL option for security.
Whatever solution you choose you will be able to accomplish your goal to have simple SOA architecture in place and will have centralized services for your CRUD operations.
I hope this answered your question.