Restful API In ASP.NET: Introduction of REST & Web API

What is REST
REST is the acronym that stands for: Representational State Transfer. REST is an architectural style of distributed system. It is based upon the set of principles that describes how network resources are defined and addressed. These set of principles was first described by “Roy Fielding” in 2000. REST is bigger than Web Services. 

RESTful services uses HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) to communicate. REST system interface with external systems as web resources identified by URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers). 

Constraints of REST
A Restful system should follow the constrains so it can be called Restful. There are 5 and 1 optional constraints of REST.



Http Verbs
Http verbs plays a very important role in the Restful Web API. The most common Http verbs are GET, PUT, POST and DELETE and these correspond to CRUD (Create, Read, Update and Delete) operations respectively.

The following Http Verbs exists:

• Get
• Post
• Put
• Delete
• Trace
• Options
• Connect
• Patch

I will discuss here the most common used verbs and we will also see that how we can use these verbs in my next articles in which we will perform database operations with the help of the above Http verbs.

So, the following are the description of most common used Http verbs:

GET
As the name specifies, this verb is used to retrieve the data or information. It does not have any other effect except getting data. 

Syntax
[HttpGet]
We can use the above syntax to define the method as a GET method. If we are retrieving the data from the database or displaying the data, then we can use this attribute to get the data. 

Use
Let’s see an example of a GET method:

1. [HttpGet, ActionName("GetInfo")]  
2. public HttpResponseMessage GetInfo()  
3. {  
4.     //functional requirements  
5. }  

In the above example there is a method named GetInfo which is defined as GET method. ActionName attribute is used to define the name of an action method.

Call
http://localhost:56828/api/sample/GetInfo
By the help of above Requested URI, we can get the information. Sample is the controller name.

POST
This verb is used to generate or create the resource. For example, If we have to add some information to the database then we must define the method as a POST method. The most common form to submit the data into the POST method is to pass the data into any entity object.

Syntax
[HttpPost]
We can use the above syntax to define the method as a POST method. 

Use

1. [HttpPost, ActionName("PostInfo")]  
2. public HttpResponseMessage PostInfo(Result result)   
3. {  
4.     //functional requirements  
5. }  

In the above example there is a method named PostInfo which is defined as POST method. We have to assign the data to the properties of the entity (Result class).

PUT
This verb is used to update the existing resource. For example, If we have to update some information to the database then we can define the method as a PUT method. We can send the data in the form of object as well as in a parameter too.

Syntax
[HttpPut]
We can use the above syntax to define the method as a PUT method. 

Use

1. [HttpPut, ActionName("UpdateInfo")]  
2. public HttpResponseMessage UpdateInfo(Result result)  
3. {  
4.     //functional requirements  
5. }  

In the above example there is a method as named UpdateInfo which is defined as PUT method. We can assign the id to update the info.

DELETE
This verb is used to delete the existing resource. For example, If we have to delete some information to the database then we can define the method as a DELETE method. We can send the data in the form of object as well as in a parameter too.

Syntax
[HttpDelete]
We can use the above syntax to define the method as a DELETE method.

Use

1. [HttpDelete, ActionName("DeleteInfo")]  
2. public HttpResponseMessage DeleteInfo(int UserId)  
3. {  
4.     //functional requirements  
5. }  

In the above example there is a method named DeleteInfo which is defined as DELETE method. We can assign the id to delete the info.

Demo
In the above section you have learned all the basics of RESTtful architecture and Web API. Now, in this section we will create the demo application in which we will perform the database operations from the ASP.NET Web API Application.

Prerequisites
If you want to create the demo then you must have Visual Studio 2012 or later version to do this. I am using here Visual Studio 2015.

Getting Started
Let’s create an ASP.NET Web API app in which we will perform the CRUD operations and later we will publish it into the Azure API. Now, just follow the procedure below to create the application.

Creating Web API Application
In this section, we will create the ASP.NET Web API application by following the steps below:

Step 1: Open the Visual Studio as an Administrator and click on “New Project”.


                                       Figure 1: Visual Studio Start Page

Step 2: Select the Web tab from the left pane and then select ASP.NET Web Applicationto create the project.


                                                 Figure 2: Creating New Application

Step 3: In the next ASP.NET wizard select the Web API Project Template.


                                                   Figure 3: Web API Project Template

Now, Web API application is created successfully.

Perform Database Operations
In this section, we’ll perform database operation in which we will create the stored procedures to perform CRUD operations. I have created the database and tables with the record and stored procedures too. You can create the whole database from the following script or you can create your own database records. So, just follow the steps below:

Step 1: Just create the database from the following script:

CREATE DATABASE [Cricketer]

Step 2: Now from the following script the whole database is created with the tables and records and stored procs:

1. USE[Cricketer]  
2. GO  
3. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_GetCricketerList] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:44 PM ******/  
4. IFEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerList]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
5. DROP PROCEDURE[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerList]  
6. GO  
7. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_GetCricketerDetailsById] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:44 PM ******/  
8. IFEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerDetailsById]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
9. DROP PROCEDURE[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerDetailsById]  
10. GO  
11. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_DeleteCricketerProfile] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:44 PM ******/  
12. IFEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_DeleteCricketerProfile]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
13. DROP PROCEDURE[dbo].[CC_DeleteCricketerProfile]  
14. GO  
15. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:44 PM ******/  
16. IFEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
17. DROP PROCEDURE[dbo].[CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails]  
18. GO  
19. /****** Object: Table [dbo].[CricketerProfile] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:44 PM ******/  
20. IFEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CricketerProfile]') ANDtypein(N 'U'))  
21. DROP TABLE[dbo].[CricketerProfile]  
22. GO  
23. /****** Object: Table [dbo].[CricketerProfile] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:44 PM ******/  
24. SET ANSI_NULLSON  
25. GO  
26. SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIERON  
27. GO  
28. SETANSI_PADDINGON  
29. GO  
30. IFNOTEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CricketerProfile]') ANDtypein(N 'U'))  
31. BEGIN  
32. CREATE TABLE[dbo].[CricketerProfile](  
33.     [ID][int] IDENTITY(1, 1) NOTNULL, [Name][varchar](50) NULL, [ODI][int] NULL, [Tests][int] NULL, [ODIRuns][int] NULL, [TestRuns][int] NULL,  
34.     CONSTRAINT[PK_CricketerProfile] PRIMARYKEYCLUSTERED(  
35.         [ID] ASC  
36.     ) WITH(PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON[PRIMARY]  
37. ) ON[PRIMARY]  
38. END  
39. GO  
40. SETANSI_PADDINGOFF  
41. GO  
42. SETIDENTITY_INSERT[dbo].[CricketerProfile] ON  
43.   
44. GO  
45. INSERT[dbo].[CricketerProfile]([ID], [Name], [ODI], [Tests], [ODIRuns], [TestRuns]) VALUES(1, N 'Sachin Tendulkar', 463, 200, 18426, 15921)  
46. GO  
47. INSERT[dbo].[CricketerProfile]([ID], [Name], [ODI], [Tests], [ODIRuns], [TestRuns]) VALUES(2, N 'Saurav Ganguly', 311, 113, 11363, 7212)  
48. GO  
49. INSERT[dbo].[CricketerProfile]([ID], [Name], [ODI], [Tests], [ODIRuns], [TestRuns]) VALUES(3, N 'Rahul Dravid', 344, 164, 10889, 13228)  
50. GO  
51. INSERT[dbo].[CricketerProfile]([ID], [Name], [ODI], [Tests], [ODIRuns], [TestRuns]) VALUES(4, N 'V.V.S. Laxman', 86, 134, 2338, 8781)  
52. GO  
53. INSERT[dbo].[CricketerProfile]([ID], [Name], [ODI], [Tests], [ODIRuns], [TestRuns]) VALUES(5, N 'Virendar Sehwag', 251, 104, 8273, 8586)  
54. GO  
55. SETIDENTITY_INSERT[dbo].[CricketerProfile] OFF  
56. GO  
57. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:45 PM ******/  
58. SETANSI_NULLSON  
59. GO  
60. SETQUOTED_IDENTIFIERON  
61. GO  
62. IFNOTEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
63. BEGIN  
64. EXEC dbo.sp_executesql @statement = N 'CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails] AS'  
65. END  
66. GO  
67. -- === === === === === === === === === === === === === === ===  
68. --Author: Nimit Joshi  
69.     --Create date: 31 / 01 / 2016  
70.     --Description: This sp is used to insert and update data in Cricketer Profile  
71.     -- === === === === === === === === === === === === === === ===  
72.     ALTERPROCEDURE CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails  
73.     --Add the parameters  
74. for the stored procedure here  
75. @Id INT = NULL,  
76.     @Name VARCHAR(50),  
77.     @ODI INT = NULL,  
78.     @Tests INT = NULL,  
79.     @OdiRuns INT = NULL,  
80.     @TestRuns INT = NULL,  
81.     @Type INT, --1  
82. for Add Record and 2  
83. for Update Record  
84. @Status INTOUT  
85. AS  
86. BEGIN  
87. --SET NOCOUNT ON added to prevent extra result sets from  
88. --interfering with SELECT statements.  
89.   
90. IF(@Type = 1)  
91. BEGIN  
92. IFNOTEXISTS(SELECT cp.Name FROM dbo.CricketerProfile(NOLOCK) cp WHERE cp.Name LIKE '%' + @Name + '%')  
93. BEGIN  
94. INSERT INTO dbo.CricketerProfile
95. (
96.     Name,  
97.     ODI,  
98.     Tests,  
99.     ODIRuns,  
100.     TestRuns  
101. )  
102. VALUES(@Name, --Name - varchar(50) @ODI, --ODI - int @Tests, --Tests - int @OdiRuns, --ODIRuns - int @TestRuns--TestRuns - int);  
103. IF(@ @ROWCOUNT > 0)  
104. BEGIN  
105. SET @Status = 1;  
106. --Record inseted successfully!!  
107.     END;  
108. END;  
109. ELSE  
110. BEGIN  
111. SET @Status = 2;  
112. --Record alredy exists!!  
113.     END;  
114. END;  
115. ELSE  
116. IF(@Type = 2)  
117. BEGIN  
118. IFEXISTS(SELECT ccp.ID FROM dbo.CricketerProfile ccp(NOLOCK) WHERE ccp.ID = @Id)  
119. BEGIN  
120. UPDATE dbo.CricketerProfile  
121. SET Name = ISNULL(@Name, Name),  
122.     ODI = ISNULL(@ODI, ODI),  
123.     Tests = ISNULL(@Tests, Tests),  
124.     ODIRuns = ISNULL(@OdiRuns, ODIRuns),  
125.     TestRuns = ISNULL(@TestRuns, TestRuns)  
126. WHERE ID = @Id;  
127. IF(@ @ROWCOUNT > 0)  
128. BEGIN  
129. SET @Status = 3;  
130. --Record Updated Successfully!!  
131.     END;  
132. END;  
133. ELSE  
134. BEGIN  
135. SET @Status = 4;  
136. --Record does not exists!!  
137.     END;  
138. END;  
139. END;  
140. GO  
141. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_DeleteCricketerProfile] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:45 PM ******/  
142. SETANSI_NULLSON  
143. GO  
144. SETQUOTED_IDENTIFIERON  
145. GO  
146. IFNOTEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_DeleteCricketerProfile]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
147. BEGIN  
148. EXEC dbo.sp_executesql @statement = N 'CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[CC_DeleteCricketerProfile] AS'  
149. END  
150. GO  
151. -- === === === === === === === === === === === === === === ===  
152. --Author: Nimit Joshi  
153.     --Create date: 31 / 01 / 2016  
154.     --Description: This sp is used to delete the records from the cricketer table.  
155.     -- === === === === === === === === === === === === === === ===  
156.     ALTERPROCEDURE[dbo].[CC_DeleteCricketerProfile]  
157.     --Add the parameters  
158. for the stored procedure here  
159. @Id INT, @Status INTOUT  
160. AS  
161. BEGIN  
162. --SET NOCOUNT ON added to prevent extra result sets from  
163. --interfering with SELECT statements.  
164. IFEXISTS(SELECT cp.ID FROM dbo.CricketerProfile cp(NOLOCK) WHERE cp.ID = @Id)  
165. BEGIN  
166. DELETE FROM dbo.CricketerProfile  
167. WHERE ID = @Id;  
168. IF(@ @ROWCOUNT > 0)  
169. BEGIN  
170. SET @Status = 1;  
171. --Deleted Successfully!!  
172.     END;  
173. END;  
174. ELSE  
175. BEGIN  
176. SET @Status = 2;  
177. --Record doesn 't exists  
178. END;  
179. END;  
180.   
181. GO  
182. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_GetCricketerDetailsById] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:45 PM ******/  
183. SET ANSI_NULLSON  
184. GO  
185. SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIERON  
186. GO  
187. IFNOTEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerDetailsById]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
188. BEGIN  
189. EXEC dbo.sp_executesql @statement = N 'CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[CC_GetCricketerDetailsById] AS'  
190. END  
191. GO  
192. ALTER Proc[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerDetailsById]  
193. @ID int  
194. AS  
195. Begin  
196. select * from CricketerProfile(NOLOCK) where ID = @Id  
197. End  
198.   
199. GO  
200. /****** Object: StoredProcedure [dbo].[CC_GetCricketerList] Script Date: 1/31/2016 8:50:45 PM ******/  
201. SET ANSI_NULLSON  
202. GO  
203. SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIERON  
204. GO  
205. IFNOTEXISTS(SELECT * FROMsys.objectsWHEREobject_id = OBJECT_ID(N '[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerList]') ANDtypein(N 'P', N 'PC'))  
206. BEGIN  
207. EXEC dbo.sp_executesql @statement = N 'CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[CC_GetCricketerList] AS'  
208. END  
209. GO  
210. ALTERVProc[dbo].[CC_GetCricketerList]  
211. AS  
212. Begin  
213. select ID, Name from CricketerProfile(NOLOCK)  
214. End  
215. GO  

Perform CRUD Operations
In this section we will add new projects to associate the database with the Web API application. So, start with the following steps:

Step 1: Just add a new Solution Folder in your application named “Models”


                                     Figure 4: Adding New Solution Folder

Step 2: Add a “New Project” in the Models folder


                                                  Figure 5: Adding New Project

Step 3: Select Class Library template to add a new project and name it “BestCricketers.Models”.


                                                 Figure 6: Adding Class Library

Step 4: Add a new class named “CricketerProfile” and replace the code with the following code:

1. public class CricketerProfile: Result  
2. {  
3.     public int Id   
4.     {  
5.         get;  
6.         set;  
7.     }  
8.     public string Name   
9.     {  
10.         get;  
11.         set;  
12.     }  
13.     public int ODI  
14.     {  
15.         get;  
16.         set;  
17.     }  
18.     public int Tests  
19.     {  
20.         get;  
21.         set;  
22.     }  
23.     public int OdiRuns   
24.     {  
25.         get;  
26.         set;  
27.     }  
28.     public int TestRuns  
29.     {  
30.         get;  
31.         set;  
32.     }  
33.     public int Type   
34.     {  
35.         get;  
36.         set;  
37.     }  
38. }  
39.   
40. public class Result   
41. {  
42.     public int Status   
43.     {  
44.         get;  
45.         set;  
46.     }  
47.     public string Message   
48.     {  
49.         get;  
50.         set;  
51.     }  
52. }  

Step 5: Now add another Solution Folder named “Infrastructure” and add a new project named “BestCricketers.Core”. Add two new folders “BL” and “DAL” in this project.

Step 6: Now add “Enterprise Library” Nuget Package,


                              Figure 7: Adding Enterprise Library Package

Step 7: Add a new class “CricketerDAL” in the DAL folder and replace the code with the following code:

1. namespace BestCricketers.Core.DAL {  
2.     publicclassCricketerDAL {  
3.         #region Variable  
4.         ///<summary>  
5.         /// Specify the Database variable    
6.         ///</summary>  
7.         Database objDB;  
8.         ///<summary>  
9.         /// Specify the static variable    
10.         ///</summary>  
11.         staticstring ConnectionString;#  
12.         endregion# region Constructor  
13.         ///<summary>  
14.         /// This constructor is used to get the connectionstring from the config file      
15.         ///</summary>  
16.         public CricketerDAL() {  
17.             ConnectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["CricketerConnectionString"].ToString();  
18.         }  
19.         #endregion  
20.         #region Database Method  
21.         publicList < T > ConvertTo < T > (DataTable datatable) whereT: new() {  
22.             List < T > Temp = newList < T > ();  
23.             try {  
24.                 List < string > columnsNames = newList < string > ();  
25.                 foreach(DataColumn DataColumn in datatable.Columns)  
26.                 columnsNames.Add(DataColumn.ColumnName);  
27.                 Temp = datatable.AsEnumerable().ToList().ConvertAll < T > (row => getObject < T > (row, columnsNames));  
28.                 return Temp;  
29.             }   
30.             catch {  
31.                 return Temp;  
32.             }  
33.         }  
34.         publicT getObject < T > (DataRow row, List < string > columnsName) whereT: new() {  
35.             T obj = newT();  
36.             try {  
37.                 string columnname = "";  
38.                 string value = "";  
39.                 PropertyInfo[] Properties;  
40.                 Properties = typeof (T).GetProperties();  
41.                 foreach(PropertyInfo objProperty in Properties) {  
42.                     columnname = columnsName.Find(name => name.ToLower() == objProperty.Name.ToLower());  
43.                     if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(columnname)) {  
44.                         value = row[columnname].ToString();  
45.                         if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(value)) {  
46.                             if (Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(objProperty.PropertyType) != null) {  
47.                                 value = row[columnname].ToString().Replace("$", "").Replace(",", "");  
48.                                 objProperty.SetValue(obj, Convert.ChangeType(value, Type.GetType(Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(objProperty.PropertyType).ToString())), null);  
49.                             } else {  
50.                                 value = row[columnname].ToString();  
51.                                 objProperty.SetValue(obj, Convert.ChangeType(value, Type.GetType(objProperty.PropertyType.ToString())), null);  
52.                             }  
53.                         }  
54.                     }  
55.                 }  
56.                 return obj;  
57.             }   
58.             catch (Exception ex) {  
59.                 return obj;  
60.             }  
61.         }  
62.         #endregion  
63.         #region CricketerProfile  
64.         ///<summary>  
65.         /// This method is used to get the cricketer data      
66.         ///</summary>  
67.         ///<returns></returns>  
68.         publicList < CricketerProfile > GetCricketerList() {  
69.             List < CricketerProfile > objGetCricketers = null;  
70.             objDB = newSqlDatabase(ConnectionString);  
71.             using(DbCommand objcmd = objDB.GetStoredProcCommand("CC_GetCricketerList")) {  
72.                 try {  
73.                     using(DataTable dataTable = objDB.ExecuteDataSet(objcmd).Tables[0]) {  
74.                         objGetCricketers = ConvertTo < CricketerProfile > (dataTable);  
75.                     }  
76.                 }   
77.                 catch (Exception ex) {  
78.                     throw ex;  
79.                     returnnull;  
80.                 }  
81.             }  
82.             return objGetCricketers;  
83.         }  
84.         ///<summary>  
85.         /// This method is used to get cricketers details by cricketer id    
86.         ///</summary>  
87.         ///<returns></returns>  
88.         publicList < CricketerProfile > GetCricketerDetailsById(int Id) {  
89.             List < CricketerProfile > objCricketerDetails = null;  
90.             objDB = newSqlDatabase(ConnectionString);  
91.             using(DbCommand objcmd = objDB.GetStoredProcCommand("CC_GetCricketerDetailsById")) {  
92.                 try {  
93.                     objDB.AddInParameter(objcmd, "@ID", DbType.Int32, Id);  
94.                     using(DataTable dataTable = objDB.ExecuteDataSet(objcmd).Tables[0]) {  
95.                         objCricketerDetails = ConvertTo < CricketerProfile > (dataTable);  
96.                     }  
97.                 }   
98.                 catch (Exception ex) {  
99.                     throw ex;  
100.                     returnnull;  
101.                 }  
102.             }  
103.             return objCricketerDetails;  
104.         }  
105.         ///<summary>  
106.         /// This method is used to add update cricketer info  
107.         ///</summary>  
108.         ///<param name="cricketer"></param>  
109.         ///<returns></returns>  
110.         publicint AddUpdateCricketerInfo(CricketerProfile cricketer) {  
111.             int result = 0;  
112.             objDB = newSqlDatabase(ConnectionString);  
113.             using(DbCommand objCMD = objDB.GetStoredProcCommand("CC_AddUpdateCricketerDetails")) {  
114.                 objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@Id", DbType.Int32, cricketer.Id);  
115.                 if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(cricketer.Name)) objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@Name", DbType.String, DBNull.Value);  
116.                 else objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@Name", DbType.String, cricketer.Name);  
117.                 if (cricketer.ODI == 0) objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@ODI", DbType.Int32, DBNull.Value);  
118.                 else objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@ODI", DbType.Int32, cricketer.ODI);  
119.                 if (cricketer.Tests == 0) objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@Tests", DbType.Int32, DBNull.Value);  
120.                 else objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@Tests", DbType.Int32, cricketer.Tests);  
121.                 if (cricketer.OdiRuns == 0) objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@OdiRuns", DbType.Int32, DBNull.Value);  
122.                 else objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@OdiRuns", DbType.Int32, cricketer.OdiRuns);  
123.                 if (cricketer.TestRuns == 0) objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@TestRuns", DbType.Int32, DBNull.Value);  
124.                 else objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@TestRuns", DbType.Int32, cricketer.TestRuns);  
125.                 objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@Type", DbType.Int32, cricketer.Type);  
126.                 objDB.AddOutParameter(objCMD, "@Status", DbType.Int16, 0);  
127.                 try {  
128.                     objDB.ExecuteNonQuery(objCMD);  
129.                     result = Convert.ToInt32(objDB.GetParameterValue(objCMD, "@Status"));  
130.                 }   
131.                 catch (Exception) {  
132.                     throw;  
133.                 }  
134.             }  
135.             return result;  
136.         }  
137.         ///<summary>  
138.         /// This method is used to delete cricketer info  
139.         ///</summary>  
140.         ///<param name="cricketer"></param>  
141.         ///<returns></returns>  
142.         publicint DeleteCricketerInfo(CricketerProfile cricketer) {  
143.             int result = 0;  
144.             objDB = newSqlDatabase(ConnectionString);  
145.             using(DbCommand objCMD = objDB.GetStoredProcCommand("CC_DeleteCricketerProfile")) {  
146.                 objDB.AddInParameter(objCMD, "@Id", DbType.Int32, cricketer.Id);  
147.                 objDB.AddOutParameter(objCMD, "@Status", DbType.Int16, 0);  
148.                 try {  
149.                     objDB.ExecuteNonQuery(objCMD);  
150.                     result = Convert.ToInt32(objDB.GetParameterValue(objCMD, "@Status"));  
151.                 }   
152.                 catch (Exception) {  
153.                     throw;  
154.                 }  
155.             }  
156.             return result;  
157.         }  
158.         #endregion  
159.     }  
160. }  

Step 8: Add a new class “CricketerBL” in the BL folder and replace the code with the following code:

1. namespace BestCricketers.Core.BL {  
2.     publicclassCricketerBL {  
3.         ///<summary>  
4.         /// This method is used to get the cricketer list  
5.         ///</summary>  
6.         ///<returns></returns>  
7.         publicList < CricketerProfile > GetCricketerList() {  
8.             List < CricketerProfile > ObjCricketers = null;  
9.             try {  
10.                 ObjCricketers = newCricketerDAL().GetCricketerList();  
11.             }  
12.             catch (Exception) {  
13.                 throw;  
14.             }  
15.             return ObjCricketers;  
16.         }  
17.         ///<summary>  
18.         /// This method is used to get cricketers details by cricketer id    
19.         ///</summary>  
20.         ///<returns></returns>  
21.         publicList < CricketerProfile > GetCricketerDetailsById(int Id) {  
22.             List < CricketerProfile > ObjCricketerDetails = null;  
23.             try {  
24.                 ObjCricketerDetails = newCricketerDAL().GetCricketerDetailsById(Id);  
25.             }   
26.             catch (Exception) {  
27.                 throw;  
28.             }  
29.             return ObjCricketerDetails;  
30.         }  
31.         ///<summary>  
32.         /// This method is used to add update cricketer info  
33.         ///</summary>  
34.         ///<param name="cricketer"></param>  
35.         ///<returns></returns>  
36.         publicint AddUpdateCricketerInfo(CricketerProfile cricketer) {  
37.             int result = 0;  
38.             try {  
39.                 result = newCricketerDAL().AddUpdateCricketerInfo(cricketer);  
40.             }   
41.             catch (Exception) {  
42.                 return 0;  
43.             }  
44.             return result;  
45.         }  
46.         ///<summary>  
47.         /// This method is used to delete cricketer info  
48.         ///</summary>  
49.         ///<param name="cricketer"></param>  
50.         ///<returns></returns>  
51.         publicint DeleteCricketerInfo(CricketerProfile cricketer) {  
52.             int result = 0;  
53.             try {  
54.                 result = newCricketerDAL().DeleteCricketerInfo(cricketer);  
55.             } catch (Exception) {  
56.                 return 0;  
57.             }  
58.             return result;  
59.         }  
60.     }  
61. }  

Now our all methods are ready to perform operations.

Creating Web API
In this section, we will work on the ASP.NET Web API application. We will add the new Empty Web API Controller in which we will create some methods to call the CricketerBL class for performing the CRUD operations.

So, let’s begin with the following procedure:

Step 1: At first, in the API project, right click on the Controllers folder and goto Add, then click Controller,


                                               Figure 8: Adding New Controller

Step 2: Select the “Web API 2 Controller - Empty” in the next wizard


Figure 9: Add Scaffold Wizard

Step 3: Now enter the controller name as “CricketersController”



Figure 10: Adding Controller

Step 4: Add the following connection string in the “<ConnectionStrings>” tab in your “Web.config” file of the API project:

1. <add    name="CricketerConnectionString"connectionString="Data Source=Your Server Name;Initial Catalog=Cricketer;User Id=Your User Id;Password=Your Password"providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />  

Step 5: Now we will create methods and associate the Http verbs with them. As I said earlier, we will use the most common used verbs in here. So, start with the following sections:

Note:
Add the references of Core and Models project into the API project before adding methods in the API Controller.

GET
We will create two types of GET methods in here. In first method we will get the list of Cricketers and in the second method we will pass the CricketerId to get the cricketer details.

Now add the two GET methods with the following code:

1. using BestCricketers.Core.BL;  
2. using BestCricketers.Models;  
3. using System;  
4. using System.Collections.Generic;  
5. using System.Net;  
6. using System.Net.Http;  
7. using System.Web.Http;  
8. namespace BestCricketers.Controllers {  
9.     publicclassCricketersController: ApiController {  
10.         #region Variable  
11.         HttpResponseMessage response;  
12.         CricketerBL cricketerBL;  
13.         #endregion# region Public Method  
14.         ///<summary>  
15.         /// This method is used to get cricketer list  
16.         ///</summary>  
17.         ///<returns></returns>  
18.         [HttpGet, ActionName("GetCricketerList")]  
19.         publicHttpResponseMessage GetCricketerList() {  
20.             Result result;  
21.             cricketerBL = newCricketerBL();  
22.             try {  
23.                 var cricketerList = cricketerBL.GetCricketerList();  
24.                 if (!object.Equals(cricketerList, null)) {  
25.                     response = Request.CreateResponse < List < CricketerProfile >> (HttpStatusCode.OK, cricketerList);  
26.                 }  
27.             }   
28.             catch (Exception ex) {  
29.                 result = newResult();  
30.                 result.Status = 0;  
31.                 result.Message = ex.Message;  
32.                 response = Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError, result);  
33.             }  
34.             return response;  
35.         }  
36.         ///<summary>  
37.         /// This method is used to get cricketer list by id  
38.         ///</summary>  
39.         ///<returns></returns>  
40.         [HttpGet, ActionName("GetCricketerInfoById")]  
41.         publicHttpResponseMessage GetCricketerInfoById(int CricketerId) {  
42.             Result result;  
43.             cricketerBL = newCricketerBL();  
44.             try {  
45.                 var cricketerList = cricketerBL.GetCricketerDetailsById(CricketerId);  
46.                 if (!object.Equals(cricketerList, null)) {  
47.                     response = Request.CreateResponse < List < CricketerProfile >> (HttpStatusCode.OK, cricketerList);  
48.                 }  
49.             }   
50.             catch (Exception ex) {  
51.                 result = newResult();  
52.                 result.Status = 0;  
53.                 result.Message = ex.Message;  
54.                 response = Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError, result);  
55.             }  
56.             return response;  
57.         }#endregion  
58.     }  
59. }  

Application Execution
We have successfully created the Web API Controller. Now we will run this application and call our GET methods. We will use POSTMAN to call the GET methods which is easy to use. We can use the Fiddler too. 

You can get the POSTMAN from here.

Step 1: Debug the application.

Step 2: Now open the POSTMAN and at first copy the url from the browser and use that url as I used in the following screenshot:

Call Url: http://localhost:64016/api/Cricketers/GetCricketerList,


                                                   Figure 11: Simple GET Call

Get Call with Parameter
Call Url: http://localhost:64016/api/Cricketers/GetCricketerInfoById?Cricketerid=1


                                         Figure 12: Get Call with Parameter

Now add the following three methods in the controller with which we can checkout the POST, PUT and DELETE methods :

POST
In this call, all the data will be send as an object. In POST call, data should be passed in the form of object and sometimes it depends on the condition and you can send the data in the form of FormData.

Here, I am sending the data in the form of object. So, let’s create the method for POST call with the following code:

1. ///<summary>  
2. /// This method is used to add cricketer info in the database.  
3. ///</summary>  
4. ///<returns></returns>  
5. [HttpPost, ActionName("AddCricketerInfo")]  
6. publicHttpResponseMessage AddCricketerInfo(CricketerProfile Cricketer) {  
7.     Result ObjResult;  
8.     int result;  
9.     cricketerBL = newCricketerBL();  
10.     try {  
11.         result = cricketerBL.AddUpdateCricketerInfo(Cricketer);  
12.         if (result > 0) {  
13.             if (result == 1) {  
14.                 ObjResult = newResult();  
15.                 ObjResult.Status = result;  
16.                 ObjResult.Message = "Record Inserted Successfully!!";  
17.                 response = Request.CreateResponse < Result > (HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
18.             }  
19.             elseif(result == 2) {  
20.                 ObjResult = newResult();  
21.                 ObjResult.Status = result;  
22.                 ObjResult.Message = "Record Already Exists!!";  
23.                 response = Request.CreateResponse < Result > (HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
24.             }  
25.             else {  
26.                 ObjResult = newResult();  
27.                 ObjResult.Status = result;  
28.                 ObjResult.Message = "Record Not Added!!";  
29.                 response = Request.CreateResponse < Result > (HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
30.             }  
31.         }  
32.     }   
33.     catch (Exception ex) {  
34.         ObjResult = newResult();  
35.         ObjResult.Status = 0;  
36.         ObjResult.Message = ex.Message;  
37.         response = Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError, ObjResult);  
38.     }  
39.     return response;  
40. }  

Step 3: Now open the POSTMAN and call the following url:

http://localhost:64016/api/Cricketers/AddCricketerInfo
At first add the Header as in the following screenshot:


                                         Figure 13: Headers in POST Call

Now click on Send,


                                                Figure 14: POST Call in Web API

In the above figure you can see your api is showing the response.

PUT
In this method we will add the method defined as HttpPut verb with which we can update the data. So, add the following code in the Controller:

1. ///<summary>  
2. /// This method is used to update cricketer info in the database.  
3. ///</summary>  
4. ///<param name="Cricketer"></param>  
5. ///<returns></returns>  
6. [HttpPut, ActionName("UpdateCricketerInfo")]  
7. publicHttpResponseMessage UpdateCricketerInfo(CricketerProfile Cricketer)  
8. {  
9.    Result ObjResult;  
10.    int result;  
11.        cricketerBL = newCricketerBL();  
12.    try {  
13.        result = cricketerBL.AddUpdateCricketerInfo(Cricketer);  
14.   
15.       if (result > 0)  
16.       {  
17.          if (result == 3)  
18.          {  
19.              ObjResult = newResult();  
20.              ObjResult.Status = result;  
21.              ObjResult.Message = "Record Updated Successfully!!";  
22.              response = Request.CreateResponse<Result>(HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
23.          }  
24.          elseif (result == 2)  
25.          {  
26.               ObjResult = newResult();  
27.               ObjResult.Status = result;  
28.               ObjResult.Message = "Record does not Exists!!";  
29.               response = Request.CreateResponse<Result>(HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
30.          }  
31.          else  
32.          {  
33.              ObjResult = newResult();  
34.              ObjResult.Status = result;  
35.              ObjResult.Message = "Record Not Added!!";  
36.              response = Request.CreateResponse<Result>(HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
37.          }  
38.       }  
39.    }  
40.    catch (Exception ex)  
41.    {  
42.        ObjResult = newResult();  
43.        ObjResult.Status = 0;  
44.        ObjResult.Message = ex.Message;  
45.        response = Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError, ObjResult);  
46.    }  
47.    return response;  
48. }  

Step 4: Now open the POSTMAN and call the following url:

http://localhost:64016/api/Cricketers/UpdateCricketerInfo

Now change the HttpVerb to PUT and click on send after defining the updating values as per the following screenshot:


                                                   Figure 15: Put Call in Web API

In the above screenshot you can that see that record is successfully updated.

DELETE
In this method we will delete the CricketerInfo from the database. So we will create the method for deleting info and define it as HttpDelete. Add the following code in the Controller:

1. ///<summary>  
2. /// This method is used to delete the cricketer info  
3. ///</summary>  
4. ///<param name="CricketerId"></param>  
5. ///<returns></returns>  
6. [HttpDelete, ActionName("DeleteCricketerInfo")]  
7. publicHttpResponseMessage DeleteCricketerInfo(int CricketerId)  
8. {  
9. Result ObjResult;  
10. int result;  
11.     cricketerBL = newCricketerBL();  
12.   
13. try  
14.     {  
15. CricketerProfile cricketer = newCricketerProfile();  
16.         cricketer.Id = CricketerId;  
17.   
18.         result = cricketerBL.DeleteCricketerInfo(cricketer);  
19. if (result > 0)  
20.         {  
21. if (result == 1)  
22.             {  
23.                 ObjResult = newResult();  
24.                 ObjResult.Status = result;  
25.                 ObjResult.Message = "Record Deleted Successfully!!";  
26.                 response = Request.CreateResponse<Result>(HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
27.             }  
28. elseif (result == 2)  
29.             {  
30.                 ObjResult = newResult();  
31.                 ObjResult.Status = result;  
32.                 ObjResult.Message = "Record does not Exists!!";  
33.                 response = Request.CreateResponse<Result>(HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
34.             }  
35. else  
36.             {  
37.                 ObjResult = newResult();  
38.                 ObjResult.Status = result;  
39.                 ObjResult.Message = "Record Not Found!!";  
40.                 response = Request.CreateResponse<Result>(HttpStatusCode.OK, ObjResult);  
41.             }  
42.         }  
43.     }  
44. catch (Exception ex)  
45.     {  
46.         ObjResult = newResult();  
47.         ObjResult.Status = 0;  
48.         ObjResult.Message = ex.Message;  
49.         response = Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.InternalServerError, ObjResult);  
50.     }  
51. return response;  
52. }  

Step 5: Now open the POSTMAN and call the following url:

http://localhost:64016/api/Cricketers/DeleteCricketerInfo?CricketerId=6
Now change the HttpVerb to DELETE and click on send as per the following screenshot:


                                                Figure 16: DELETE Call in Web API

That’s it. We have successfully created a Web API Controller in which we have used the most commonly used methods (GET, PUT, POST and DELETE).