Asp Net

asp-net Best Practices

This document outlines the definitive best practices for developing ASP.NET Core applications within our team. Adhere to these guidelines to ensure consistent, performant, and maintainable backend services.

1. Code Organization and Structure

Organize your projects by feature or bounded context, not by technical layer. This improves cohesion and reduces coupling.

✅ GOOD: Feature-First Organization

// Project structure for a "Product" feature
src/
├── MyProject.Api/
│   ├── Program.cs
│   ├── Features/
│   │   ├── Products/
│   │   │   ├── ProductEndpoints.cs // Minimal API definitions
│   │   │   ├── ProductController.cs // API Controller (if used)
│   │   │   ├── GetProduct.cs      // Request/Response DTOs, Handler (e.g., MediatR)
│   │   │   ├── CreateProduct.cs
│   │   │   └── ProductService.cs  // Feature-specific business logic
│   ├── Common/                  // Shared infrastructure, middleware, extensions
│   │   ├── Filters/
│   │   ├── Middleware/
│   │   └── Extensions/
├── MyProject.Application/       // Application-specific services, interfaces, DTOs
│   ├── Interfaces/
│   ├── Services/
│   └── DTOs/
├── MyProject.Domain/            // Core domain entities, value objects, interfaces
├── MyProject.Infrastructure/    // Data access (EF Core), external services
│   ├── Data/
│   ├── Repositories/
│   └── ExternalServices/
└── MyProject.Tests/             // Unit and Integration tests

❌ BAD: Layer-First Organization

// Avoid this structure for larger applications
src/
├── MyProject.Api/
│   ├── Controllers/ // All controllers here
│   ├── Services/    // All services here
│   ├── Repositories/ // All repositories here
│   └── DTOs/        // All DTOs here

2. API Design: Minimal APIs vs. API Controllers

Always prefer Minimal APIs for new endpoints due to their simplicity and directness. Use API Controllers only when you require advanced features like automatic model binding from multiple sources, built-in validation attributes, or complex attribute routing that Minimal APIs don't easily provide.

✅ GOOD: Minimal API for Simplicity

// Program.cs or dedicated endpoint file
app.MapGet("/products/{id}", async (Guid id, IProductService service) =>
{
    var product = await service.GetProductByIdAsync(id);
    return product is not null ? Results.Ok(product) : Results.NotFound();
})
.WithName("GetProductById")
.Produces<ProductDto>(StatusCodes.Status200OK)
.Produces(StatusCodes.Status404NotFound);

✅ GOOD: API Controller for Complex Scenarios

[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class OrdersController : ControllerBase
{
    private readonly IOrderService _orderService;

    public OrdersController(IOrderService orderService) => _orderService = orderService;

    [HttpPost]
    [ProducesResponseType(StatusCodes.Status201Created)]
    [ProducesResponseType(StatusCodes.Status400BadRequest)]
    public async Task<IActionResult> CreateOrder([FromBody] CreateOrderRequest request)
    {
        if (!ModelState.IsValid) return BadRequest(ModelState);
        var order = await _orderService.CreateOrderAsync(request);
        return CreatedAtAction(nameof(GetOrderById), new { id = order.Id }, order);
    }
}

3. Performance Considerations

3.1. Avoid Blocking Calls

Always use async/await for I/O-bound operations (database, network, file system). Never block the thread pool.

❌ BAD: Blocking Calls

// Synchronous I/O in an async context
public Product GetProduct(Guid id)
{
    // This blocks the calling thread while waiting for the DB
    return _dbContext.Products.Find(id);
}

// Blocking on an async task
var result = SomeAsyncTask().Result; // Blocks!
SomeAsyncTask().Wait();             // Blocks!

✅ GOOD: Asynchronous I/O

public async Task<Product?> GetProductAsync(Guid id)
{
    return await _dbContext.Products.FindAsync(id);
}

// Correctly awaiting an async task
var result = await SomeAsyncTask();

3.2. Return Paged Collections

Always paginate large collections to prevent OutOfMemoryException and slow responses.

❌ BAD: Returning Large Collections Unpaged

app.MapGet("/products", async (IProductService service) =>
{
    var allProducts = await service.GetAllProductsAsync(); // Potentially huge
    return Results.Ok(allProducts);
});

✅ GOOD: Paging Collections

app.MapGet("/products", async (int page = 1, int pageSize = 20, IProductService service) =>
{
    var pagedProducts = await service.GetPagedProductsAsync(page, pageSize);
    return Results.Ok(pagedProducts);
});

3.3. Minimize Large Object Allocations

Cache frequently used large objects. Avoid creating large objects (>= 85KB) in hot code paths to reduce GC pressure. Use ArrayPool<T> for large arrays.

4. Dependency Injection (DI)

Always use ASP.NET Core's built-in DI container. Register services with the correct lifetime.

• Singleton: For stateless services, configuration objects, or services that manage shared state.
• Scoped: For services tied to a single HTTP request (e.g., DbContext, IUnitOfWork).
• Transient: For lightweight services that should be new for every injection (rarely needed for typical backend services).

✅ GOOD: Correct Service Lifetimes

public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
    // Caching service can be shared across the app
    services.AddSingleton<ICacheService, RedisCacheService>();

    // Database context is scoped to the request
    services.AddDbContext<AppDbContext>(options => /* ... */, ServiceLifetime.Scoped);
    services.AddScoped<IProductRepository, ProductRepository>();

    // Business logic service, typically scoped
    services.AddScoped<IProductService, ProductService>();
}

5. Security Best Practices

5.1. Authentication and Authorization

Always secure your API endpoints. Use JWT Bearer tokens for API authentication. Define and enforce authorization policies.

✅ GOOD: Policy-Based Authorization

// Program.cs
builder.Services.AddAuthentication(JwtBearerDefaults.AuthenticationScheme)
    .AddJwtBearer(options => { /* ... configure JWT ... */ });
builder.Services.AddAuthorization(options =>
{
    options.AddPolicy("CanManageProducts", policy =>
        policy.RequireRole("Admin", "ProductManager"));
});

// Minimal API endpoint
app.MapPost("/products", async (CreateProductRequest request, IProductService service) =>
{
    // ...
}).RequireAuthorization("CanManageProducts");

// Controller action
[Authorize(Policy = "CanManageProducts")]
[HttpPost]
public async Task<IActionResult> CreateProduct([FromBody] CreateProductRequest request)
{ /* ... */ }

5.2. Input Validation

Always validate all incoming request data. Use Data Annotations or FluentValidation for robust validation.

✅ GOOD: DTO Validation

public record CreateProductRequest(
    [Required] [StringLength(100)] string Name,
    [Range(0.01, 10000.00)] decimal Price,
    [Url] string? ImageUrl
);

// In Minimal API or Controller, validation is often automatic with [ApiController]
// For Minimal APIs, you might explicitly check if not using a framework that handles it:
app.MapPost("/products", (CreateProductRequest request) =>
{
    var validationContext = new ValidationContext(request);
    var validationResults = new List<ValidationResult>();
    if (!Validator.TryValidateObject(request, validationContext, validationResults, true))
    {
        return Results.ValidationProblem(validationResults.ToDictionary(r => r.MemberNames.First(), r => new[] { r.ErrorMessage }));
    }
    // ... process valid request
});

6. Error Handling

Implement global exception handling middleware. Provide consistent, developer-friendly error responses without exposing sensitive details.

✅ GOOD: Global Exception Handler

// Program.cs
app.UseExceptionHandler(appBuilder =>
{
    appBuilder.Run(async context =>
    {
        var exceptionHandlerPathFeature = context.Features.Get<IExceptionHandlerPathFeature>();
        var exception = exceptionHandlerPathFeature?.Error;

        var problemDetails = new ProblemDetails
        {
            Status = StatusCodes.Status500InternalServerError,
            Title = "An error occurred while processing your request.",
            Detail = "Please try again later. If the problem persists, contact support.",
            Instance = context.Request.Path
        };

        // Log the exception details for internal monitoring
        var logger = context.RequestServices.GetRequiredService<ILogger<Program>>();
        logger.LogError(exception, "Unhandled exception for request {Path}", context.Request.Path);

        context.Response.StatusCode = problemDetails.Status.Value;
        context.Response.ContentType = "application/problem+json";
        await context.Response.WriteAsJsonAsync(problemDetails);
    });
});

7. Structured Logging

Always use structured logging to enable easy querying and analysis of logs. Prefer ILogger<T> for context-specific logging.

✅ GOOD: Structured Logging

public class ProductService : IProductService
{
    private readonly ILogger<ProductService> _logger;

    public ProductService(ILogger<ProductService> logger) => _logger = logger;

    public async Task<ProductDto> CreateProductAsync(CreateProductRequest request)
    {
        _logger.LogInformation("Creating product {ProductName} with price {ProductPrice}", request.Name, request.Price);
        // ...
        _logger.LogInformation("Product {ProductId} created successfully.", newProduct.Id);
        return newProductDto;
    }
}

❌ BAD: Unstructured Logging

_logger.LogInformation("Creating product with name: " + request.Name + " and price: " + request.Price);

8. Testing Approaches

Prioritize unit and integration tests.

• Unit Tests: Focus on isolated business logic (services, domain models). Mock all external dependencies.
• Integration Tests: Verify API endpoints, middleware, and database interactions. Use WebApplicationFactory<TStartup> for in-memory testing.

✅ GOOD: Unit Test Example

public class ProductServiceTests
{
    [Fact]
    public async Task CreateProductAsync_ValidRequest_ReturnsProductDto()
    {
        // Arrange
        var mockRepo = new Mock<IProductRepository>();
        mockRepo.Setup(r => r.AddAsync(It.IsAny<Product>())).ReturnsAsync(new Product { Id = Guid.NewGuid(), Name = "Test", Price = 10m });
        var service = new ProductService(mockRepo.Object, Mock.Of<ILogger<ProductService>>());
        var request = new CreateProductRequest("Test Product", 10.00m, null);

        // Act
        var result = await service.CreateProductAsync(request);

        // Assert
        Assert.NotNull(result);
        Assert.Equal("Test Product", result.Name);
        mockRepo.Verify(r => r.AddAsync(It.IsAny<Product>()), Times.Once);
    }
}

✅ GOOD: Integration Test Example

public class ProductsApiTests : IClassFixture<CustomWebApplicationFactory<Program>>
{
    private readonly HttpClient _client;

    public ProductsApiTests(CustomWebApplicationFactory<Program> factory)
    {
        _client = factory.CreateClient();
    }

    [Fact]
    public async Task GetProducts_ReturnsSuccessAndCorrectContentType()
    {
        // Act
        var response = await _client.GetAsync("/products");

        // Assert
        response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode(); // Status Code 200-299
        Assert.Equal("application/json; charset=utf-8", response.Content.Headers.ContentType?.ToString());
    }
}