Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Unleashed, Third Edition

Use ASP.NET Web API to Build HTTP Services

Nearly all compute devices created these days speak HTTP. This includes computers, game consoles, and mobile devices running on all platforms, including Windows, iOS, Android, and more. These devices use HTTP because users want access to the Internet. In addition, HTTP is open on firewalls across nearly all networks. For this reason, HTTP web services based on REST have emerged as a default standard that is highly accessible on nearly all client devices and increases interoperability across platforms.

The Microsoft ASP.NET Web API eases the development of HTTP services. You can use the skills you learned in Chapter 17, “Building Modern Websites with ASP.NET 5,” regarding web development with MVC (Model-View-Controller) ...