C# MVC API Builder: Instructions

MVC API Builder app

Instructions

About

Eric's Gear

Navigation:

Intro
Pricing
Namespace
Repository Folder Name
Custom Method Names
Use Controller Information
Use SQL Schema (Database First)
Use C# Models (Code First)
Use Controllers Name as model names
Use Model names as controller names
Create DbContext File
Uppercase first letter of Controller and Model names
Append "Controller" to controller name
Include Constructor for Controller
Include repository dependency injection
REST controller
Include model as method parameter
Include default code for each method
Include PUT
Include POST
Include GET
Include Delete
Include GetAll
Include Search
Append "Repo" to repository name
Include Constructor
Include DbContext dependency injection
Include model as method parameter
Include model as method return
Include Interface
Total Price
Create Class(es)
Generated Code

Intro:

This utility will help automate some mundane aspects of building an API, microservice, etc. You can use it to generate a significant amount of boilerplate code. This utility can do anything from create a basic controller, repo, and interface instance for a single contoller at a time, to ingesting your entire DB schema and generating +80% of a whole MVC REST API. The only thing that's missing is authentication/autohrization, your specific business logic, and whatever other syntatic "sugar" you need to add.

~~There's nothing really too special here...~~ Yeah, that's not true anymore. There's a considerable amount of stuff going on, and all told, what once was a "simple script" has become a very powerful utility. I originally designed it to help ease the process of rewriting a massive existing project with lots of endpoints by creating the basic skeleton code, but now it can just do the majority of the work for you and me.

The most basic use case for this utility is entering a controller name you want to create and at least one method name. This utility will generate the controller with a default namespace and any method names you specify. Real simple and quick.

This isn't an AI tool, or a tool generated by AI. Every line of code for this utility was written by a human using their experience as a software developer building C# MVC APIs, and knowing how boring and time consuming it is to repeatedly generate the same kind of base Contoller, Repository, Interface, and other classes needed in a API to access a database. And our software developers know just how much duplication can go into these classes, without an easy way to script it, which is why this utility exists. Also, this utility was designed to build each class as if the code was written by hand, rather than scraped off open source code repositories, as well as the code being customized to your specific use.

The code generated with this utility should be compatible with .Net Core 3.0, .Net Core 3.1, .Net 5.0, .Net 6.0, .Net 7.0, and .Net 8.0. It may be compatible with other versions, but the listed versions are what this code has been tested against. While we've done extensive testing, we can't guarantee you will get code that works 100% "out of the box".

Your information is sent to a server for processing, but none of it is saved. Your data is your data. We don't even keep any of it in memory longer than what it takes to generate the code we give you. By the time you get the code in your browser, it's gone from our system. It doesn't even persist for reuse during your login.

There's a lot in this utility, so I'll try to make this as simple as I can while hitting all the useful points of each feature.

Let's begin:

Pricing:

First off, let's talk about how much this is going to cost. If you haven't already done so, you will eventually need to create an account with Eric's Gear and buy credits for this app. You can create the account by going to the top right hand corner of this page and go into the Login menu. As you select options to add to your code, the "Total Price" section will update, so you can wait until you are ready to generate the code before buying credits so you can purchase only what's needed, rather than guess at how many credits are needed.

Each Controller will cost 1 credit for every 5 methods in each Controller. Interfaces and the DBContext file for Code First use are included in the cost of the Repos and Controllers, so are any Models generated from the provided SQL schema. Constructors are also included in the cost of the Controllers or Repos and are not counted as a method when calculating your total. Repos will have the same amount of action methods as Controllers, so Repo methods aren't counted.

The "Search" method can be an exception to the above method count. If you you chose the "Use Controller Information" or don't select the "Include Repository" option , it will be included in the method count for the Controllers. If you do select the "Include Repository" option and chose either the SQL Schema or C# Models options, it won't be counted as a method, but it will cost you an extra credit for each Repo. The "Search" method is complex, so it will be explained later in these instructions.

You already paid any taxes and/or fees when you purchased the credits, so those won't be applied again. We just deduct credits from what you've already purchased.

This app calculates how many credits you need for what you've entered for Controller Names, SQL Schema tables, or C# models, as well as what options you selected, so you know how many credits you will use or need to purchase. The "Total Price" area also tells you how many credits your account has, as well as how many more you need to purchase to create the code you need. If you purchase credits after filling out this app's form, you can click the "Credit Refresh" button to have the app get your new credit balance.

This utility doesn't let you do a partial purchase, so you will need to have enough credits to cover the full total. If you don't have enough credits and can't purchase more, you will have to remove Controller Names, SQL Schema tables, or C# models, or de-select the "Search" method option.

I know all that might sound a little confusing, so I'll do some examples to try to simplify it.

If you only need a single controller with 5 or fewer methods, your cost is 1 credit.
If you only need a single controller with 6-10 methods, your cost is 2 credits.
If you only need a single controller with 11-15 methods, your cost is 3 credits.

If you need a single controller with 5 or fewer methods and the corresponding repo, your total cost is 2 credits.
If you need a single controller with 6-10 methods and the corresponding repo, your total cost is 3 credits.

If you need a single controller with 5 or fewer methods and the corresponding repo, plus the "Search" method, your total cost is 3 credits.
If you need a single controller with 6-10 methods and the corresponding repo, plus the "Search" method, your total cost is 4 credits.

If you only need controllers with 5 or fewer methods, but you need 4 of them, your total cost is 4 credits.
If you need 4 controllers with 6-10 methods, your total cost is 8 credits.

If you need 4 controllers with 5 or fewer methods and their corresponding repos, your total cost is 8 credits.
If you need 4 controllers with 5 or fewer methods, their corresponding repos, and the "Search" method for each, your total cost is 12 credits.
If you need 4 controllers with 6-10 methods, their corresponding repos, and the "Search" method for each, your total cost is 16 credits.

Now that we have all of that complicated pricing out of the way, I need to tell you that you'll get 3 free credit just for creating an account. Now you can do some testing of this utility on your own, so you can see exactly what it does before you spend your own money. I'd suggest creating one simple controller and repo, plus the "Search" method and every other option so you can see the whole shebang. But you might want to wait until you finish reading these instructions before doing that so you know what you're actually asking for.

Namespace:

Repository Folder Name:

Custom Method Names:

Use Controller Information:

If you are going to manually specify at least one controller name and at least one method name, this is what you want. It will create as many controllers as you give in a delimited list within the Controller Name: field. Then, inside every one of those controllers will be the methods you entered into the Custom Method Names: field. For instance, if you put Users Teams as controller names and Get Post for method names, you will get two controllers and both of them will have Get and Post methods.

Use SQL Schema (Database First):

This is what you want to use if you already have your SQL database created. Export your schema to a SQL file and paste it into the SQL Schema: field, then select your DB type. Not all databases are represented, but MS-SQL can be used as a "default". Most of the differences (so far) in this utility in parsing the different flavors of SQL are in which DB data types are converted into C# specific data type.

Use C# Models (Code First):

Options: (this is where it gets real interesting, I guess)

Use Controllers Name as model names:

Use Model names as controller names:

Create DbContext File:

Uppercase first letter of Controller and Model names:

Append "Controller" to controller name:

Include Constructor for Controller:

Include repository dependency injection:

REST controller:

Include model as method parameter:

Include default code for each method:

Include PUT:

As I've mentioned before, this will include the PUT method in the controller as well as in any repository and interface generated. If you select the above "Default Code" option, the repository method will query the DB for an existing record to make sure it isn't trying to insert a duplicate record. If there isn't a duplicate, the code will insert the record and save the changes.

Include POST:

This will include the POST method in the controller as well as in any repository and interface generated. If you select the "Default Code" option, the repository method will query the DB for an existing record. If it returns a record, it will update all non-readonly fields in the record, then save the record. That is, if you entered SQL or C# models. If you just entered the controller and method names manually, it'll replace the existing record with the new record.

Include GET:

Include Delete:

Include GetAll:

This will include a GetAll method in the controller as well as in any repository and interface generated. This is not the standard GET verb, because it is intended to get a list of all non-deleted records in a DB for the model type. If you select the "Default Code" option, the repository method will query the DB for all records that have the assumed Deleted property/column set to false and return the results to the controller in a model that should be compatible with paged queries.

This generates the SearchQueryBase class used in returning the results to the controller.

Include Search:

A Search method will be included in the controller as well as in any repository and interface generated. This is intended to do paged searches in the DB on the model. This method in the repository will query the DB table for all records that meet the property/column level searches. This search will assume columns/properties labeled "removed", "deleted", "disabled", or "active" are flags, rather than actual values, and will create a special filter for them.

If you used the SQL or C# Model options, this utility will generate those queries for you. This includes guesses at what "Deleted" column flag you've used. These are basic searches and don't include querying referenced tables. If you entered the controller and method names manually, example code will be included to show you how to write your own searches.

This also generates the SearchQueryBase class used in returning the results to the controller. Search models are also created, based on the SQL query or C# models you entered, which allow you to enter any property/column values you want to search for.

Include Repository:

Append "Repo" to repository name:

Include Constructor:

Include DbContext dependency injection:

Include model as method parameter:

Include model as method return:

Include Interface:

Total Price:

This section automatically updates as you enter in Customer Method Names, Controller Names, and choose options, giving you an itimezed list of what you are asking to be generated. The total credits you need for what you enetered and selected will be in the "Total for purchase" row.

Hovering over the

next to "Controller" will give you a list of the Controllers/Repos names that will be created so you'll know exactly what's being generated.

Once you have logged in, the amount of credits you have purchased for this app will be listed in the "Purchased credits" row. If you need to purchase more credits, go ahead and do so, then click the "Refresh" button so this app knows you have enough credits to generate the files you've requested.

The "Credits after purchase" row can help you determine if you have enough credits for what you want generated. If you don't have enough, the number will be negative and be colored red.

MVC REST API Builder

Navigation:

Intro:

Let's begin:

Pricing:

Namespace:

Repository Folder Name:

Custom Method Names:

Use Controller Information:

Use SQL Schema (Database First):

Use C# Models (Code First):

Options: (this is where it gets real interesting, I guess)

Use Controllers Name as model names:

Use Model names as controller names:

Create DbContext File:

Uppercase first letter of Controller and Model names:

Append "Controller" to controller name:

Include Constructor for Controller:

Include repository dependency injection:

REST controller:

Include model as method parameter:

Include default code for each method:

Include PUT:

Include POST:

Include GET:

Include Delete:

Include GetAll:

Include Search:

Include Repository:

Append "Repo" to repository name:

Include Constructor:

Include DbContext dependency injection:

Include model as method parameter:

Include model as method return:

Include Interface:

Total Price:

Create Class(es):

Generated Code: