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Learn About ASP.NET Web API

ASP.NET Web API is a framework that makes it easy to build HTTP services that reach a broad range of clients, including browsers and mobile devices. ASP.NET Web API is an ideal platform for building RESTful applications on the .NET Framework.

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Free, powerful IDE for ASP.NET on Windows
Getting Started

The basics of building an HTTP service using ASP.NET Web API

  1. Getting Started with ASP.NET Web API 2

    By Mike Wasson|

    In this tutorial, you will create your first HTTP service using ASP.NET Web API.

  2. Getting Started with ASP.NET Web API

    This video from Scott Hanselman will get you started on ASP.NET Web API.

  3. Creating a Leaderboard App with Azure Mobile Services .NET Backend

    Use Visual Studio to create a Web API app hosted in Azure Mobile Services.

  4. Action Results in Web API 2

    By Mike Wasson|

    Describes how Web API converts the return value from a controller action into an HTTP response.

  5. Web API 2 Poster

    This poster shows how an HTTP request flows through the Web API 2 pipeline, and how the HTTP response flows back. It also shows extensibility points, where you can add custom code or even replace the default behavior entirely.

  6. Pro ASP.NET Web API

    Pro ASP.NET Web API, by Tugberk Ugurlu and Alexander Zeitler, shows you how to build flexible, extensible web services that run seamlessly on a range of operating systems and devices, from desktops to tablets to smart phones—even the ones we don’t know today.

  7. Using Web API with ASP.NET Web Forms

    By Mike Wasson|

    This tutorial shows how to use ASP.NET Web API in an ASP.NET Web Forms project.

  8. Creating API Help Pages

    By Mike Wasson|

    Learn how to add help pages for your web API, so that other developers will know how to call your API.

  9. Hands On Lab: Build a Single Page Application (SPA) with ASP.NET Web API and Angular.js

    By Web Camps Team|

    Build Geek Quiz, a trivia website based on the SPA concept, from the ground up using ASP.NET Web API, AngularJS, and CSS3.

Essential Videos

Pluralsight

Microsoft has made it possible for you to enjoy this Pluralsight training free of charge. In addition, you can watch more videos free of charge from Microsoft.

1. Introduction

54 mins

2. Uniform Interface

46 mins

3. HttpClient

33 mins

4. Hosting

25 mins

5. Security

10 mins

6.Extensbility

27 mins

Sponsored By: Pluralsight

Unlock access to 3,000+ dev, IT and creative courses that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

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Web API Books

Microsoft's Jon Galloway recommends these books for learning ASP.NET MVC:

ASP.NET MVC 4 and the Web API: Building a REST Service from Start to Finish

ASP.NET MVC 4 and the Web API: Building a REST Service from Start to Finish

by Jamie Kurtz

Pro ASP.NET Web API

Pro ASP.NET Web API

by Tugberk Ugurlu, Alexander Zeitler

ASP.NET Web API 2 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach

ASP.NET Web API 2 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach

by Filip Wojcieszyn

Designing Evolvable Web APIs with ASP.NET

Designing Evolvable Web APIs with ASP.NET

by Glenn Block, Pablo Cibraro, Pedro Felix, Howard Dierking, Darrel Miller