WebAPI Developer Preview 6: Self Hosted Mode Example

Posted by johnvpetersen on January 13, 2012

In case you missed it, the WebAPI Developer Preview is up to version 6. The CodePlex site provides all of the information you need to get started. To illustrate how to build a simple WebAPI, this example uses ASP.NET MVC as the host. While the example makes reference to the fact that you can create this example in self-hosted mode (not using ASP.NET/ASP.NET MVC) – there is no code that illustrates how to do this.

To get started, create a Console Application and follow the steps in the ASP.NET MVC example to use Nuget to download the WebAPI references and to create the Contact Manager classes. Once you have those items in place, all you need to do is outfit the application to fire up the web host. To do that, use this code:

using System;
using ContactManagerSelfHost.APIs;
using Microsoft.ApplicationServer.Http;

namespace ContactManagerSelfHost
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {

            using (var host = new HttpServiceHost(typeof(ContactsApi), "http://localhost:9000/api/contacts"))
            {
                host.Open();
                Console.WriteLine("Press any key to stop host...");
                Console.ReadKey();
            }
        }
    }
}

Simply run the app and navigate to the URL. That’s it!

About johnvpetersen

I've been developing software for 20 years, starting with dBase, Clipper and FoxBase + thereafter, migrating to FoxPro and Visual FoxPro and Visual Basic. Other areas of concentration include Oracle and SQL Server - versions 6-2008. From 1995 to 2001, I was a Microsoft Visual FoxPro MVP. Today, my emphasis is on ASP MVC .NET applications. I am a current Microsoft ASP .NET MVP. Publishing In 1999, I wrote the definitive whitepaper on ADO for VFP Developers. In 2002, I wrote the Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Databases for Que Publishing. I was a co-author of Visual FoxPro Enterprise Development from Prima Publishing with Rod Paddock, Ron Talmadge and Eric Ranft. I was also a co-author of Visual Basic Web Development from Prima Publishing with Rod Paddock and Richard Campbell. Education - B.S Business Administration – Mansfield University - M.B.A. – Information Systems – Saint Joseph’s University - J.D. – Rutgers University School of Law (Camden) In 2004, I graduated from the Rutgers University School of Law with a Juris Doctor Degree. I passed the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar exams and was in private practice for several years – concentrating transactional and general business law (contracts, copyrights, trademarks, independent contractor agreements, NDA’s, intellectual property and mergers and acquisitions.).
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