feat: add comprehensive guidelines for building REST APIs with ASP.NET and Blazor components

Author: sphildreth

.github/instructions/aspnet-rest-apis.instructions.md

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+---
+description: 'Guidelines for building REST APIs with ASP.NET'
+applyTo: '**/*.cs, **/*.json'
+---
+
+# ASP.NET REST API Development
+
+## Instruction
+- Guide users through building their first REST API using ASP.NET Core 9.
+- Explain both traditional Web API controllers and the newer Minimal API approach.
+- Provide educational context for each implementation decision to help users understand the underlying concepts.
+- Emphasize best practices for API design, testing, documentation, and deployment.
+- Focus on providing explanations alongside code examples rather than just implementing features.
+
+## API Design Fundamentals
+
+- Explain REST architectural principles and how they apply to ASP.NET Core APIs.
+- Guide users in designing meaningful resource-oriented URLs and appropriate HTTP verb usage.
+- Demonstrate the difference between traditional controller-based APIs and Minimal APIs.
+- Explain status codes, content negotiation, and response formatting in the context of REST.
+- Help users understand when to choose Controllers vs. Minimal APIs based on project requirements.
+
+## Project Setup and Structure
+
+- Guide users through creating a new ASP.NET Core 9 Web API project with the appropriate templates.
+- Explain the purpose of each generated file and folder to build understanding of the project structure.
+- Demonstrate how to organize code using feature folders or domain-driven design principles.
+- Show proper separation of concerns with models, services, and data access layers.
+- Explain the Program.cs and configuration system in ASP.NET Core 9 including environment-specific settings.
+
+## Building Controller-Based APIs
+
+- Guide the creation of RESTful controllers with proper resource naming and HTTP verb implementation.
+- Explain attribute routing and its advantages over conventional routing.
+- Demonstrate model binding, validation, and the role of [ApiController] attribute.
+- Show how dependency injection works within controllers.
+- Explain action return types (IActionResult, ActionResult<T>, specific return types) and when to use each.
+
+## Implementing Minimal APIs
+
+- Guide users through implementing the same endpoints using the Minimal API syntax.
+- Explain the endpoint routing system and how to organize route groups.
+- Demonstrate parameter binding, validation, and dependency injection in Minimal APIs.
+- Show how to structure larger Minimal API applications to maintain readability.
+- Compare and contrast with controller-based approach to help users understand the differences.
+
+## Data Access Patterns
+
+- Guide the implementation of a data access layer using Entity Framework Core.
+- Explain different options (SQL Server, SQLite, In-Memory) for development and production.
+- Demonstrate repository pattern implementation and when it's beneficial.
+- Show how to implement database migrations and data seeding.
+- Explain efficient query patterns to avoid common performance issues.
+
+## Authentication and Authorization
+
+- Guide users through implementing authentication using JWT Bearer tokens.
+- Explain OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect concepts as they relate to ASP.NET Core.
+- Show how to implement role-based and policy-based authorization.
+- Demonstrate integration with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).
+- Explain how to secure both controller-based and Minimal APIs consistently.
+
+## Validation and Error Handling
+
+- Guide the implementation of model validation using data annotations and FluentValidation.
+- Explain the validation pipeline and how to customize validation responses.
+- Demonstrate a global exception handling strategy using middleware.
+- Show how to create consistent error responses across the API.
+- Explain problem details (RFC 7807) implementation for standardized error responses.
+
+## API Versioning and Documentation
+
+- Guide users through implementing and explaining API versioning strategies.
+- Demonstrate Swagger/OpenAPI implementation with proper documentation.
+- Show how to document endpoints, parameters, responses, and authentication.
+- Explain versioning in both controller-based and Minimal APIs.
+- Guide users on creating meaningful API documentation that helps consumers.
+
+## Logging and Monitoring
+
+- Guide the implementation of structured logging using Serilog or other providers.
+- Explain the logging levels and when to use each.
+- Demonstrate integration with Application Insights for telemetry collection.
+- Show how to implement custom telemetry and correlation IDs for request tracking.
+- Explain how to monitor API performance, errors, and usage patterns.
+
+## Testing REST APIs
+
+- Guide users through creating unit tests for controllers, Minimal API endpoints, and services.
+- Explain integration testing approaches for API endpoints.
+- Demonstrate how to mock dependencies for effective testing.
+- Show how to test authentication and authorization logic.
+- Explain test-driven development principles as applied to API development.
+
+## Performance Optimization
+
+- Guide users on implementing caching strategies (in-memory, distributed, response caching).
+- Explain asynchronous programming patterns and why they matter for API performance.
+- Demonstrate pagination, filtering, and sorting for large data sets.
+- Show how to implement compression and other performance optimizations.
+- Explain how to measure and benchmark API performance.
+
+## Deployment and DevOps
+
+- Guide users through containerizing their API using .NET's built-in container support (`dotnet publish --os linux --arch x64 -p:PublishProfile=DefaultContainer`).
+- Explain the differences between manual Dockerfile creation and .NET's container publishing features.
+- Explain CI/CD pipelines for ASP.NET Core applications.
+- Demonstrate deployment to Azure App Service, Azure Container Apps, or other hosting options.
+- Show how to implement health checks and readiness probes.
+- Explain environment-specific configurations for different deployment stages.

.github/instructions/blazor.instructions.md

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+---
+description: 'Blazor component and application patterns'
+applyTo: '**/*.razor, **/*.razor.cs, **/*.razor.css'
+---
+
+## Blazor Code Style and Structure
+
+- Write idiomatic and efficient Blazor and C# code.
+- Follow .NET and Blazor conventions.
+- Use Razor Components appropriately for component-based UI development.
+- Prefer inline functions for smaller components but separate complex logic into code-behind or service classes.
+- Async/await should be used where applicable to ensure non-blocking UI operations.
+
+## Naming Conventions
+
+- Follow PascalCase for component names, method names, and public members.
+- Use camelCase for private fields and local variables.
+- Prefix interface names with "I" (e.g., IUserService).
+
+## Blazor and .NET Specific Guidelines
+
+- Utilize Blazor's built-in features for component lifecycle (e.g., OnInitializedAsync, OnParametersSetAsync).
+- Use data binding effectively with @bind.
+- Leverage Dependency Injection for services in Blazor.
+- Structure Blazor components and services following Separation of Concerns.
+- Always use the latest version C#, currently C# 13 features like record types, pattern matching, and global usings.
+
+## Error Handling and Validation
+
+- Implement proper error handling for Blazor pages and API calls.
+- Use logging for error tracking in the backend and consider capturing UI-level errors in Blazor with tools like ErrorBoundary.
+- Implement validation using FluentValidation or DataAnnotations in forms.
+
+## Blazor API and Performance Optimization
+
+- Utilize Blazor server-side or WebAssembly optimally based on the project requirements.
+- Use asynchronous methods (async/await) for API calls or UI actions that could block the main thread.
+- Optimize Razor components by reducing unnecessary renders and using StateHasChanged() efficiently.
+- Minimize the component render tree by avoiding re-renders unless necessary, using ShouldRender() where appropriate.
+- Use EventCallbacks for handling user interactions efficiently, passing only minimal data when triggering events.
+
+## Caching Strategies
+
+- Implement in-memory caching for frequently used data, especially for Blazor Server apps. Use IMemoryCache for lightweight caching solutions.
+- For Blazor WebAssembly, utilize localStorage or sessionStorage to cache application state between user sessions.
+- Consider Distributed Cache strategies (like Redis or SQL Server Cache) for larger applications that need shared state across multiple users or clients.
+- Cache API calls by storing responses to avoid redundant calls when data is unlikely to change, thus improving the user experience.
+
+## State Management Libraries
+
+- Use Blazor's built-in Cascading Parameters and EventCallbacks for basic state sharing across components.
+- Implement advanced state management solutions using libraries like Fluxor or BlazorState when the application grows in complexity.
+- For client-side state persistence in Blazor WebAssembly, consider using Blazored.LocalStorage or Blazored.SessionStorage to maintain state between page reloads.
+- For server-side Blazor, use Scoped Services and the StateContainer pattern to manage state within user sessions while minimizing re-renders.
+
+## API Design and Integration
+
+- Use HttpClient or other appropriate services to communicate with external APIs or your own backend.
+- Implement error handling for API calls using try-catch and provide proper user feedback in the UI.
+
+## Testing and Debugging in Visual Studio
+
+- All unit testing and integration testing should be done in Visual Studio Enterprise.
+- Test Blazor components and services using xUnit, NUnit, or MSTest.
+- Use Moq or NSubstitute for mocking dependencies during tests.
+- Debug Blazor UI issues using browser developer tools and Visual Studio's debugging tools for backend and server-side issues.
+- For performance profiling and optimization, rely on Visual Studio's diagnostics tools.
+
+## Security and Authentication
+
+- Implement Authentication and Authorization in the Blazor app where necessary using ASP.NET Identity or JWT tokens for API authentication.
+- Use HTTPS for all web communication and ensure proper CORS policies are implemented.
+
+## API Documentation and Swagger
+
+- Use Swagger/OpenAPI for API documentation for your backend API services.
+- Ensure XML documentation for models and API methods for enhancing Swagger documentation.