Introduction to Services

[MUSIC] 0:00 [SOUND] Hi, my name is James. 0:03 In earlier Treehouse content, we've seen how ASP.NET can be used to create 0:06 web applications containing server side rendered user interfaces, or UIs. 0:11 These applications allow users to work with data, execute steps in a work flow, 0:17 or monitor automated processes. 0:22 This is a common use case for ASP.NET, but 0:25 ASP.net can also be used to create applications that expose data in 0:28 processes through application programming interfaces, or APIs. 0:33 These applications or 0:39 services are typically implemented using public standards or guidelines. 0:40 That makes it easier for third parties or 0:45 developers to understand how to consume and use our services. 0:47 Services give us a way to decouple our back end from our front end. 0:52 Front end clients don't need to know all the implementation details of the service. 0:56 They only need to understand how to work with the service's API. 1:01 Separation between the back end and the front end makes it easy for 1:06 our services to support multiple front end clients, or 1:09 even to integrate with other services enabling machine to machine communication. 1:13 Services are not a new idea. 1:19 The origins of proprietary computer to computer communication protocols, 1:22 known as remote procedure calls, or RPC, date all the way back to the 1970s. 1:27 And in the early 2000s, developers combined HTTP and 1:33 SOAP to create a new class of services known as Web Services. 1:37 Developers, who were looking for a simpler, yet still powerful to build 1:41 services, eventually, embraced RESTful Services or APIs. 1:46 Instead of introducing new or proprietary technology, 1:52 REST APIs leverage the native capabilities of HTTP. 1:56 In this course, you'll learn how to use Microsoft's ASP.NET Web API framework to 2:00 build a rest API. 2:05 As you learn about web API, you'll be creating a service for 2:07 Fitness Frog Web Client. 2:11 A single page application, or spa, built using Angular. 2:13 To get the most out of this course, you should understand the basics of REST APIs 2:17 and be familiar with C#, ASP.NET, MVC, Entity Framework, and Visual Studio. 2:22 If you're unfamiliar with any of these, or maybe you need a refresher, see 2:29 the teacher's notes for links to resources that can help bring you up to speed. 2:34 I would also encourage you to follow along with each video as we design, 2:39 build, and test the Fitness Frog API. 2:44 By actively participating in a learning process, 2:47 you'll increased your retention of the material covered in this course. 2:50 In the next video, let's start with a quick review of what makes an API RESTful. 2:55 See you then. 3:00