HttpClient Demo

1) Overview

This solution demonstrates different approaches to configuring and using HttpClient in .NET 8 applications with custom HTTP message handlers (DelegatingHandlers).

The project showcases three different implementation patterns:

• manual configuration,
• Microsoft Dependency Injection,
• Autofac dependency injection.

Key Concepts Demonstrated

1. HTTP Message Handler Pipeline: Shows how to create and chain custom message handlers
2. Dependency Injection Patterns: Compares different DI approaches for HttpClient configuration

2) Getting Started

1. Clone the repository
2. Open the solution in Visual Studio 2022
3. Start the server application (HttpClientDemo.WebApi)
4. Run one of the client projects (Right click -> Debug -> Start New Instance)

Each client application targets https://localhost:7033/Dummy endpoint and demonstrates the same functionality using different configuration approaches.

3) Solution Structure

Client Applications

1. HttpClientDemo.Client.Simple (No Dependency Injection)

• Type: Console Application (.NET 8)
• Purpose: Demonstrates manual HttpClient configuration with message handlers, without dependency injection

2. HttpClientDemo.Client.WithDependencyInjection

• Type: Console Application (.NET 8)
• Purpose: Shows HttpClient configuration using Microsoft's built-in dependency injection

3. HttpClientDemo.Client.WithAutofac

• Type: Console Application (.NET 8)
• Purpose: Illustrates HttpClient setup with Autofac dependency injection container

Infrastructure Projects

4. HttpClientDemo.Handlers

• Type: Class Library (.NET 8)
• Purpose: Contains custom HTTP message handlers
• Components:
  • AuthenticationHandler: Adds Bearer token authentication to HTTP requests
  • Dummy1Handler: Demonstration handler (part of handler pipeline)
  • Dummy2Handler: Demonstration handler (part of handler pipeline)

5. HttpClientDemo.WebApiAccess

• Type: Class Library (.NET 8)
• Purpose: Provides functionality to access the Web API.

Server Application

6. HttpClientDemo.WebApi

• Type: Web App (.NET 8)
• Purpose: Provides a dummy Web API endpoint:
  • GET /Dummy