Seamless File Management in ASP.NET Core: Azure Blob Storage with Configurable Local Mode
Setting up the Project Before we dive into the implementation, let’s set up the basic structure: Create an ASP.NET Core Web API project. Add the Azure.Storage.BlobsNuGet Package for Azure Blob Storage integration. Update appsettings.json to include storage configurations: "Storage": { "Mode": "Local", "BlobStorage": { "ConnectionString": "YourAzureBlobStorageConnectionString", "ContainerName": "YourContainerName" } } Mode: Determines whether to use Local or Azure Blob Storage. ConnectionString and ContainerName: Azure Blob Storage details. Implementing the Storage Service Here is a custom StorageService that handles file uploads, deletions, and downloads. It dynamically decides the storage location based on the configuration mode. public class StorageService : IStorageService { private readonly IConfiguration _configuration; private readonly IHttpContextAccessor _httpContextAccessor; private readonly string _storageMode; public StorageService(IConfiguration configuration, IHttpContextAccessor httpContextAccessor) { _configuration = configuration; _httpContextAccessor = httpContextAccessor; _storageMode = _configuration["Storage:Mode"]; } public async Task<string> UploadFile(IFormFile file) { try { if (_storageMode == "Local") { var uploads = Path.Combine(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(), "wwwroot", "uploads"); var fileName = $"{DateTime.Now:MMddss}-{file.FileName}"; var filePath = Path.Combine(uploads, fileName); if (!Directory.Exists(uploads)) Directory.CreateDirectory(uploads); using (var fileStream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Create)) { await file.CopyToAsync(fileStream); } var host = string.Format("{0}{1}", _httpContextAccessor.HttpContext!.Request.IsHttps ? "https://" : "http://", _httpContextAccessor.HttpContext.Request.Host); return $"{host}/uploads/{fileName}"; } else { var container = new BlobContainerClient(_configuration["Storage:BlobStorage:ConnectionString"], _configuration["Storage:BlobStorage:ContainerName"]); await container.CreateIfNotExistsAsync(PublicAccessType.Blob); var blob = container.GetBlobClient(file.FileName); using (var fileStream = file.OpenReadStream()) { await blob.UploadAsync(fileStream, new BlobHttpHeaders { ContentType = file.ContentType }); } return blob.Uri.ToString(); } } catch (Exception ex) { throw; } } public async Task<bool> DeleteFile(string fileName) { try { if (_storageMode == "Local") { var uploads = Path.Combine(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(), "wwwroot", "uploads"); var filePath = Path.Combine(uploads, fileName); if (File.Exists(filePath)) { File.Delete(filePath); return true; } } else { var container = new BlobContainerClient(_configuration["Storage:BlobStorage:ConnectionString"],_configuration["Storage:BlobStorage:ContainerName"]); var blob = container.GetBlobClient(fileName); await blob.DeleteIfExistsAsync(); return true; } } catch (Exception ex) { return false; } } public byte[] DownloadFile(string fileName) { var blobServiceClient = new BlobServiceClient(_configuration["Storage:BlobStorage:ConnectionString"]); var container = blobServiceClient.GetBlobContainerClient(_configuration["Storage:BlobStorage:ContainerName"]); var blobClient = container.GetBlobClient(fileName); using (var memoryStream = new MemoryStream()) { blobClient.DownloadTo(memoryStream); return memoryStream.ToArray(); } } } Static File Middleware Add app.UseStaticFiles(); in Program.cs to serve local files. Usage Example Here’s how to use the UploadFile method in a Web API: public async Task<ServiceResponse<List<ProductPicture>>> UploadImages(List<IFormFile> images) { ServiceResponse<List<ProductPicture>> response = new(); try { List<ProductPicture> pictures = new(); foreach (var file in images) { var imageUrl = await _storageService.UploadFile(file); pictures.Add(new ProductPicture { Url = imageUrl, FileName = Path.GetFileName(imageUrl) }); } response.Data = pictures; } catch (Exception ex) { response.Success = false; response.Message = ex.Message; } return response; } Conclusion By integrating Azure Blob Storage and providing a configurable local storage mode, this approach ensures flexibility for both development and production environments. It reduces development friction while leveraging Azure’s scalability when deployed. For further details, explore the Azure Blob Storage Documentation and Quickstart: Azure Blob Storage.A Guide to .NET Development Technologies
Enter the world of .NET — Microsoft’s cross-platform framework that serves as the backbone for a spectrum of powerful application development technologies. In this journey through the Microsoft ecosystem, we’ll explore the unique features of WinForms, WPF, WinUI, .NET MAUI, Blazor and ASP.NET Core APIs. Before we dive into the details of each technology, it’s important to note that the information here is gathered from trusted sources like Microsoft’s official Learn blogs, the .NET official website, and other reputable sources. Microsoft’s commitment to transparent and detailed documentation ensures that you’re getting accurate insights. WinForms Windows Forms is a UI framework for building Windows desktop apps. It provides one of the most productive ways to create desktop apps based on the visual designer provided in Visual Studio. Functionality such as drag-and-drop placement of visual controls makes it easy to build desktop apps. With Windows Forms, you develop graphically rich apps that are easy to deploy, update, and work while offline or while connected to the internet. Windows Forms apps can access the local hardware and file system of the computer where the app is running. To learn how to create a Windows Forms app, see Tutorial: Create a new WinForms app. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) A UI framework that is resolution-independent and uses a vector-based rendering engine, built to take advantage of modern graphics hardware. WPF provides a comprehensive set of application-development features that include Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), controls, data binding, layout, 2D and 3D graphics, animation, styles, templates, documents, media, text, and typography. WPF is part of .NET, so you can build applications that incorporate other elements of the .NET API. If you want to create a skinned user interface, dynamically load some areas of the UI components from a web service, bind to XML or want to develop a desktop application which has the web-like navigation style, then WPF is a great choice. To learn how to create a WPF app, see Tutorial: Create a new WPF app. Windows UI Library (WinUI) The Windows UI Library (WinUI) is a native user experience (UX) framework for both Windows desktop and UWP applications. By incorporating the Fluent Design System into all experiences, controls, and styles, WinUI provides consistent, intuitive, and accessible experiences using the latest user interface (UI) patterns. With support for both desktop and UWP apps, you can build with WinUI from the ground up, or gradually migrate your existing MFC, WinForms, or WPF apps using familiar languages such as C++, C#, Visual Basic, and JavaScript (using React Native for Windows). At this time, there are two generations of the Windows UI Library (WinUI): WinUI 2 for UWP and WinUI 3 in the Windows App SDK. While both can be used in production-ready apps on Windows 10 and later, each have different development targets. .NET WAUI .NET Multi-platform App UI (MAUI) is an open-source, cross-platform framework for building Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows applications that leverage the native UI and services of each platform from a single .NET code base. Because .NET MAUI favors platform native experiences, it uses WinUI 3 and the Windows App SDK so apps get the latest user experience on Windows. This gives your apps access to everything you get with WinUI 3 plus the ability to reach to other platforms. .NET MAUI for Windows is a great choice if: You want to share as much .NET code as possible across mobile and desktop applications. You want to ship your application beyond Windows to other desktop and mobile targets with native platform experiences. You want to use C# and/or XAML for building cross-platform apps. You’re using Blazor for web development and wish to include all or part of that in a mobile or desktop application. For more information about .NET MAUI visit the link. Blazor Blazor is a web framework that is part of the ASP.NET Core framework. Blazor enables you to create progressive web apps using C#, having significantly less reliance on JavaScript that was necessary in previous versions of ASP.NET. This model is intended to make Blazor appealing to current C# developers, since they can focus less on JavaScript and write more in C# for full-stack development. In Blazor, both the server-side code (APIs, models, etc.) and the client are written in C#. This enables Blazor developers to do full-stack development all in .NET, though it’s also possible to write JavaScript if desired. Blazor Tutorials: Build your first web app with ASP.NET Core using Blazor. ASP.NET Core APIs In the realm of backend development, ASP.NET Core APIs take the spotlight. These APIs provide a robust foundation for building scalable and high-performance backend services, supporting modern application architectures such as microservices. With ASP.NET you use the same framework and patterns to build both web pages and services, side-by-side in the same project. Conclusion From WinForms to .NET MAUI, we’ve explored Microsoft’s tech universe. Each tool adds a unique touch to the toolkit. Whether you’re into desktop apps, web experiences, or robust backends, Microsoft’s ecosystem has you covered. But it doesn’t end here. Microsoft keeps evolving. Stay curious, explore, and find more on their official blogs, the .NET website, and other reliable sources. Resources: For further exploration and in-depth information, consider checking out these resources: .NET Official Website .NET DocumentationGetting Started with Entity Framework Core
Today, we’ll discover a method to integrate database support into an ASP.NET Core API using Entity Framework Core. A database stands as a vital component in many applications, serving as the storage and retrieval hub for data. Traditionally, developers had to convert C# data access code into SQL statements, a process open to errors and time-consuming. However, with Entity Framework Core, you can delegate the tasks to the framework, allowing you to concentrate on application development.Earn your C# certification with new learning series
We are excited to announce our new C# for Certification email learning series. This eight-week email series is intended to provide you with all the resources you need to complete the Foundational C# Certification training and take the exam. The learning series will give you a structured learning path and new content to learn each week.
Building Intelligent Applications with Local RAG in .NET and Phi-3: A Hands-On Guide
Let's learn how to do Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) using local resources in .NET! In this post, we’ll show you how to combine the Phi-3 language model, Local Embeddings, and Semantic Kernel to create a RAG scenario..NET MAUI on Linux with Visual Studio Code
Explore Cross-Platform Development with .NET MAUI on Linux! Dive into the latest release of the .NET MAUI extension for Visual Studio Code, enabling Linux users to develop apps for Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS. This guide offers a step-by-step tutorial on setting up your Linux system for .NET MAUI development, including installation of essential tools and leveraging the C# Dev Kit extension. Whether you're working on Ubuntu or another Linux distribution, this article, enriched with a video walkthrough by Gerald Versluis, simplifies the journey to creating powerful, versatile applications with .NET MAUI.
