Zooper.Squid 2.0.0

Zooper.Squid

<img src="icon.png" alt="Zooper.Squid Logo" width="120" align="right"/>

Zooper.Squid is a lightweight .NET library that simplifies the creation of modular ASP.NET Core applications. It provides a clean and intuitive way to organize your application into independent, reusable modules that can be easily configured and composed.

Key Features

• Modular Architecture: Break down your application into independent, focused modules
• Separation of Concerns: Distinct service and middleware module interfaces
• Explicit Middleware Ordering: Full control over middleware pipeline execution order
• Easy Configuration: Simple and intuitive module registration and configuration
• Dependency Injection: Automatic registration of service modules in your DI container
• Flexible Composition: Mix and match modules to build your application
• Minimal Dependencies: Only depends on ASP.NET Core
• Type-safe: Leverages C#'s type system for robust module definitions
• Testable: Designed with testability in mind from the ground up

Installation

dotnet add package Zooper.Squid

Quick Start

Here's a basic example of creating a modular ASP.NET Core application with Zooper.Squid:

// Define your service module
public class UserServiceModule : IServiceModule
{
    public void ConfigureServices(WebApplicationBuilder builder)
    {
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IUserService, UserService>();
        builder.Services.AddScoped<IUserRepository, UserRepository>();
    }
}

// Define your middleware module
public class UserMiddlewareModule : IMiddlewareModule
{
    public void ConfigureMiddleware(WebApplication app)
    {
        app.MapControllers();
    }
}

// Register modules in your Program.cs
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Register your service modules
builder.AddServiceModules(
    typeof(UserServiceModule),
    typeof(AuthenticationServiceModule)
);

var app = builder.Build();

// Configure middleware pipeline with explicit ordering
app.ConfigureMiddlewarePipeline()
    .AddModule<AuthenticationMiddlewareModule>() // Authentication first
    .Add(app => app.UseRouting())                // Then routing
    .AddModule<UserMiddlewareModule>()           // Then user endpoints
    .Build();

app.Run();

Core Concepts

Service Modules

Service modules handle dependency injection configuration and are completely separate from middleware concerns:

public class AuthenticationServiceModule : IServiceModule
{
    public void ConfigureServices(WebApplicationBuilder builder)
    {
        builder.Services.AddAuthentication();
        builder.Services.AddAuthorization();
    }
}

Middleware Modules

Middleware modules handle the request pipeline configuration:

public class AuthenticationMiddlewareModule : IMiddlewareModule
{
    public void ConfigureMiddleware(WebApplication app)
    {
        app.UseAuthentication();
        app.UseAuthorization();
    }
}

Explicit Middleware Ordering

The middleware pipeline builder allows you to explicitly control the order of middleware execution:

app.ConfigureMiddlewarePipeline()
    .Add(app => app.UseExceptionHandler("/Error"))  // Exception handling first
    .AddModule<AuthenticationMiddlewareModule>()    // Then authentication
    .Add(app => app.UseRouting())                   // Then routing
    .AddModule<ApiMiddlewareModule>()               // Then API endpoints
    .Build();

Module Registration

Zooper.Squid provides a simple way to register your service modules:

// Register a single service module
builder.AddServiceModules(typeof(AuthenticationServiceModule));

// Register multiple service modules
builder.AddServiceModules(
    typeof(AuthenticationServiceModule),
    typeof(UserServiceModule),
    typeof(LoggingServiceModule)
);

Best Practices

Module Design

1. Single Responsibility: Each module should have a single, well-defined purpose
2. Separation of Concerns: Keep service configuration separate from middleware configuration
3. Clear Boundaries: Define clear boundaries between modules
4. Minimal Dependencies: Keep inter-module dependencies to a minimum

Module Implementation

1. Service Modules: Use IServiceModule for dependency injection configuration
2. Middleware Modules: Use IMiddlewareModule for request pipeline configuration
3. Explicit Ordering: Use the middleware pipeline builder for explicit middleware ordering
4. Dependencies: Use constructor injection for module dependencies
5. Error Handling: Implement proper error handling within modules

Testing

1. Module Isolation: Test modules in isolation
2. Integration Testing: Test module interactions
3. Mock Dependencies: Use mocks for external dependencies

Examples

Check out the examples in the Zooper.Squid/Examples folder for comprehensive examples including:

• Service and middleware module separation
• Authentication service and middleware modules
• Development tools modules
• Explicit middleware pipeline configuration
• Module usage patterns

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Related Projects

• Zooper.Octopus - Hexagonal Architecture implementation
• Zooper.Bee - Fluent workflow framework
• Zooper.Fox - Functional programming primitives