Layer Overview

By default, data access flows through the next three layers:

JsonApiController (required)
  JsonApiResourceService : IResourceService
     EntityFrameworkCoreRepository : IResourceRepository

Aside from these pluggable endpoint-oriented layers, we provide a resource-oriented extensibility point:

JsonApiResourceDefinition : IResourceDefinition

Resource definition callbacks are invoked from the built-in resource service/repository layers, as well as from the serializer. For example, IResourceDefinition.OnSerialize is invoked whenever a resource is sent back to the client, irrespective of the endpoint. Likewise, IResourceDefinition.OnSetToOneRelationshipAsync is called from a patch-resource-with-relationships endpoint, as well as from patch-relationship.

Customization can be done at any of these extensibility points. It is usually sufficient to place your business logic in a resource definition, but depending on your needs, you may want to replace other parts by deriving from the built-in classes and override virtual methods or call their protected base methods.

Replacing injected services

Replacing built-in services is done on a per-resource basis and can be done at startup. For convenience, extension methods are provided to register layers on all their implemented interfaces.

// Program.cs
builder.Services.AddResourceService<ProductService>();
builder.Services.AddResourceRepository<ProductRepository>();
builder.Services.AddResourceDefinition<ProductDefinition>();

builder.Services.AddScoped<IResourceFactory, CustomResourceFactory>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<IResponseModelAdapter, CustomResponseModelAdapter>();

Tip

If you're using auto-discovery, then resource services, repositories and resource definitions will be automatically registered for you.