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BaseApiSettings

Namespace: RA.Utilities.Integrations.Options

The BaseApiSettings<T> class serves as a standardized and reusable abstract base class for creating strongly-typed configuration objects for external API integrations.

It's a foundational component designed to work with the .NET configuration and options patterns, where it would typically be populated from a section in appsettings.json.

Here's a breakdown of its key purposes and design features:​

1. Enforces a Standard Contract:​

By implementing the IIntegrationSettings interface, it guarantees that any concrete settings class inheriting from it will have a consistent set of essential properties required to configure an HttpClient, such as BaseUrl, Timeout, and MediaType. This allows your integration helpers and HttpClientHandler to work with any integration in a generic way.

2. Promotes Strongly-Typed Endpoints:​

The generic parameter T for the Actions property is a standout feature. It allows you to define a dedicated class containing the specific endpoint paths for an API. This is a significant improvement over using "magic strings" for URLs throughout your codebase, as it provides:

  • IntelliSense and Autocompletion.
  • Compile-time checking against typos.
  • A single, clear location for all of an API's endpoints.

3. Provides Built-in Validation:​

The class uses Data Annotations like [Required], [Url], and [Range]. When these settings are bound from configuration at application startup, the .NET Options validation system can automatically check them. This ensures that the application will fail fast with a clear error if the configuration is missing or invalid, preventing potential runtime errors.

4. Reduces Boilerplate Code:​

It provides sensible defaults for common settings like Timeout, MediaType, and Encoding. This means developers creating a new settings class for a specific API only need to define what's unique to that integration, inheriting all the common functionality.

Properties​

This class serves as a foundational configuration model for setting up HttpClient instances for various API integrations.

PropertyTypeDescriptionDefault Value
BaseUrlUriThe base address for the API. This is a required property and must be a valid URL.null
ActionsTA container object holding the strongly-typed endpoint paths for the specific API. This is a required property.null
UseProxyboolA flag indicating whether requests should be sent through a configured proxy.false
TimeoutdoubleThe request timeout in seconds. The value must be between 1 and 600.200
MediaTypestringThe default Content-Type header value for requests (e.g., for POST/PUT bodies)."application/json"
EncodingstringThe default character encoding for request content."utf-8"

In essence, BaseApiSettings<T> is the cornerstone of your RA.Utilities.Integrations package. It establishes a robust, consistent, and developer-friendly pattern for managing the configuration of all external API clients.