ConflictResponse

Namespace: RA.Utilities.Api.Results

The ConflictResponse class is a specialized model for creating standardized 409 Conflict responses. It is used when a request cannot be completed because it conflicts with the current state of a resource, such as attempting to create a resource that already exists. It inherits from Response<T>, with the Result property typed as a ConflictResult object.

🎯 Purpose

The ConflictResponse class is a specialized model for creating standardized 409 Conflict API responses. It inherits from the base Response<T> class and is used to signal that a request could not be completed because it conflicts with the current state of a resource. The most common use case is attempting to create a resource that already exists (e.g., registering a user with an email that is already in use).

Here are its primary functions:

1. Standardizes Conflict Errors: It provides a consistent structure for all 409 Conflict errors, ensuring clients receive a predictable response format.

2. Reduces Boilerplate: It automatically sets the response properties for a conflict scenario:

• ResponseCode: Set to 409 (from BaseResponseCode.Conflict).
• ResponseType: Set to ResponseType.Conflict.
• ResponseMessage: Generates a clear, dynamic message like "User with value 'test@example.com' already exists.".

3. Provides Structured Context: The response payload is a ConflictResult object, which contains two important pieces of information:

• Entity: The type of resource causing the conflict (e.g., "User").
• Value: The specific value that caused the conflict (e.g., "test@example.com").

This structured information allows clients to provide specific and helpful feedback to the user, such as "This email address is already taken."

ConflictResult

Represents the result of a conflict, typically indicating that an entity with the given name and value already exists.

Property	Type	Description
Entity	string	The type of resource causing the conflict (e.g., "User").
Entity	object	The specific value that caused the conflict (e.g., "test@example.com").

⚙️ How It Works

When you create an instance of ConflictResponse, it pre-configures the following properties:

• ResponseCode: Set to 409 (from BaseResponseCode.Conflict).
• ResponseType: Set to ResponseType.Conflict.
• ResponseMessage: A dynamically generated message, such as "User with value 'test@example.com' already exists.".
• Result: A ConflictResult object containing the Entity name and conflicting Value.

🚀 Usage in a Controller

You can use this class in your controller actions when an operation violates a uniqueness constraint, such as trying to create a user with an email that is already registered.

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
using RA.Utilities.Api.Results;

[ApiController]
[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class UsersController : ControllerBase
{
    [HttpPost]
    public IActionResult CreateUser(CreateUserRequest request)
    {
        if (_userService.EmailExists(request.Email))
        {
            // Return a 409 Conflict with structured details
            return Conflict(new ConflictResponse("User", request.Email));
        }

        var newUser = _userService.Create(request);
        return CreatedAtAction(nameof(GetUser), new { id = newUser.Id }, newUser);
    }
}

Example JSON Output

A POST request to /api/users with an email that already exists would produce the following JSON response body:

{
  "responseCode": 409,
  "responseType": "Conflict",
  "responseMessage": "User with value 'existing.user@example.com' already exists.",
  "result": {
    "entity": "User",
    "value": "existing.user@example.com"
  }
}