Wikidata Explorer

A clean, layered ASP.NET Core Web API for querying and exposing Wikipedia data, following best practices for configuration, separation of concerns, and maintainability.

Project Structure

• Configuration & Settings
  • appsettings.json: Centralized configuration (API endpoints, etc.)
  • Settings/WikipediaApiSettings.cs: Strongly-typed settings class
• Data Models & DTOs
  • Models/WikipediaModels.cs: Raw models matching Wikipedia API responses
  • DTOs/: Clean, public-facing data transfer objects (DTOs)
• Service Layer
  • Services/IWikipediaService.cs: Service interface (business logic contract)
  • Services/WikipediaService.cs: Implementation (fetches, transforms, and returns data)
• Controller Layer
  • Controllers/WikipediaController.cs: Thin API controller exposing endpoints
• Entry Point
  • Program.cs: Configures DI, settings, middleware, and starts the app

How It Works

1. Configuration: All external values (like Wikipedia API URLs) are stored in appsettings.json and mapped to a POCO for type safety.
2. Models & DTOs: Models mirror the raw Wikipedia API; DTOs are what your API returns to clients.
3. Service Layer: Handles all business logic, HTTP calls, and data transformation. Exposes simple async methods.
4. Controller: Receives HTTP requests, validates input, and delegates to the service layer. No business logic here.
5. Startup: Program.cs wires everything together, registers services, and configures middleware.

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository
2. Configure your settings
   • Edit appsettings.json with your Wikipedia API endpoints or credentials if needed.
3. Build and run
   • Using the .NET CLI:

     dotnet build
     dotnet run --project wikidata_explorer.sln

   • Or use the provided VS Code tasks (build, watch, publish).
4. Explore the API
   • Swagger UI is available at /swagger when running locally.

Example API Endpoints

• GET /api/wikipedia/search?query=... — Search Wikipedia articles
• GET /api/wikipedia/pages — List available Wikipedia page endpoints

Best Practices Followed

• All configuration is externalized and strongly typed
• Models and DTOs are clearly separated
• Business logic is isolated in services
• Controllers are thin and focused
• Dependency Injection is used throughout
• Global exception handling is configured

Contributing

1. Fork the repo and create your branch
2. Make your changes (keep layers clean and follow the blueprint)
3. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License