Project structure overview - (.NET Core Tutorial)

When you create a new .NET Core application, it can be overwhelming to look at the project structure for the first time. In this tutorial, we will provide a brief overview of the .NET Core project structure and explain the important files and directories that you will encounter.

Project structure

The root directory

The root directory of the .NET Core project typically contains the following files:

• .gitignore: This file is used to determine which files and directories should not be tracked by Git.
• Readme.md: This file contains a brief description of the project and its purpose.
• myproject.csproj: This file (or fsproj for F# projects) is the project file for the .NET Core project. It specifies the build configuration for the project and includes information about the project dependencies, build targets, and output paths.

Source code directory

The source code directory is where you will typically store the source code for your application. This directory may contain several subdirectories such as:

• Controllers: This directory contains the controller classes for your application, which are responsible for handling user requests and returning appropriate responses.

• Models: This directory contains the model classes for your application, which represent the data objects used in your application.

• Views: This directory contains the view files for your application, which define how data is presented to the user.

Configuration directory

The configuration directory contains files that configure the behavior of your application. This directory may contain files such as:

• appsettings.json: This file contains configuration settings for your application, such as database connection strings, API keys, and other settings that your application needs to run.

• Startup.cs: This file contains the startup configuration for your application, including middleware components and which services to register with the dependency injection container.

Test directory

The test directory contains the unit tests for your application. This directory may contain several subdirectories such as:

• UnitTests: This directory contains the unit test classes for your application. These tests are typically run automatically to ensure that your code is functioning as intended.

Summary

In this tutorial, we provided a brief overview of the .NET Core project structure. We explained the important directories and files that you will encounter when creating a new .NET Core application, including the root directory, source code directory, configuration directory, and test directory. By understanding the project structure of a .NET Core application, you can more easily navigate and work on your codebase.