What is Dev Time Orchestration in .NET Aspire?

Summary

In this video, David Felder, a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft, introduces Dev Time Orchestration with Aspire, a tool that simplifies the creation of applications composed of multiple resources. He demonstrates building a distributed application with a frontend, backend API, and cache using Aspire's APIs, showcasing how it abstracts away complex configurations and allows developers to link resources effortlessly. The video also highlights Aspire's capabilities to integrate various resources, including pre-built libraries and executables, emphasizing the ease of using C# and .NET to model applications without the need for YAML or other configuration formats.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ David Felder, a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft, introduces Dep Time Orchestration as a feature of the Aspire platform.
• 🔗 Aspire provides APIs for creating applications composed of multiple resources, simplifying the development of distributed applications.
• 📚 The script demonstrates building an application with three resources: two projects and a cache, using Aspire's dev time orchestration APIs.
• 🖥️ The process involves using Visual Studio to manage the application's projects, including the Aspire app host, API service, and front-end web project.
• 🔄 DistributedApplicationBuilder is utilized to build the application, starting by adding references to the web front end and backend projects.
• 🔗 The script shows how to link the front end to the backend API using the 'with reference' method, abstracting away port and configuration details.
• 💾 A cache is added to the application, demonstrating the integration of services like Redis, which runs in a container.
• 🔍 Aspire abstracts the complexity of managing resources, allowing developers to link objects without dealing with low-level configurations.
• 🌐 The script shows the application running with the cache in a Docker container and the API and web front end running locally, all orchestrated by Aspire.
• 🛑 Aspire is not limited to built-in resources; it can also incorporate external containers, executables, and services.
• 📚 Aspire comes with a rich library of pre-built packages for various services, including databases and cloud services, which can be easily added to projects.
• 💻 One of the key advantages of Aspire is the ability to use C# and .NET to model applications, eliminating the need for YAML or other configuration formats.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the Aspire tool mentioned in the script?

Aspire provides APIs for creating applications composed of multiple resources, allowing developers to build, run, and orchestrate distributed applications more efficiently.

Who is David Felder, as mentioned in the script?

David Felder is a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft, who is explaining the use of Aspire in the provided script.

What does the term 'dev time orchestration' refer to in the context of the script?

Dev time orchestration refers to the process of managing and coordinating the development of applications made up of multiple resources using the Aspire tool.

How many resources are in the application example provided by David Felder?

The application example consists of three resources: two projects (a frontend Blazer application and a backend API service) and a cache.

What is the role of the 'distributed application builder' in the Aspire tool?

The distributed application builder in Aspire is used to build applications by linking objects together via 'with reference', abstracting away the need for manual port configurations.

How does Aspire handle backend API references for the frontend project?

Aspire allows developers to declare a variable that stores the backend reference and use the 'reference' method to link the API service from the web frontend, enabling calls to the API service without manual configuration.

What does Aspire abstract away from developers when building applications?

Aspire abstracts away the notion of ports and manual configurations, simplifying the process of building applications by linking objects and resources.

Can Aspire be used with resources outside of the Aspire ecosystem?

Yes, Aspire is not limited to internal resources; it can integrate with external resources such as Redis, containers, and executables that can be pulled down to the machine.

What is the significance of the 'Aspire catalog of libraries' mentioned in the script?

The Aspire catalog of libraries provides a rich set of pre-built resource packages that come with Aspire, including support for various databases, messaging queues, and cloud services, enhancing the development experience.

How does Aspire differ from other development tools in terms of application modeling?

Aspire allows developers to use C# and .NET to model applications, avoiding the need for YAML or other configuration formats, thus leveraging the power of C# for application development.

What is the benefit of using Aspire for local development as shown in the script?

Aspire can orchestrate all parts of an application to run on the local machine in containers or as projects, providing a single view of the application's endpoints and simplifying the development process.