🎬 DotNetMovieApi

A production-style .NET backend demonstrating REST + GraphQL parity, PostgreSQL-driven query logic, and clean architecture using Minimal APIs and Dapper.

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🎥 Architecture Walkthrough

🎬 GRAPHQL Demo

🔍 Query

🔍 Mutation

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🎬 REST Demo

🔍 Fetch Movies

✨ Create Movie

✏️ Update Movie

🩹 Patch Movie

🗑️ Delete Movie

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⭐ Key Concept

This project demonstrates how REST and GraphQL can share the same repository layer and PostgreSQL functions, eliminating duplicated business logic while supporting multiple API paradigms.

“Different clients have different needs — the backend should adapt to them.”

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🏗️ Platform Architecture

This repository is the .NET / C# implementation of a multi-stack movie platform that shares a common PostgreSQL function layer with the Node.js API.

flowchart TD

subgraph UI["🎨 Frontend Layer"]
  ReactUI["React Movie Dashboard<br/>Filtering • CRUD • API Toggle"]
end

subgraph API["⚙️ API Layer"]
  DotNetAPI["DotNetMovieApi<br/>.NET Minimal APIs • C#<br/>REST + GraphQL"]
  NodeAPI["NodeMovieApi<br/>TypeScript • Express<br/>REST + GraphQL"]
end

subgraph DATA["🐘 Data Platform Layer"]
  Functions["PostgreSQL Function Layer<br/>Filtering • Paging • Sorting • CRUD"]
  Tables["Relational Model<br/>movies • genres • movie_genres"]
end

ReactUI --> DotNetAPI
DotNetAPI --> Functions
Functions --> Tables

ReactUI -. Alternative implementation .-> NodeAPI
NodeAPI -. Shares same data layer .-> Functions

classDef frontend fill:#e0f2fe,stroke:#0284c7,stroke-width:2px,color:#0f172a;
classDef primaryApi fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a,stroke-width:3px,color:#0f172a;
classDef secondaryApi fill:#f3f4f6,stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:1px,color:#374151;
classDef data fill:#ede9fe,stroke:#7c3aed,stroke-width:2px,color:#0f172a;

class ReactUI frontend;
class DotNetAPI primaryApi;
class NodeAPI secondaryApi;
class Functions,Tables data;

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🔄 Request Lifecycle

sequenceDiagram
    participant UI as React Dashboard
    participant API as DotNetMovieApi
    participant Repo as Repository Layer
    participant PG as PostgreSQL Functions

    UI->>API: REST or GraphQL request

    alt REST
        API->>API: Minimal API endpoint
    else GraphQL
        API->>API: GraphQL resolver
    end

    API->>Repo: Shared repository call

    Repo->>PG: Execute PostgreSQL function

    PG-->>Repo: Query results

    Repo-->>API: Typed response

    API-->>UI: JSON / GraphQL response

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⚙️ Tech Stack

• .NET 10
• C#
• ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs
• Dapper
• PostgreSQL (Npgsql)
• Hot Chocolate GraphQL
• Swagger / Swashbuckle

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⚡ Why Minimal APIs

This project uses ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs instead of traditional MVC controllers.

Minimal APIs help:

• reduce framework ceremony
• keep endpoint registration lightweight
• simplify routing configuration
• improve readability for focused APIs
• make endpoint composition easier to organize

The architecture still maintains separation of concerns through repository abstractions, service registration extensions, middleware organization, and PostgreSQL-backed query layers.

🚀 Capabilities

• REST and GraphQL endpoints over a shared repository layer
• Advanced filtering, sorting, and pagination powered by PostgreSQL functions
• Partial updates via GraphQL using JSONB patching
• Centralized logging, correlation IDs, and error handling
• Swagger UI for API exploration

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🧠 Why This Project Exists

Modern applications often need to support multiple API paradigms while sharing the same underlying business and query logic.

This project was built to demonstrate how ASP.NET Core Minimal APIs and GraphQL can coexist over a shared PostgreSQL-driven repository layer without duplicating filtering, paging, or CRUD workflows.

The goal was to showcase:

• reusable backend architecture
• centralized data access patterns
• API flexibility
• scalable query systems
• production-minded .NET application design

Rather than implementing separate business logic for REST and GraphQL, both interfaces share the same repository and PostgreSQL function layer, keeping the system predictable, maintainable, and easier to evolve.

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📡 API Overview

REST

• GET /movies
• GET /movies/{id}
• POST /movies
• PUT /movies/{id}
• PATCH /movies/{id}
• DELETE /movies/{id}
• GET /genres
• GET /genres/{id}
• GET /health

👉 Swagger UI: http://localhost:5000/swagger

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GraphQL

• GET /graphql
• POST /graphql

Example Query

query {
  movies(filters: { search: "avatar", searchMode: "general", page: 1, pageSize: 10 }) {
    items {
      id
      movieName
      releaseDate
      genres
    }
    totalCount
    totalPages
  }
}

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🛠️ Running Locally

Requirements

• .NET 10 SDK
• PostgreSQL

Setup

dotnet restore
dotnet build
dotnet run

💡 Project Highlights

• Demonstrates REST + GraphQL parity over a shared repository layer
• Uses PostgreSQL functions to centralize filtering, paging, and CRUD workflows
• Shows Minimal API architecture patterns with clean endpoint organization
• Supports reusable query logic across multiple backend implementations
• Designed with production-minded concerns including logging, correlation IDs, and error handling

🧠 Production-Minded Engineering

This project emphasizes:

• centralized query logic
• reusable repository patterns
• API consistency across REST and GraphQL
• scalable filtering and pagination
• PostgreSQL-backed business logic
• separation of concerns
• predictable endpoint behavior
• maintainable Minimal API organization

The architecture is intentionally designed so backend implementations can evolve independently while the underlying data platform remains stable.

📁 Project Structure

src/
├── Endpoints/        # REST endpoint mappings
├── GraphQL/          # GraphQL schema and resolvers
├── Repositories/     # Shared data access layer
├── Middleware/       # Logging and error handling
├── Models/           # DTOs and domain types
├── Infrastructure/   # PostgreSQL + Dapper integration
├── Extensions/       # Service and middleware registration
└── Program.cs        # App entry point

🔗 Related Projects

🖥 Movie-UI-Dashboard

React + TypeScript frontend application showcasing REST and GraphQL integration, advanced filtering, pagination, sorting, and reusable UI architecture. Project

🐘 Postgres Movie Platform

Centralized PostgreSQL data platform featuring Dockerized infrastructure, overloaded SQL functions, reusable query architecture, and shared business logic powering multiple APIs and applications. Project

⚡ NodeMovieApi

Node.js + TypeScript API implementation using Express and GraphQL Yoga, demonstrating reusable backend architecture and centralized data access patterns. Project

🧠 DevAssist-AI

Production-minded Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) application using OpenAI embeddings, semantic retrieval, and centralized AI orchestration workflows. Project

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📬 Contact

• 💼 LinkedIn
• ▶️ YouTube
• 🌐 Portfolio
• 📧 Email: stevenwickers@gmail.com

👨‍💻 Author

Steven Wickers Senior Frontend Engineer

React • TypeScript • Node.js • C# • PostgreSQL • Cloud