Understanding OData
One of the most common uses of a web service is to expose a database to clients that do not understand how to work directly with the native database. Another common use is to provide a simplified or abstracted API that exposes an authenticated interface to a subset of the data to control access.
In Chapter 2, Managing Relational Data Using SQL Server, you learned how to create an EF Core model to expose an SQL Server database to any .NET project. But what about non-.NET projects? I know it’s crazy to imagine, but not every developer uses .NET!
Luckily, all development platforms support HTTP, so all development platforms can call web services, and ASP.NET Core has a package for making that easy and powerful using a standard named OData.
Understanding the OData standard
OData (Open Data Protocol) is an ISO/IEC-approved, OASIS standard that defines a set of best practices for building and consuming RESTful APIs. Microsoft created it in 2007...
