Swagger API Test UI for easing PoC development

Background

Developing PoCs (Proof of Concepts) or samples to prove some approach or technology is suitable for our project is some every software engineer does as part of their job. Also if something goes wrong with existing systems in production we often create a sample to isolate and reproduce the problem to analyze further. If the role is of Architect, they have to involve more into these research kind of activities. Please note that create these PoCs are slightly different from prototyping as prototype is more towards visualizing the concept in the initial time only.

The goal of PoC if it is to troubleshoot an issue is to create it to the closest way possible to mimic the actual application in trouble. If the issue is production the time will be limited to create app from scratch. When we say closest it should be closest in terms of the technology, threading model, security etc...

Problem

If it is windows application of console applications, it is easy to develop a PoC and run the same way the original application runs. Even if original application is triggered in the context of a different user configured from windows task scheduler or similar, we can still mimic it. But most of the applications are web apps now a days. If we want to reproduce an issue of Web App, it would be difficult if we create a windows console app unless we run the console application using the same service account of app pool which runs the web app. But still the threading model and all will be different. If we want to develop the PoC as web application, it may take some more time than a simple console application which adds delay.

One possible solution

So the best way is to develop WebAPI and host it using the same app pool of original application. Provided there are permissions to host. Suppose we have permissions to host, the next thing is the easiness to test using WebAPI alone. If we have to develop UI for that it would take more time. So what is the solution?

Swashbuckle

Enter Swashbuckle after the long introduction which help us to render UI for the available WebAPI methods. This helps us to test the WebAPIs from a simple UI dynamically generated by it.

Since there are so many links out there which explains how to use it, lets follow the DRY principle. Links below on how to setup Swashbuckle into the WebAPI.

https://github.com/domaindrivendev/Swashbuckle
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/tutorials/web-api-help-pages-using-swagger
http://wmpratt.com/swagger-and-asp-net-web-api-part-1/
https://elanderson.net/2017/10/swagger-and-swashbuckle-with-asp-net-core-2/

There would be so many different views on solving the original problem of creating PoCs. Feel free to comment your technique of rapidly creating PoCs to mimic the real application.