1. Integrating REST API and SQL Server JSON Functions
Sam Nasr, MCSA, MVP
NIS Technologies
July 28, 2018

2. About Me Software Developer since 1995
Sam Nasr
Software Developer since 1995
Sr. Software Engineer (NIS Technologies)
Certifications: MCSA, MCAD, MCT, MCTS
President - Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group
President - .Net Study Group
Author for Visual Studio Magazine
Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (since 2013)

3. General Info Down the hall (right side) Participation is encouraged
Please mute cell phones

4. Cleveland C#/VB.Net User Group
Meets every month
Free of charge , open to the public
All topics related to .Net
Meeting info:

6. JSON JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
Name/Value pair syntax for storing/exchanging data
JSON data is Text written in JavaScript object notation
Lightweight data-interchange format
Self-describing and easy to understand
Language independent
Native JavaScript Objects
JSON.Parse(): converts string into JSON
JSON.Stringify(): converts JSON into string

7. JSON Sample Data { "firstName": "John", "lastName": "Smith",
"address":
"streetAddress": "21 2nd Street",
"city": "New York",
"state": "NY",
"postalCode": " " },
"phoneNumbers": [
"type": "home",
"number": " "
"type": "office",
"number": " " } ],
"children": [],
"spouse": null

8. SQL Server JSON Functions
JSON_VALUE: extract scalar value
JSON_QUERY: extract object or array
JSON_MODIFY: Updates property value in JSON string
ISJSON: Returns 1 if valid JSON, else 0
OPENJSON: Transforms JSON into table with assumed columns
FOR JSON: Formats the result set as JSON
[PATH]: define output structure using column names/aliases.
[AUTO] automatically create nested sub arrays
FOR JSON PATH: Enables you to define the structure of output JSON using the column names/aliases.
If you put dot-separated names in the column aliases, JSON properties will follow the naming convention.
(Similar to FOR XML PATH where you can use slash separated paths.)
FOR JSON AUTO: Automatically create nested JSON sub arrays based on the table hierarchy used in the query (similar to FOR XML AUTO)

9. SQL Server JSON Use Cases
Simplification of complex data models (denormalize)
REST API for SPA
Retail/E-commerce
Log and telemetry data analysis
Storing semi-structured IoT data
Fully supported in 2016 and later

10. Demo
JSON Functions

11. Visual Studio Project Setup
Used .Net Core 2.1 API template
No HTTPS, No authentication
SDK dependencies were resolved once built and packages downloaded
App ran with default setup
Install-Package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer
Install-Package Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools
Install-Package Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design

12. Demo
Web API

13. Gotchas
Using .Net Core 2.0 caused alot of problems because of every package install defaulted to 2.1.
Reference issues shown until first build
Ensure App template runs with default setup
JSON_MODIFY does NOT update record in DB, only the JSON returned.

14. Recap

15. Contact Info
@SamNasr Thank you for attending!