Build an app with ASPNET Core and Angular from scratch

Description

Course Overview

Learning frontend and backend development separately is one thing. Understanding how to connect a modern frontend framework with a powerful backend API and turn both into a complete production-style application is another.

Build an App with ASP.NET Core and Angular from Scratch by Neil Cummings is designed around exactly that goal. Rather than teaching ASP.NET Core and Angular as disconnected technologies, the course brings them together through a complete application-development project.

The course follows the creation of a dating application, beginning with the ASP.NET Core Web API and Angular frontend and progressively adding authentication, routing, database persistence, photo uploads, filtering, messaging, real-time functionality, and deployment.

What You Will Learn

The course covers a broad range of full-stack development concepts, including:

• ASP.NET Core Web API
• C#
• Angular
• Entity Framework Core
• Database migrations
• SQL database persistence
• REST APIs
• Dependency injection
• Authentication
• JWT tokens
• Authorization
• Angular routing
• Route protection
• Angular forms
• Reactive forms
• Form validation
• AutoMapper
• Error handling
• Photo uploads
• Cloud image storage
• Filtering
• Sorting
• Pagination
• User profiles
• Likes
• Private messaging
• SignalR
• Real-time notifications
• Real-time presence
• Tailwind CSS
• DaisyUI
• Azure deployment

This combination makes the course considerably more comprehensive than a basic Angular or ASP.NET tutorial.

1. Building the ASP.NET Core Web API

The course starts by creating the backend API.

Students learn how to create an ASP.NET Core project using the .NET CLI and configure the development environment.

The initial API provides the foundation for everything that follows.

This section introduces concepts such as:

• ASP.NET Core project structure
• Controllers
• API endpoints
• Entity classes
• Dependency injection
• Asynchronous programming
• API responses

Learning these concepts through a real application makes them easier to understand than studying isolated code snippets.

2. Entity Framework Core

Database interaction is a major part of any real-world application.

The course introduces Entity Framework Core and demonstrates how it can be used to work with application data.

Students learn about:

• Entities
• DbContext
• Database configuration
• Migrations
• Database creation
• Data persistence
• Queries

The course starts by creating entity classes and then connects them to the database through Entity Framework Core.

This provides a practical introduction to the ORM approach commonly used in .NET applications.

3. Creating the Angular Frontend

Once the API foundation is established, the course moves to Angular.

Students create the Angular application using the Angular CLI and learn how the frontend project is organized.

The frontend is then connected to the ASP.NET Core API.

This creates the basic architecture:

Angular Frontend → HTTP Requests → ASP.NET Core API → Entity Framework Core → Database

Understanding this communication flow is one of the most important outcomes of the course.

4. Connecting Angular to ASP.NET Core

A major strength of the course is that students don’t learn Angular and ASP.NET Core independently.

They learn how the two technologies communicate.

The course demonstrates:

• HTTP requests
• API calls
• CORS configuration
• Retrieving data
• Displaying API data in Angular
• Handling frontend/backend communication

This is particularly valuable for developers preparing for full-stack .NET positions.

5. Authentication with JWT

Authentication is one of the most important features in a modern web application.

The course introduces authentication using JWT tokens.

Students learn how the backend handles authentication and how the Angular application manages the user’s authenticated state.

The process involves:

Login → Credentials → API → JWT Token → Angular → Authenticated Requests

This provides practical experience with a widely used authentication architecture.

6. Angular Login and Registration

The frontend includes user registration and login functionality.

Students learn how to build forms for authentication and connect them to the ASP.NET Core API.

This gives practical experience with:

• Login forms
• Registration forms
• Form validation
• API requests
• Authentication state
• Protected resources

The authentication implementation becomes a foundation for later features such as messaging and user profiles.

7. Angular Routing

Routing is essential for building a multi-page experience within a single-page Angular application.

The course teaches Angular routing and demonstrates how to create different views within the application.

Students work with concepts such as:

• Routes
• Navigation
• Route parameters
• Protected routes
• Route guards

Securing routes is especially important because authenticated users should not automatically have access to every part of an application.

8. Building the User Interface

The course uses modern styling tools to build a visually appealing application.

The current curriculum includes Tailwind CSS and DaisyUI, which allow developers to create responsive interfaces without writing every visual component from scratch.

This provides a useful introduction to utility-first CSS and reusable UI components.

The UI work also makes the project feel more like a real application rather than a collection of backend demonstrations.

9. Creating User Profiles

Because the project is a dating application, user profiles form an important part of the application.

Students work with user information and build interfaces for displaying profile data.

This provides practical experience with:

• Profile pages
• User data
• API integration
• Angular components
• Database entities
• Updating resources

The project gives learners an opportunity to see how data moves from the database all the way to the user interface.

10. Photo Upload Functionality

Photo management is another major feature.

The course demonstrates how users can upload photos and how the application can integrate with a cloud platform for storing images.

This includes a drag-and-drop style photo-upload experience.

Learning file uploads is valuable because image handling is common in:

• Social applications
• E-commerce
• Profile systems
• Content platforms
• Business applications

The course specifically highlights cloud-based photo storage as one of its learning objectives.

11. Reactive Forms and Validation

Forms become increasingly important as the application grows.

The course covers Angular reactive forms and validation.

Students learn how to create forms that are:

• Structured
• Validated
• Connected to API endpoints
• User-friendly
• Easier to maintain

Validation is particularly important in full-stack applications because data should be validated appropriately on both the frontend and backend.

12. Filtering, Sorting, and Pagination

Real-world applications often deal with more data than can comfortably be displayed on a single page.

The course therefore introduces:

• Filtering
• Sorting
• Pagination

These features provide practical experience with querying and presenting data efficiently.

For developers working on business applications, directories, marketplaces, dashboards, or social platforms, these concepts are highly reusable.

13. AutoMapper

The course also introduces AutoMapper.

AutoMapper can help map data between different object models, such as database entities and API-facing models.

This is useful for keeping the API architecture cleaner and avoiding unnecessary exposure of internal database structures.

Students therefore get exposure to a common .NET development tool used in applications with layered architectures.

14. Error Handling

Errors can occur on both the backend and frontend.

The course demonstrates how to handle errors in the API and Angular application.

This includes understanding how errors should be:

• Generated
• Returned
• Captured
• Displayed
• Managed consistently

Error handling is often overlooked in beginner tutorials, so its inclusion adds practical value to the course.

15. Likes Feature

The dating application includes a likes feature.

This gives students an opportunity to implement relationships and user interactions.

A feature like this requires coordination between:

• Angular UI
• API endpoints
• Authentication
• Database operations

This is a good example of how seemingly simple functionality can involve multiple layers of a full-stack application.

16. Private Messaging

Private messaging is one of the more advanced features of the project.

Students build functionality that allows users to communicate with each other.

This introduces concepts related to:

• Message entities
• Conversations
• User relationships
• API endpoints
• Angular interfaces
• Real-time communication

Adding messaging transforms the application from a simple CRUD project into something closer to a real social platform.

17. SignalR and Real-Time Communication

The course introduces SignalR for real-time functionality.

SignalR allows the server to communicate with connected clients without requiring traditional repeated polling.

The course uses it for functionality such as:

• Real-time messaging
• User presence
• Notifications

This is an especially valuable skill for .NET developers because SignalR is a major technology for implementing real-time communication in ASP.NET Core applications.

The current course description explicitly highlights real-time notifications and presence using SignalR.

18. ASP.NET Identity

The course also explores ASP.NET Identity.

Identity provides infrastructure for managing users and authentication-related functionality.

Students can gain a better understanding of:

• Users
• Roles
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Security-related application infrastructure

This complements the JWT authentication material and provides a stronger understanding of authentication in ASP.NET Core applications.

19. Unit of Work and Application Architecture

Toward the later part of the course, students encounter architectural concepts such as the Unit of Work pattern.

The purpose is to help structure the application’s data-access and business logic more cleanly.

This is particularly useful for learners who want to progress beyond simple controller-based API development.

Understanding software architecture becomes increasingly important as applications grow.

20. Publishing the Application

One of the strongest practical elements of the course is that it doesn’t stop at local development.

Students learn how to publish the application to Azure.

This introduces the deployment stage of the development lifecycle:

Development → Testing → Build → Deployment → Production

Knowing how to deploy a full-stack application is an important skill for developers who want to move from tutorials to professional development.

The Main Project: Dating Application

The dating application is the central project throughout the course.

It includes functionality such as:

• User registration
• Login
• Authentication
• Profiles
• Photos
• Likes
• Messaging
• Filtering
• Sorting
• Pagination
• Notifications
• Real-time presence

This makes it a particularly effective project because it requires many different technologies to work together.

The course description confirms that the application is built completely from scratch using the .NET CLI and Angular CLI.

Why the Project-Based Approach Works

One of the biggest problems with learning full-stack development is that tutorials often teach technologies separately.

You might finish one ASP.NET Core course and one Angular course but still not know how to connect the two.

This course addresses that gap.

Students repeatedly work through the complete development cycle:

Database → ASP.NET Core → API → Angular Service → Component → User Interface

This provides a much clearer understanding of how a modern full-stack application works.

Course Structure

The main curriculum contains 20 sections, including:

1. Introduction
2. Building a Walking Skeleton – API
3. Building a Walking Skeleton – Angular
4. Authentication Basics
5. Client Login and Registration
6. Routing
7. Error Handling
8. Extending the API
9. Building the User Interface
10. Updating Resources
11. Photo Upload
12. Reactive Forms
13. Paging, Sorting and Filtering
14. Adding Likes
15. Messaging
16. ASP.NET Identity
17. SignalR
18. Unit of Work and Finishing Touches
19. Publishing
20. Legacy Version of the Course

The inclusion of legacy material can also help developers understand how the project evolved across earlier versions of .NET and Angular.

Who Should Take This Course?

1. ASP.NET Core Developers

If you already know the basics of ASP.NET Core and want to learn how to integrate it with Angular, this course is an excellent fit.

2. Angular Developers

Angular developers who want to understand how to build a .NET backend for their applications can benefit significantly.

3. Full-Stack .NET Developers

The course is particularly suitable for developers who want practical experience across both frontend and backend technologies.

4. C# Developers

C# developers interested in web development can use the course to learn how ASP.NET Core APIs connect with a modern JavaScript framework.

5. Developers Who Learn by Building

If you prefer writing code and building features instead of watching long theoretical lectures, this course is particularly attractive.

The instructor describes the course as more than 90% coding along with the project.

Who Should Not Take This Course?

The course isn’t ideal for someone who has never programmed before.

The listed prerequisites include basic experience with ASP.NET Core and Angular.

If you’re completely new to programming, it would be better to learn:

• Basic C#
• Basic HTML and CSS
• JavaScript/TypeScript fundamentals
• ASP.NET Core fundamentals
• Angular fundamentals

before starting this course.

It is better viewed as a practical full-stack project course than a zero-to-programming course.

Prerequisites

Before starting, you should ideally understand:

Backend

• Basic C#
• Classes and objects
• ASP.NET Core fundamentals
• REST APIs
• Basic database concepts

Frontend

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript or TypeScript
• Angular fundamentals
• Components
• Services

You don’t need to be an advanced developer.

The important thing is to have enough foundation to understand what the instructor is building.

Pros of Build an App with ASP.NET Core and Angular

Excellent Real-World Project

The dating application contains many features that resemble real commercial applications.

Strong Full-Stack Integration

The course teaches ASP.NET Core and Angular together rather than treating them as isolated technologies.

Extensive Hands-On Coding

The project-based approach encourages students to write code throughout the course.

Authentication and Authorization

JWT authentication, identity, and protected routes provide useful security-related experience.

Real-Time Features

SignalR and messaging make the project more advanced than a basic CRUD application.

Database Experience

Entity Framework Core gives students practical experience with persistence and migrations.

Deployment

Learning to publish the application to Azure adds valuable real-world experience.

Modern UI Technologies

Tailwind CSS and DaisyUI provide exposure to contemporary frontend styling workflows.

Is This Course Good for Beginners?

It depends on the type of beginner.

For a beginner to full-stack ASP.NET Core and Angular development, the course can be very effective.

For a beginner to programming, it is not the best starting point.

You should first learn the basics of C#, web development, ASP.NET Core, and Angular.

Once you understand those fundamentals, this course can show you how to combine them into a complete application.

Is the Course Up to Date?

The course has undergone several technology updates over its lifetime.

The current Udemy page indicates that it has been updated and includes material for modern .NET and Angular versions. The page currently highlights .NET 9 and Angular 20, while the learning objectives also reference .NET 8 and Angular 18, reflecting the course’s evolution across versions.

This is a positive sign because ASP.NET Core and Angular are both rapidly evolving ecosystems.

The course also retains legacy sections, which can be useful when working with older projects.

Career Value

The technologies taught in this course can be relevant to several software-development roles.

Potential career paths include:

• ASP.NET Core Developer
• .NET Developer
• Angular Developer
• Full-Stack .NET Developer
• C# Developer
• Full-Stack Web Developer
• Software Engineer
• Web Application Developer

The combination of C# + ASP.NET Core + Angular + SQL + Entity Framework Core can be particularly useful in enterprise software environments.

Adding SignalR, authentication, cloud deployment, and API development further strengthens the practical skill set.

What Should You Build After Completing the Course?

After completing the dating application, don’t immediately move to another tutorial.

Instead, create an independent project using the same architecture.

1. Employee Management System

Build:

• Employee profiles
• Departments
• Roles
• Authentication
• Search
• Filtering
• Reporting

2. Job Portal

Create:

• Job listings
• Candidate accounts
• Employer accounts
• Applications
• Messaging
• Notifications

3. Learning Management System

Build:

• Courses
• Students
• Instructors
• Enrollments
• Progress tracking
• Authentication
• Dashboards

4. Business Directory

Create a directory with:

• Businesses
• Categories
• Search
• Filtering
• Reviews
• User accounts
• Photo uploads

5. Project Management System

Implement:

• Projects
• Tasks
• Users
• Roles
• Comments
• Notifications
• Real-time updates

These projects will help you demonstrate that you understand the architecture rather than simply reproducing the course project.

Summary

Build an App with ASP.NET Core and Angular from Scratch is a strong choice for developers who want to learn how to build a complete full-stack web application using Microsoft’s ASP.NET Core ecosystem and Angular.

Its biggest strength is its project-based approach. Instead of teaching technologies independently, the course shows how the database, backend API, authentication system, Angular frontend, real-time communication, and cloud deployment work together.

The dating application is particularly effective as a teaching project because it contains features found in many real-world applications: authentication, profiles, photo uploads, search, filtering, likes, private messaging, notifications, and real-time presence.

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