Zongsoft Framework

English documentation for the Zongsoft framework, hosts, and toolchain.

Zongsoft documentation cover

Zongsoft is a collection of open-source frameworks, hosts, and development tools for .NET. It helps teams build business applications that are extensible through plugins, straightforward to deploy, and maintainable.

The documentation covers:

Framework

Core abstractions, the plugin framework, the data engine, Web fundamentals, security, diagnostics, messaging, automatic upgrades, and adapters for common third-party services.

Hosts and Tools

Hosts run plugin-based applications. The toolchain deploys plugins, builds installation packages, publishes upgrade packages, and supports development and debugging.

Quick Navigation

Understand the overall design

Build the big picture starting from the boundaries of the framework, host, and toolchain.

Prepare Your Local Environment

Prepare the SDK, source repositories, directories, and optional containers.

Understand Plugin-Based Applications

Explore the plugin tree, builtins, service registration, and host integration.

Learn data access

Read and write object graphs using data schemas, mapping files, and drivers.

Reading Path

If you are new to Zongsoft, follow this reading path:

1. Start with What Is Zongsoft? to understand the overall scope.

2. Read Plugin Architecture to understand why business capabilities are organized as plugins.

3. Follow Prerequisites and Install Packages to prepare your local environment.

4. Choose a Host, complete a minimal deployment, and write your first business plugin.

5. Continue with the framework guides, choosing the core library, plugin framework, data engine, Web fundamentals, or other topics as needed.

These guides follow the process of building a plugin-based application. For package names, source paths, and module relationships, see the Package and Module Index.

Explore by Need

• To define module boundaries, design extension contracts, or evolve an existing system, read the Plugin Design Essays.

• To understand hosts, modules, services, and providers, read Core Concepts and Service Resolution.

• For business data and HTTP APIs, start with your first query, continue to Data Services, and then add Web Controllers.

• For asynchronous work and external infrastructure, read Message Delivery Concepts, Task Scheduling, and the Extension Index.

• For model calls, observability, or application delivery, explore AI Integration, Diagnostics, and the Upgrade Workflow.

Verbatim source excerpts retain their original comments and literal values, including Chinese text, so they can be checked against the linked source. Page explanations and navigation are translated into English.