Ok, so I can't seem to find decent Windows Azure examples. I have a simple hello world application that's based on this tutorial. I want to have custom output instead of JSON or XML. So I created my interface like:
[ServiceContract]
public interface IService
{
[OperationContract]
[WebInvoke(UriTemplate = "session/create", Method = "POST")]
string createSession();
}
public class MyService : IService
{
public string createSession()
{
// get access to POST data here: user, pass
string sessionid = Session.Create(user, pass);
return "sessionid=" + sessionid;
}
}
For the life of me, I can't seem to figure out how to access the POST data. Please help. Thanks!
If you have an HttpContext there may be a Request object that would have the form data. I'm basing part of this off the ASP.Net tag on this question, so if that is incorrect then there may be the need to handle this another way but it looks a lot like a web service to my mind.
EDIT: HttpRequest is the class that has the Form property that should be where the POST data is stored if this is an HTTP request. This is part of System.Web so it should be ready to be used pretty easily, as I recall.
Sample code showing the Request.Form property:
int loop1;
NameValueCollection coll;
//Load Form variables into NameValueCollection variable.
coll=Request.Form;
// Get names of all forms into a string array.
String[] arr1 = coll.AllKeys;
for (loop1 = 0; loop1 < arr1.Length; loop1++)
{
Response.Write("Form: " + arr1[loop1] + "<br>");
}
This presumed there was an HttpRequest instance around.
WCF Simplified Part 4: Comparing the Request/Reply and One-Way Patterns passes in a parameter so that your "createSession" method would have to take in those strings it would appear. I'm used to the ASP.Net world where there are some built-in objects like Request, Response, Server, Application and Session.
Yes, if you did try changing the method signature as there are ways to pass in parameters in that last example I linked though I don't know if that would work in your case or not.
Related
How do you properly create a Web API POST of complex object or multiple parameters using Angular2?
I have a service component in Angular2 as seen below:
public signin(inputEmail: string, inputPassword: string): Observable<Response> {
return this.http.post('/api/account/signin', JSON.stringify({ Email: inputEmail, Password: inputPassword}), this.options);
}
The targeted web api is seen below:
[HttpPost]
[Route("signin")]
public async Task<IActionResult> Signin(string email, string password)
{
....
}
This does not work because I need to convert the parameters of the web api into a single POCO class entity with Email and Password properties and put the [FromBody] attribute: Signin([FromBody] Credential credential)
Without using [FromURI] (POST requests with query strings?), how can I make POSTs of multiple parameters or complex objects without converting these parameters into a single POCO class?
Because what if I have numerous Web API POST actions with parameters like (string sensitiveInfo1, string name, int sensitiveInfo2) or (ClassifiedInfo info, string sensitiveInfo1, string sensitiveInfo2), do I need to convert them all to POCO classes and always use [FromBody]?
PS.
I was using RestangularJS before and it can posts anything (mulitple primitive objects and complex objects) without my Web API actions having [FromBody] attributes. Will about to investigate how RestangularJS do it.
Without using [FromURI] (POST requests with query strings?), how can I make POSTs of multiple parameters or complex objects without converting these parameters into a single POCO class?
I know its not what you want to hear but out of the box this is not possible. It is not a limitation of the browser code that is making the request. This means it does not matter if you are using Angular, JQuery, straight JavaScript, or even RestangularJS. This is a limitation (I use that word loosely as I am sure this is by design) of Web API (any version). Here is the documentation on this design: Parameter Binding in ASP.NET Web API by Mike Wasson.
At most one parameter is allowed to read from the message body. So this will not work:
// Caution: Will not work!
public HttpResponseMessage Post([FromBody] int id, [FromBody] string name) { ... }
So the question becomes, what are your options?
Create a model
This is the thing you were trying to avoid but I list it first because this is how Web API was intended to behave. I have not yet heard a compelling reason not to do this. This approach allows you to extend your model easily without having to change the method signature. It also allows for model validation on the model itself. Personally I really like this approach.
public class SignInModel{
public string Email {get;set;}
public string Password {get;set;}
}
[HttpPost]
[Route("signin")]
public async Task<IActionResult> Signin(SignInModel signInModel)
{
// ....
}
I did not repeat your existing JavaScript code because what you have works as is with the above web api code
URL
Again, what you were trying to avoid. This does make what you want possible with the limitation that you have to pass these parameters using the Query string on the URL. The JavaScript would change but the signature you had on the Web API method would not.
public signin(inputEmail: string, inputPassword: string): Observable<Response> {
return this.http.post('/api/account/signin/?email=inputEmail&password=inputPassword', null, this.options);
}
I did not repeat your existing Web API code because what you have works as is with the above web JavaScript code (by default FromUri is assumed I believe)
Custom Model Binder
See Passing multiple POST parameters to Web API Controller Methods by Rick Strahl. This option allows you to create a custom model binder that could do what you are asking. It is a whole bunch of extra code though for, IMHO, not much benefit. Maybe there are situations where it would be useful although I really cannot think of any off the top of my head.
Dynamic
Finally you could also pass in a dynamic object as the parameter of your Web API. This is essentially the same as receiving the JSON as a string and making your Controller code responsible for the deserialization of content. Again, I believe that this would make your code worse in most situations as you have to implement custom validation and type checks. This answer was proposed previously on SO by Bes Ley. Again, maybe there are situations where it would be useful although I really cannot think of any off the top of my head.
If you call Web API 2.2 post method from Angular 2 type script, dont forget to add following header content and parameter object.
let headers = new Headers({ 'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded' });
var params = new URLSearchParams();
params.set('userid', '102');
params.set('username', 'foo');
return this._http.post('http://localhost:6579/api/PostUser', params.toString(), { headers: headers }).map(res => res.json());
Perhaps you should post with options:
{
headers: new Headers({
'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'
})
}
and encode data like
jQuery.param({user:'bla', password: 'bla'});
WebAPI does not provide this out of the box. If you try to get understanding of web API bindings, you might be able to figure out why.
I think this article might help.
The generic rules are:
– simple, string-convertible parameters (value types, strings, Guids, DateTimes and so on) are by default read from URI
– complex types are by default read from the body
– collections of simple parameters are by default read from the body too
– you cannot compose a single model based on input from both URI and request body, it has to be one or the other
I have fixed the issue of Angular2 HTTP Post ASP.NET MVC Web API
let headers = new Headers();
headers.append('Content-Type', 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=utf-8');
let params: URLSearchParams = new URLSearchParams();
params.set('value', '2');
let options = new RequestOptions({
headers: headers//,
//search: params
});
let content = new URLSearchParams();
content.set('StudentName', 'Inderjit Singh';
content.set('Mobile', '+919041165398');
content.set('Nationality', 'Indian');
content.set('AdmissionNo', '6');
content.set('SectionCode', '1');
content.set('Gender', 'Male');
content.set('RegNo', '18585');
content.set('ClassCode', '1');
this.http.post('YOUR_URL', content.toString(), { headers: headers }).map((res: Response) => { console.log("data is==>" + res.text()); }).subscribe();
WebApi will be able to deserialize your Credential object provided the JSON object has the same field names (I am not sure about case so you may be right here). You seem to be missing the headers from the post call in your Angular2 component.
Can you check the Content-Type using Chrome Debugger or Fiddler? It should be application/json.
Try this, passing a complex class object into a single data parameter.
var SearchQuery = function () {
this.Alphabet = null;
this.Search = false;
this.Keyword = null;
this.RegionList = null;
};
var para = new SearchQuery();
{ data: JSON.stringify(para) } - Post Data
you can receive it using a JObject in your API controller and deserialize it as according to your classes.
How does one send a templated Postmark message on ASP.NET? I'd imagine it would be done in this way:
TemplatedPostmarkMessage message = new TemplatedPostmarkMessage
{
From = "demo#demo.com",
To = "someone#else.com",
TemplateId = 1738,
TemplateModel = some_passed_in_model
};
The question now arises, what exactly is TemplateModel? From the API on Postmark's site, it seems like a JSON object, but in the definition from the DLL, it's as follows:
public object TemplateModel { get; set; }
I tried creating my own object with variable names that correspond to those on the Postmark template, however that does not work (it just sends a blank template). Postmark also does not have any documentation on how to use TemplatedPostmarkMessage in ASP.NET yet.
We send a dictionary of <string, object>, I believe you can use more complex models but a dictionary will get the job done.
I have a webforms project, and am attempting to run some code that allows me to make a call to an MVC route and then render the result within the body of the web forms page.
There are a couple of HttpResponse/Request/Context wrappers which I use to execute a call to an MVC route, e.g.:
private static string RenderInternal(string path)
{
var responseWriter = new StringWriter();
var mvcResponse = new MvcPlayerHttpResponseWrapper(responseWriter, PageRenderer.CurrentPageId);
var mvcRequest = new MvcPlayerHttpRequestWrapper(Request, path);
var mvcContext = new MvcPlayerHttpContextWrapper(Context, mvcResponse, mvcRequest);
lock (HttpContext.Current)
{
new MvcHttpHandlerWrapper().PublicProcessRequest(mvcContext);
}
...
The code works fine for executing simple MVC routes, for e.g. "/Home/Index". But I can't specify any query string parameters (e.g. "/Home/Index?foo=bar") as they simply get ignored. I have tried to set the QueryString directly within the RequestWrapper instance, like so:
public class MvcPlayerHttpRequestWrapper : HttpRequestWrapper
{
private readonly string _path;
private readonly NameValueCollection query = new NameValueCollection();
public MvcPlayerHttpRequestWrapper(HttpRequest httpRequest, string path)
: base(httpRequest)
{
var parts = path.Split('?');
if (parts.Length > 1)
{
query = ExtractQueryString(parts[1]);
}
_path = parts[0];
}
public override string Path
{
get
{
return _path;
}
}
public override NameValueCollection QueryString
{
get
{
return query;
}
}
...
When debugging I can see the correct values are in the "request.QueryString", but the values never get bound to the method parameter.
Does anyone know how QueryString values are used and bound from an http request to an MVC controller action?
It seems like the handling of the QueryString value is more complex than I anticipated. I have a limited knowledge of the internals of the MVC Request pipeline.
I have been trying to research the internals myself and will continue to do so. If I find anything I will update this post appropriately.
I have also created a very simple web forms project containing only the code needed to produce this problem and have shared it via dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vi6erzw24813zq1/StackMvcGetQuestion.zip
The project simply contains one Default.aspx page, a Controller, and the MvcWrapper class used to render out the result of an MVC path. If you look at the Default.aspx.cs you will see a route path containing a querystring parameter is passed in, but it never binds against the parameter on the action.
As a quick reference, here are some extracts from that web project.
The controller:
public class HomeController : Controller
{
public ActionResult Index(string foo)
{
return Content(string.Format("<p>foo = {0}</p>", foo));
}
}
The Default.aspx page:
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
string path = "/Home/Index?foo=baz";
divMvcOutput.InnerHtml = MvcWrapper.MvcPlayerFunctions.Render(path);
}
I have been struggling with this for quite a while now, so would appreciate any advice in any form. :)
MVC framework will try to fill the values of the parameters of the action method from the query string (and other available data such as posted form fields, etc.), that part you got right. The part you missed is that it does so by matching the name of the parameter with the value names passed in. So if you have a method MyMethod in Controller MyController with the signature:
public ActionResult MyMethod(string Path)
{
//Some code goes here
}
The query string (or one of the other sources of variables) must contain a variable named "Path" for the framework to be able to detect it. The query string should be /MyController/MyMethod?Path=Baz
Ok. This was a long debugging session :) and this will be a long response, so bear with me :)
First how MVC works. When you call an action method with input parameters, the framework will call a class called "DefaultModelBinder" that will try and provide a value for each basic type (int, long, etc.) and instance of complex types (objects). This model binder will depend on something called the ValueProvider collection to look for variable names in query string, submitted forms, etc. One of the ValueProviders that interests us the most is the QueryStringValueProvider. As you can guess, it gets the variables defined in the query string. Deep inside the framework, this class calls HttpContext.Current to retrieve the values of the query string instead of relying on the ones being passed to it. In your setup this is causing it to see the original request with localhost:xxxx/Default.aspx as the underlying request causing it to see an empty query string. In fact inside the Action method (Bar in your case) you can get the value this.QueryString["variable"] and it will have the right value.
I modified the Player.cs file to use a web client to make a call to an MVC application running in a separate copy of VS and it worked perfectly. So I suggest you run your mvc application separately and call into it and it should work fine.
I have the following web service:
[ScriptService]
public class Handler : WebService {
[WebMethod]
public void method1() {
string json = "{ \"success\": true }";
System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Response.Write(json);
}
[WebMethod]
public object method2(Dictionary<string, object> d) {
Dictionary<string, object> response = new Dictionary<string, object>();
response.Add("success", true);
return response;
}
}
The first method accepts a traditional html form post and response writes a JSON string to the page. The second method accepts a JSON value posted via AJAX and returns a serialized object.
Both these methods work fine on their own but when put together in the same web service I get this error when calling method1:
System.IndexOutOfRangeException: Index was outside the bounds of the array.
When I remove the arguments from method2 they work.
Can anyone suggest why this is happening?
Edit:
The problem spans from the argument type of method2. If I change it to a string or simple data type it works fine. As Joel suggests it's probably because Dictionaries can't be serialized. This doesn't seem to affect my requests sent by ajax and only breaks direct form posts to this handler. Therefore my workaround is to put the form post handlers in a separate file by themselves. Not ideal but works for my application.
Dictionaries are not serializable. Hiding it behind an object doesn't do anything for you. You must first convert your dictionary to an array or some other serializable object before sending it out.
Why isn't there an XML-serializable dictionary in .NET?
http://weblogs.asp.net/pwelter34/archive/2006/05/03/444961.aspx
http://www.tanguay.info/web/index.php?pg=codeExamples&id=333
Does anyone know of examples which show how to encrypt a dataset at the client side and send it over to a web service and have it decrypted there?
Another question:
What i need to do is a send hundreds of rows of data from a client to a web service and have the web service update the database with these records. I can't think of any other way to do this without using a dataset. Is there a better method?
Thanks in advance!
As far as the encryption is concerned, why try to reinvent the wheel? Just connect to the webservice over SSL - it'll most likely be much safer than a homegrown alternative.
I would probably create a custom struct/object and send an array of those to the webservice rather than a DataSet. It will mean (slightly) less network traffic; it will make the webservice's WSDL more descriptive; and it will make it easier for any non-Microsoft apps to talk to the webservice, if that becomes necessary in the future.
EDIT: An example...
At the server-side you can declare a custom type (eg, ExampleUser), and then setup your method to accept an array of that type instead of a DataSet:
[WebService(Namespace="http://example.yourdomain.com/ExampleWebService/")]
public class ExampleWebService : System.Web.Services.WebService
{
// this is your custom type
public class ExampleUser
{
public int UserID { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public DateTime DateOfBirth { get; set; }
}
// this is your method
// accepts an array of ExampleUser rather than a DataSet
[WebMethod]
public void UploadUsers(ExampleUser[] usersArray)
{
// do something...
}
}
In the client application you would add a reference to the webservice. This will enable you to use the ExampleUser type declared in the server-side code above.
You could then just convert your DataSet to an array of ExampleUser objects before sending it to the webservice:
// get the number of rows in the DataTable
int rowCount = yourDataSet.Tables[0].Rows.Count;
// create an array of ExampleUser with the correct capacity
ExampleWebService.ExampleUser[] usersArray =
new ExampleWebService.ExampleUser[rowCount];
// iterate through each row in the table
for (int i = 0; i < rowCount; i++)
{
DataRow dr = yourDataSet.Tables[0].Rows[i];
// create an ExampleUser object and populate it from the DataRow columns
ExampleWebService.ExampleUser eu = new ExampleWebService.ExampleUser();
eu.UserID = (int)dr["User_ID"];
eu.Name = (string)dr["Name"];
eu.DateOfBirth = (DateTime)dr["Date_Of_Birth"];
// add the ExampleUser object to the array
usersArray[i] = eu;
}
// the array is populated so let's call the webservice
ExampleWebService.UploadUsers(usersArray);
EDIT: Another example...
If you're using .NET 3.5 then you can get the client-side down to just a few lines of code by using LINQ and object initialisers to create your array:
// create and populate the array
ExampleWebService.ExampleUser[] usersArray =
yourDataSet.Tables[0].AsEnumerable().Select
(
s => new ExampleWebService.ExampleUser()
{
UserID = (int)s["User_ID"],
Name = (string)s["Name"],
DateOfBirth = (DateTime)s["Date_Of_Birth"]
}
).ToArray();
// the array is populated so let's call the webservice
ExampleWebService.UploadUsers(usersArray);
Well, there are a lot of approaches to this. Since you are sending this over the wire, you could: 1) Write the data to an XML stream (this is very much what the DataSet is meant to do) then 2) you could compress the XML (the compression ratio would be best at this stage) then 3) Encrypt using one of the .NET cryptographic schemes and finally 4) decrypt, unzip, and deserialize your XML into a DataSet object or whatever you want to do with it.
Note, you might need to Base64 the result of the encryption. Another alternative is to not encrypt and use the Web Service over SSL and just use that native encryption. Depending on the type of data a DataSet may not be the best choice in terms of performance. You could send a CSV or JSON style data block; this would potentially be smaller, especially if there is only one "DataTable" object in your DataSet. A lot of this is situation dependent as far as what the best method do use is.