How do I make calls to a REST api using c#?

Question

This is the code I have so far:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Web;
using System.Net;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleProgram
{
    public class Class1
    {
        private const string URL = "https://sub.domain.com/objects.json?api_key=123";
        private const string DATA = @"{""object"":{""name"":""Name""}}";

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Class1.CreateObject();
        }

        private static void CreateObject()
        {
            HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(URL);
            request.Method = "POST";
            request.ContentType = "application/json"; 
            request.ContentLength = DATA.Length;
            StreamWriter requestWriter = new StreamWriter(request.GetRequestStream(), System.Text.Encoding.ASCII);
            requestWriter.Write(DATA);
            requestWriter.Close();

             try {
                WebResponse webResponse = request.GetResponse();
                Stream webStream = webResponse.GetResponseStream();
                StreamReader responseReader = new StreamReader(webStream);
                string response = responseReader.ReadToEnd();
                Console.Out.WriteLine(response);
                responseReader.Close();
            } catch (Exception e) {
                Console.Out.WriteLine("-----------------");
                Console.Out.WriteLine(e.Message);
            }

        }
    }
}

The problem is that I think the exception block is being triggered (because when I remove the try-catch, I get a server error (500) message. But I don't see the Console.Out lines I put in the catch block.

My Console:

The thread 'vshost.NotifyLoad' (0x1a20) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The thread '<No Name>' (0x1988) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The thread 'vshost.LoadReference' (0x1710) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
'ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe' (Managed (v4.0.30319)): Loaded 'c:\users\l. preston sego iii\documents\visual studio 11\Projects\ConsoleApplication1\ConsoleApplication1\bin\Debug\ConsoleApplication1.exe', Symbols loaded.
'ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe' (Managed (v4.0.30319)): Loaded 'C:\Windows\Microsoft.Net\assembly\GAC_MSIL\System.Configuration\v4.0_4.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a\System.Configuration.dll', Skipped loading symbols. Module is optimized and the debugger option 'Just My Code' is enabled.
A first chance exception of type 'System.Net.WebException' occurred in System.dll
The thread 'vshost.RunParkingWindow' (0x184c) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The thread '<No Name>' (0x1810) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The program '[2780] ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe: Program Trace' has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The program '[2780] ConsoleApplication1.vshost.exe: Managed (v4.0.30319)' has exited with code 0 (0x0).

I'm using Visual Studio 2011 Beta, and .NET 4.5 Beta.

Answer 1

first step is create the helper class for the http client.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Net.Http.Headers;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

namespace callApi.Helpers
{
    public class CallApi
    {
        private readonly Uri BaseUrlUri;
        private HttpClient client = new HttpClient();

        public CallApi(string baseUrl)
        {
            BaseUrlUri = new Uri(baseUrl);
            client.BaseAddress = BaseUrlUri;
            client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Clear();
            client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Add(
                new MediaTypeWithQualityHeaderValue("application/json"));

        }

        public HttpClient getClient()
        {
            return client;
        }

        public HttpClient getClientWithBearer(string token)
        {
            client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", token);
            return client;
        }

    }
}

Then you can use this class in your code.

this is an example of how you call the rest api without bearer using the above class.

// GET api/values
[HttpGet]
public async Task<ActionResult<string>> postNoBearerAsync(string email, string password,string baseUrl, string action)
{
    var request = new LoginRequest
    {
        email = email,
        password = password
    };

    var callApi = new CallApi(baseUrl);
    var client = callApi.getClient();
    HttpResponseMessage response = await client.PostAsJsonAsync(action, request);
    if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
        return Ok(await response.Content.ReadAsAsync<string>());
    else
        return NotFound();
}

this an example of how you can call the rest api that require bearer.

// GET api/values
[HttpGet]
public async Task<ActionResult<string>> getUseBearerAsync(string token, string baseUrl, string action)
{
    var callApi = new CallApi(baseUrl);
    var client = callApi.getClient();
    client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", token);
    HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync(action);
    if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
    {
        return Ok(await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync());

    }
    else
        return NotFound();
}

you can also refer to below repo if you want to see the working example of how it work.

https://github.com/mokh223/callApi

Answer 2

The ASP.Net Web API has replaced the WCF Web API previously mentioned.

I thought I'd post an updated answer since most of these responses are from early 2012, and this thread is one of the top results when doing a Google search for "call restful service c#".

Current guidance from Microsoft is to use the Microsoft ASP.NET Web API Client Libraries to consume a RESTful service. This is available as a NuGet package, Microsoft.AspNet.WebApi.Client. You will need to add this NuGet package to your solution.

Here's how your example would look when implemented using the ASP.Net Web API Client Library:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Net.Http.Headers; 

namespace ConsoleProgram
{
    public class DataObject
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }
    }

    public class Class1
    {
        private const string URL = "https://sub.domain.com/objects.json";
        private string urlParameters = "?api_key=123";

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            HttpClient client = new HttpClient();
            client.BaseAddress = new Uri(URL);

            // Add an Accept header for JSON format.
            client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Add(
            new MediaTypeWithQualityHeaderValue("application/json"));

            // List data response.
            HttpResponseMessage response = client.GetAsync(urlParameters).Result;  // Blocking call! Program will wait here until a response is received or a timeout occurs.
            if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
            {
                // Parse the response body.
                var dataObjects = response.Content.ReadAsAsync<IEnumerable<DataObject>>().Result;  //Make sure to add a reference to System.Net.Http.Formatting.dll
                foreach (var d in dataObjects)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("{0}", d.Name);
                }
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("{0} ({1})", (int)response.StatusCode, response.ReasonPhrase);
            }

            //Make any other calls using HttpClient here.

            //Dispose once all HttpClient calls are complete. This is not necessary if the containing object will be disposed of; for example in this case the HttpClient instance will be disposed automatically when the application terminates so the following call is superfluous.
            client.Dispose();
        }
    }
}

If you plan on making multiple requests, you should re-use your HttpClient instance. See this question and its answers for more details on why a using statement was not used on the HttpClient instance in this case: Do HttpClient and HttpClientHandler have to be disposed?

For more details, including other examples, go here: http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/web-api-clients/calling-a-web-api-from-a-net-client

This blog post may also be useful: http://johnnycode.com/2012/02/23/consuming-your-own-asp-net-web-api-rest-service/

Answer 3

My suggestion would be to use RestSharp. You can make calls to REST services and have them cast into POCO objects with very little boilerplate code to actually have to parse through the response. This will not solve your particular error, but answers your overall question of how to make calls to REST services. Having to change your code to use it should pay off in the ease of use and robustness moving forward. That is just my 2 cents though

Answer 4

Since you are using Visual Studio 11 Beta you will want to use the latest and greatest. The new Web Api contains classes for this.

See HttpClient: http://wcf.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=WCF%20HTTP

Answer 5

Update for calling a REST API when using .NET 4.5 or .NET Core

I would suggest DalSoft.RestClient (caveat I created it). The reason being because it uses dynamic typing you can wrap everything up in one fluent call including serialization/de-serialization. Below is a working PUT example:

dynamic client = new RestClient("http://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com");

var post = new Post { title = "foo", body = "bar", userId = 10 };

var result = await client.Posts(1).Put(post);

Answer 6

Unrelated, I'm sure, but do wrap your IDisposable objects in using blocks to ensure proper disposal:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System;
using System.Web;
using System.Net;
using System.IO;

namespace ConsoleProgram
{
    public class Class1
    {
        private const string URL = "https://sub.domain.com/objects.json?api_key=123";
        private const string DATA = @"{""object"":{""name"":""Name""}}";

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Class1.CreateObject();
        }

        private static void CreateObject()
        {
            HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(URL);
            request.Method = "POST";
            request.ContentType = "application/json";
            request.ContentLength = DATA.Length;
            using (Stream webStream = request.GetRequestStream())
            using (StreamWriter requestWriter = new StreamWriter(webStream, System.Text.Encoding.ASCII))
            {
                requestWriter.Write(DATA);
            }

            try
            {
                WebResponse webResponse = request.GetResponse();
                using (Stream webStream = webResponse.GetResponseStream() ?? Stream.Null)
                using (StreamReader responseReader = new StreamReader(webStream))
                {
                    string response = responseReader.ReadToEnd();
                    Console.Out.WriteLine(response);
                }
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.Out.WriteLine("-----------------");
                Console.Out.WriteLine(e.Message);
            }

        }
    }
}