.NET API Documentation

Class System.Net.WebRequest

Namespace: System.Net

Assembly: System (in System.dll)

Methods

Properties

Example

// C# Example
using System;
using System.Net;
using System.IO;

public class WebRequestExample
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        try
        {
            // Create a request for the specified URL.
            WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create("https://www.example.com");

            // If required by the server, set the ContentLength property of the WebRequest.
            request.ContentLength = 4;

            // Set the Method property of the request to POST.
            request.Method = "POST";

            // You can optionally add headers here.
            // request.Headers.Add("Authorization", "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN");

            // Get the request stream.
            using (Stream dataStream = request.GetRequestStream())
            {
                // Write the data to be sent to the server.
                using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(dataStream))
                {
                    writer.Write("test");
                }
            }

            // Get the response.
            using (WebResponse response = request.GetResponse())
            {
                Console.WriteLine(((HttpWebResponse)response).StatusDescription);

                // Get the stream containing the response.
                using (Stream dataStream = response.GetResponseStream())
                {
                    // Read the stream.
                    using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(dataStream))
                    {
                        string responseFromServer = reader.ReadToEnd();
                        Console.WriteLine(responseFromServer);
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        catch (WebException ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("An error occurred: {0}", ex.Message);
        }
    }
}

Create(string requestUri)

Initializes a new instance of the WebRequest class with the specified URI.

This static method creates a new WebRequest object for the specified resource. The system determines the correct protocol handler and returns an instance of the appropriate derived class (e.g., HttpWebRequest for HTTP/HTTPS URIs).

Parameters

Return Value

A WebRequest object for the specified resource.

Create(Uri requestUri)

Initializes a new instance of the WebRequest class with the specified Uri object.

Similar to the string overload, this method provides flexibility by accepting a Uri object directly.

Parameters

Return Value

A WebRequest object for the specified resource.

Abort()

Aborts any pending asynchronous request.

Use this method to cancel an asynchronous network operation that is in progress.

Parameters

None

Return Value

None

GetResponse()

Sends the request to the server and waits for a response.

This method sends the request and blocks until a response is received. For asynchronous operations, use BeginGetResponse and EndGetResponse.

Parameters

None

Return Value

A WebResponse object containing the response from the server.

RequestUri

Gets the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) of the resource that is requested.

This property returns the URI that was passed to the Create method or set in the constructor.

Property Value

A Uri object representing the requested resource.

Method

Gets or sets the HTTP method to use for the request (e.g., GET, POST, PUT).

The default value is "GET". For HttpWebRequest, common values include "GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE", and "HEAD".

Property Value

string: The HTTP method to use for the request.

ContentLength

Gets or sets the content length of the data being sent to the server.

This property is important for requests that send data, such as POST requests. It indicates the size of the request body in bytes.

Property Value

long: The number of bytes to be sent to the server.

ContentType

Gets or sets the content type of the data being sent to the server.

This property is typically used for POST and PUT requests and specifies the MIME type of the data in the request body (e.g., "application/json", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded").

Property Value

string: The content type of the data being sent.