REST to Objects in C#
Date Published: 06 May 2010
RESTful interfaces for web services are all the rage for many Web 2.0 sites. If you want to consume these in a very simple fashion, LINQ to XML can do the job pretty easily in C#. If you go searching for help on this, you’ll find a lot of incomplete solutions and fairly large toolkits and frameworks (guess how I know this) – this quick article is meant to be a no fluff just stuff approach to making this work.
POCO Objects
Let’s assume you have a Model that you want to suck data into from a RESTful web service. Ideally this is a Plain Old CLR Object, meaning it isn’t infected with any persistence or serialization goop. It might look something like this:
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">class</span> Entry
{
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">int</span> Id;
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">int</span> UserId;
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> DateTime Date;
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">float</span> Hours;
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> Notes;
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">bool</span> Billable;
 
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">override</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> ToString()
{
<span style="color: #0000ff">return</span> String.Format(<span style="color: #006080">"[{0}] User: {1} Date: {2} Hours: {3} Notes: {4} Billable {5}"</span>, Id, UserId, Date, Hours,
Notes, Billable);
}
}Not that this isn’t a completely trivial object. Let’s look at the API for the service.
RESTful HTTP Service
In this case, it’s TickSpot’s API, with the following sample output:
<span style="color: #0000ff"><?</span><span style="color: #800000">xml</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">version</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="1.0"</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">encoding</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="UTF-8"</span>?<span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">entries</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="array"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">entry</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">id</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="integer"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>24<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">id</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">task_id</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="integer"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>14<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">task_id</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">user_id</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="integer"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>3<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">user_id</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">date</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="date"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>2008-03-08<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">date</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">hours</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="float"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>1.00<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">hours</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">notes</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>Had trouble with tribbles.<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">notes</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">billable</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>true<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">billable</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span> # Billable is an attribute inherited from the task
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">billed</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>true<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">billed</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span> # Billed is an attribute to track whether the entry has been invoiced
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">created_at</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="datetime"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:46:16 -0400<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">created_at</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">updated_at</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="datetime"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:46:16 -0400<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">updated_at</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
# The following attributes are derived and provided for informational purposes:
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">user_email</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>scotty@enterprise.com<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">user_email</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">task_name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>Remove converter assembly<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">task_name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">sum_hours</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="float"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>2.00<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">sum_hours</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">budget</span> <span style="color: #ff0000">type</span><span style="color: #0000ff">="float"</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>10.00<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">budget</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">project_name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>Realign dilithium crystals<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">project_name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"><</span><span style="color: #800000">client_name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>Starfleet Command<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">client_name</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">entry</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
<span style="color: #0000ff"></</span><span style="color: #800000">entries</span><span style="color: #0000ff">></span>
I’m assuming in this case that I don’t necessarily care about all of the data fields the service is returning – I just need some of them for my application’s purposes. Thus, you can see there are more elements in the
Get The XML with C#
The next step is to get the XML. The following snippet does the heavy lifting once you pass it the appropriate URL:
<span style="color: #0000ff">protected</span> XElement GetResponse(<span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> uri)
{
var request = WebRequest.Create(uri) <span style="color: #0000ff">as</span> HttpWebRequest;
request.UserAgent = <span style="color: #006080">".NET Sample"</span>;
request.KeepAlive = <span style="color: #0000ff">false</span>;
 
request.Timeout = 15 * 1000;
 
var response = request.GetResponse() <span style="color: #0000ff">as</span> HttpWebResponse;
 
<span style="color: #0000ff">if</span> (request.HaveResponse == <span style="color: #0000ff">true</span> && response != <span style="color: #0000ff">null</span>)
{
var reader = <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream());
<span style="color: #0000ff">return</span> XElement.Parse(reader.ReadToEnd());
}
<span style="color: #0000ff">throw</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> Exception(<span style="color: #006080">"Error fetching data."</span>);
}This is adapted from the Yahoo Developer article on Web Service REST calls. Once you have the XML, the last step is to get the data back as your POCO.
Use LINQ-To-XML to Deserialize POCOs from XML
This is done via the following code:
<span style="color: #0000ff">public</span> IEnumerable<Entry> List(DateTime startDate, DateTime endDate)
{
<span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> additionalParameters =
String.Format(<span style="color: #006080">"start_date={0}&end_date={1}"</span>,
startDate.ToShortDateString(),
endDate.ToShortDateString());
<span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> uri = BuildUrl(<span style="color: #006080">"entries"</span>, additionalParameters);
 
XElement elements = GetResponse(uri);
 
var entries = from e <span style="color: #0000ff">in</span> elements.Elements()
<span style="color: #0000ff">where</span> e.Name.LocalName == <span style="color: #006080">"entry"</span>
select <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> Entry
{
Id = <span style="color: #0000ff">int</span>.Parse(e.Element(<span style="color: #006080">"id"</span>).Value),
UserId = <span style="color: #0000ff">int</span>.Parse(e.Element(<span style="color: #006080">"user_id"</span>).Value),
Date = DateTime.Parse(e.Element(<span style="color: #006080">"date"</span>).Value),
Hours = <span style="color: #0000ff">float</span>.Parse(e.Element(<span style="color: #006080">"hours"</span>).Value),
Notes = e.Element(<span style="color: #006080">"notes"</span>).Value,
Billable = <span style="color: #0000ff">bool</span>.Parse(e.Element(<span style="color: #006080">"billable"</span>).Value)
};
<span style="color: #0000ff">return</span> entries;
}For completeness, here’s the Build Url method for my TickSpot API wrapper:
<span style="color: #008000">// Change these to your settings</span>
<span style="color: #0000ff">protected</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">const</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> projectDomain = <span style="color: #006080">"DOMAIN.tickspot.com"</span>;
<span style="color: #0000ff">private</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">const</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> authParams = <span style="color: #006080">"email=johndoe@domain.com&password=MyTickSpotPassword"</span>;
 
<span style="color: #0000ff">protected</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> BuildUrl(<span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> apiMethod, <span style="color: #0000ff">string</span> additionalParams)
{
<span style="color: #0000ff">if</span> (projectDomain.Contains(<span style="color: #006080">"DOMAIN"</span>))
{
<span style="color: #0000ff">throw</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> ApplicationException(<span style="color: #006080">"You must update your domain in ProjectRepository.cs."</span>);
}
<span style="color: #0000ff">if</span> (authParams.Contains(<span style="color: #006080">"MyTickSpotPassword"</span>))
{
<span style="color: #0000ff">throw</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">new</span> ApplicationException(<span style="color: #006080">"You must update your email and password in ProjectRepository.cs."</span>);
}
<span style="color: #0000ff">return</span> <span style="color: #0000ff">string</span>.Format(<span style="color: #006080">"https://{0}/api/{1}?{2}&{3}"</span>, projectDomain, apiMethod, authParams, additionalParams);
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About Ardalis
Software Architect
Steve is an experienced software architect and trainer, focusing on code quality and Domain-Driven Design with .NET.
