MVC WebApi HttpGet with complex object

Question

I have an existing WebApi action, that I want to switch from HttpPost to HttpGet. It currently takes a single complex object as parameter.

The model:

public class BarRequest
{
    [JsonProperty("catid")]
    public int CategoryId { get; set; }
}

The controller:

public class FooController : ApiController
{
    //[HttpPost]
    [HttpGet]
    [ActionName("bar")]
    public void Bar([FromUri] BarRequest request)
    {
        if (request != null)
        {
            // CategoryId should be 123, not 0
            Debug.WriteLine("Category ID :: {0}", request.CategoryId);
        }
    }
}

Now when I send the following request, everything works as expected.

GET /foo/bar?CategoryId=123

Also the old POST request worked as expected.

POST /foo/bar {"catid":123}

But now I need the following request to work:

GET /foo/bar?catid=123

How can I accomplish this?

Why not just use CategoryID to do this? Or why just not use CatID as the property name, or use CatID as the parameter to the method? — Brian Mains, Mar 25 '13 at 20:13
The real model has much more properties. Property naming can not be changed (naming guidelines on each side - server/c# and client/js). — Daniel Kuppitz, Mar 25 '13 at 20:39
Does this answer your question? [How to make GET request with a complex object?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50215288/how-to-make-get-request-with-a-complex-object) — Michael Freidgeim, Sep 03 '20 at 03:01
@MichaelFreidgeim - OP needs for the `CategoryId` property to be bound to `catid` so wouldn't [Changing the parameter name Web Api model binding](https://stackoverflow.com/q/26600275/3744182) be more closely related? — dbc, Sep 06 '20 at 15:44

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 26 '13 at 13:31

Thanks for suggestions, but the only solution that works for me, is the following.

Before:

var data = {
    catid: 123,
    // <snip>
};
var json = JSON.stringify(data);
$.post('/foo/bar', json, callback);

public class FooController : ApiController
{
    [HttpPost, ActionName("bar")]
    public void Bar(BarRequest request)
    {
        // use request.Category to process request
    }
}

After:

var data = {
    catid: 123,
    // <snip>
};
var json = JSON.stringify(data);
$.get('/foo/bar?data=' + encodeURIComponent(json), callback);

public class FooController : ApiController
{
    [HttpGet, ActionName("bar")]
    public void Bar(string data)
    {
        var request = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<BarRequest>(data);
        // use request.Category to process request
    }
}

This way I don't need to touch any model, validator, etc. on the client or server. Additionally every other solution required me to change the naming conventions on either the server or the client side.

Thank you, this is _exactly_ the answer I was looking for as I wanted to achieve the very same result. — staticboy, Apr 29 '13 at 11:05
Remember that with this approach you lost functionalities like attribute validations. — Max Bündchen, Jul 28 '16 at 17:00

Joan Caron · Answer 2 · 2013-03-26T10:34:27.633

2

you can do it by using datacontracts and datamember attribute:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms733127.aspx

[DataContract]
public class BarRequest{  

   [DataMember(Name="catid")]  
    public int CategoryId { get; set; }
}

if it's a Post method

but with get method this is an example of structure for complex objects :

api/Bar?request.CategoryId =1&request.AnotherProp=foo

edited Mar 26 '13 at 10:34

answered Mar 25 '13 at 22:44

Joan Caron

1,969
18
21

Tried it, but it's the same result as with JsonProperty; CategoryId is still 0 (default value). – Daniel Kuppitz Mar 25 '13 at 23:07
1

you apply this method : `JsonConvert.DeserializeObject(json);` ? – Joan Caron Mar 26 '13 at 08:02
What you mean? Should the client send the json via GET? – Daniel Kuppitz Mar 26 '13 at 10:06
json can be a post too its passed as a parameter in your controller – Joan Caron Mar 26 '13 at 10:07
Please read the initial question. I need to switch from POST to GET. – Daniel Kuppitz Mar 26 '13 at 10:11
okay your parameter must be an int named catid instead of BarRequest object – Joan Caron Mar 26 '13 at 10:15
I have more than this parameter. The example is just broken down to the root of all evil. What I not want is a method signature with 10+ parameters. – Daniel Kuppitz Mar 26 '13 at 10:21
@Joan this answer helped me, very useful. this is the best approach, the accepted answer would break Restful service rules. – radu florescu Sep 25 '13 at 06:51

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 28 '16 at 16:53

There is an extension method on URI in System.Net.Http.UriExtensions that will do exactly what you want: TryReadQueryAs<T>(out T model). You can get the URI from your request in an ApiController: Request.RequestUri. Here's what it will look like:

public class FooController : ApiController
{
    //[HttpPost]
    [HttpGet]
    [ActionName("bar")]
    public void Bar()
    {
        BarRequest request;
        if (Request.RequestUri.TryReadQueryAs(out model))
        {
            // CategoryId should be 123, not 0
            Debug.WriteLine("Category ID :: {0}", request.CategoryId);
        }
    }
}

This may only work if you specify a [DataContract] like Joan suggested.

Be aware however that an empty query string will parse, so if you used to do something different depending on whether data was POSTed or not, you will need to check the validity of your model. Hope you were doing that anyway though.

MVC WebApi HttpGet with complex object

3 Answers3

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