Await in async request webapi 2 client - c#

I am trying to understand await an async operation in asp.net MVC web api 2 client (console application). I believe I have done it wrong (due to lack of understanding await and async). It doesn't seem to run async. Here is code to understand the problem
//Main function
static void Main()
{
RunAsync().Wait();
}
//RunAsync
static async Task RunAsync()
{
using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
var apiUrl = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["apiurl"];
client.BaseAddress = new Uri(apiUrl);
....some code to fetch data
foreach (var updateObject in updatedata)
{
HttpResponse response = await client.PostAsJsonAsync("webapimethod", updateObject);
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
JArray content = await response.Content.ReadAsAsync<JArray>();
}
}
}
}
In the above code, foreach loop I am making request in loop as PostAsJsonAsync call and then I use ReadAsAsync to get response back but request always runs sync. not like fired and then when response arrives read the data.
It works fine but I want it to be async and not waiting on each request. How to achieve that or please explain await async in this context? Trying to read blogs and articles but I don't get how it will work.

The syntax you're probably looking for is this:
public async Task<JArray> GetContentAsync(... updateObject)
{
HttpResponse response = await client.PostAsJsonAsync("webapimethod", updateObject);
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
return await response.Content.ReadAsAsync<JArray>();
}
}
Here your thread from the GetContentAsync() method will be put back on the threadpool while the client.PostAsJsonAsync is happening due to the await keyword.
Then you can create all the tasks in your method which calls it:
var updateData = fetchData();
var tasks = updateData.Select(d => GetContentAsync(d));
var result = (await Task.WhenAll(tasks)).ToList();
The Select will create a task for each of your result.
The await Task.WhenAll will unwrap the Task<JArray> and create a List<JArray>

You have to move foreach out of RunAsync method.
To get RunAsync in a foreach loop to work in async mode, you have to create several tasks and then call Task.WaitAll

Related

Didn't get response from GetAsync API of HttpClient in MVC applications

I am facing an issue regarding not getting response from GetAsync API of HttpClient in MVC Applications(Target Framework - .Net Framework 4.7) whereas getting response in web services and console applications with same snippet. Here I have attached code snippet which I am trying to execute.
public void Get()
{
var response = Gettasks().Result;
}
public static async Task<HttpResponseMessage> GetTasks()
{
var response = new HttpResponseMessage();
try
{
using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
response = await client.GetAsync("https://www.google.com");
}
}
catch (Exception exception)
{
Console.WriteLine(exception.Message);
}
return response;
}
I am getting stuck on response = await client.GetAsync("https://www.google.com"); this line and not getting any response after executing this statement.
If anyone can please suggest solution for this or provide fix/solution which works for you.
You're seeing a deadlock because the code is blocking on an asynchronous method.
The best fix is to remove the blocking:
public async Task Get()
{
var response = await Gettasks();
}
This deadlock happens because await captures a context, and ASP.NET (pre-Core) has a context that only allows one thread at a time, and the code blocks a thread (.Result) in that context, which prevents GetTasks from completing.
Both the context and the blocking are necessary to see this kind of deadlock. In the other scenarios, there is no context, so that is why the deadlock does not occur. Since ASP.NET (pre-Core) has a context, the proper solution here is to remove the blocking.
Not sure whether you have tried following which is working for me.
using (HttpClient client = new HttpClient())
{
client.BaseAddress = new Uri(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("BaseAddress"));
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Clear();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Add(new MediaTypeWithQualityHeaderValue("application/json"));
var requestUri = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("Uri");
HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync(requestUri);
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
var data = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
}
}

Async method calling async method and awaiting another method (http client)

I have some problem with async method.
public async void MakePost()
{
var cookieArray = GetCookies().Result;
(...)
}
async public Task<string[]> GetCookies()
{
(...)
var response = await httpClient.SendAsync(request);
string cookieTempSession = response.Headers.ToString();
(...)
return cookieArray;
}
Nothing happening after var response = await httpClient.SendAsync(request); I put breakpoint in next line string cookieTempSession = response.Headers.ToString(); but it never reach it. I tried to "try catch" but also nothing happend. When I merge this two methods into one it works perfect but it's not so pretty. I just wondering what happened there.
Since the first method is async, you should use await instead of Result:
var cookieArray = await GetCookies();
If you are not programming front end, add ConfigureAwait(false) (why?) to the call, like this:
var cookieArray = await GetCookies().ConfigureAwait(false);
...
var response = await httpClient.SendAsync(request).ConfigureAwait(false);

Deadlock on .Result from Web UI

I was reading the following topic http://blog.stephencleary.com/2012/07/dont-block-on-async-code.html
and decided to write a common utility method in my library to do a GET on remote url via HTTPClient
public static async Task<T> GetAsync<T>(HttpGetObject getObject)
{
string baseUrl = getObject.BaseUrl;
string actionUrl = getObject.ActionRelativeUrl;
string acceptType = getObject.AcceptType;
using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
client.BaseAddress = new Uri(baseUrl);
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Clear();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Accept.Add(new MediaTypeWithQualityHeaderValue(acceptType));
AddCustomHeadersToHttpClient(client, getObject);
// HTTP GET
HttpResponseMessage httpResponseMessage = await client.GetAsync(actionUrl).ConfigureAwait(false);
if (httpResponseMessage.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
T response = await httpResponseMessage.Content.ReadAsAsync<T>().ConfigureAwait(false);
return response;
}
else
{
string message = httpResponseMessage.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result;
throw new Exception(message);
}
}
return default(T);
}
I know the "await httpResponseMessage.Content.ReadAsAsync().ConfigureAwait(false)" will prevent the deadlock in the above code
First:
My query is for "string message = httpResponseMessage.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result" line, will .Result can cause deadlock or not in that line?
Second:
If I call that code from UI like this:
public static object DoGet()
{
// Build getObject
var task = Utility.GetAsync(getObject);
task.Wait();
var response = task.Result;
return response;
}
Will that cause a deadlock?
Please note that I know to avoid all the mess with async-await, all the methods from UI to DAL must be async-await but I am not in position at this moment to change all that structure, my goal at this moment is to call HttpClient library and do a few GET operations.
So my questions is that will the above code can cause a deadlock?
Third:
Is task.Wait(); even needed in the above code?
In the general case, you should assume that yes, calling .Result or .Wait() on anything awaitable is dangerous and can deadlock (unless you are the library issuing the task, and you understand the full context). It is possible that it will work OK in some specific cases, but you should not rely on that behaviour, even if it works today.

Application enter in a "wait status" while HttpRequest operation

I'm doing an HttpRequest to an Url that returns me an xml content. So I try to make an asynchronous request but during this request the application is stopped (pause) and it seems that it cannot get a response (the url inside a browser works perfectly and it returns what I expected).
Here is my code:
public static async Task<String> getResponse(String url)
{
HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();
HttpResponseMessage request = await httpClient.GetAsync(url);
String stream = await request.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
return stream;
}
and I take this with:
String response = UtilityClass.getResponse(requestUrl).Result;
Anyone can help me please?
What happends here is a deadlock. Without too much information i see you're blocking on an asynchronous operation when calling
string response = UtilityClass.getResponse(requestUrl).Result
What happends is when you await inside getResponse, the TaskAwaitable being generated captures your SynchronizationContext in order to marshal the continuation back on to the same context in which it was called. But, when it trys to marshal work bacl to the captured context it cant, because Result is blocking the thread. This is why you should never block on async code. This can be fixed by using ConfigureAwait(false) which tells the TaskAwaitable not to marshal the continuation back and simply execute on the current thread that invoked it:
public static async Task<String> getResponse(String url)
{
HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();
HttpResponseMessage request = await httpClient.GetAsync(url).ConfigureAwait(false);
String stream = await request.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
return stream;
}
Another solution, which is better IMO, is to use the async method properly and await on it, instead of block:
string response = await UtilityClass.getResponse(requestUrl)
That would require you to add the async keyword to the calling method. If you cant, maybe a synchronous http request might be the better solution.
Edit
To quote #EricLippert comment which makes this easier to understand:
The key thing to understand here is that result = task.Result; means do nothing else until the result is available, and result = await task; means do something else until the result is available. Both turn a Task<string> into a string, but one blocks and the other does not
There are many good posts explaining the fundamental s of async/await:
Asynchronous Programming with Async and Await
Asynchrony in C# 5 Series (Eric Lippert)
Async Await Intro (Stephan Cleary)
Async Await FAQ

HttpClient call in asp.net

I am facing problem in calling HttpClient class and async call. I call the function List() from page_load. The calls return from the line HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync(str); and never comes back to finish it.
I don't understand what mistake I am doing. Following is my code:
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Task<string> s= List(product);
}
protected async Task<string> List(string ProductType)
{
string str = "http://xx.xx.com/wiki/api.php";
using (HttpClient client = new HttpClient())
{
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new System.Net.Http.Headers.AuthenticationHeaderValue("Basic", Convert.ToBase64String(Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(String.Format("{0}:{1}", "username", "password"))));
HttpResponseMessage response = await client.GetAsync(str);
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
string content = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
}
return content;
}
It never executes following lines.
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
string content = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
Please help. Thanks in advance.
You never show what happens to the task in Page_Load, but given your symptoms and the fact that Page_Load is not async, I'm betting that you're calling Result or Wait instead of awaiting it.
When you do that, you cause a deadlock. The link to my blog explains this in detail, but the gist is that await will capture and restore the current "context". In ASP.NET, this is a request context, and the request context only allows one thread executing in it at a time. So, if you call Result or Wait (while you're in the request context), you'll block a thread in that request context until the Task<string> completes. Meanwhile, when the HttpClient gets its response, it tries to resume after the await client.GetAsync(str). But the request context will only allow one thread in at a time, and that thread is blocked waiting for the Task to complete. Since List cannot complete because the context is busy, you have a deadlock.
To prevent deadlocks, follow these two best practices (from my recent MSDN article):
Use async all the way. That is, use await instead of Result or Wait.
Use ConfigureContext(false) in your "library" code, i.e., every await in List should actually be await ... .ConfigureAwait(false);

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