Sending multiple parameters to POST method in .net: - rest

Question

I'm struggling to use POST method for RESTful services. My requirement is some parameters I need to append (not in the URL) and 2 parameters I need to read from file. The service is written in Java.
string url= "http://srfmdpimd2:18109/1010-SF-TNTIN/Configurator/rest/importConfiguration/"
HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(url);
FileStream file = new FileStream(#"TestSCDS.properties", FileMode.Open);
Byte[] bytes = new Byte[file.Length];
file.Read(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
string strresponse = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(bytes);
request.Method = "POST";
request.ContentType = "multipart/form-data;";
request.ContentLength = file.Length;
request.Headers.Add("hhrr", "H010");
request.Headers.Add("env", "TEST");
request.Headers.Add("buildLabel", "TNTAL_05.05.0500_C54");
Stream Postdata = request.GetRequestStream();
Postdata.Write(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
HttpWebResponse response = (HttpWebResponse)request.GetResponse();`
request.Headers.Add() is adding parameters to URL? If not, how can I send multiple parameters to POST method in restful services?
Also, how to read parameters from file and make use in POST method?

Answer 1

It needs a little leg work, encode a dictionary and put it in the body. Below is a quick sample:
private string Send(string url)
{
HttpWebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(url) as HttpWebRequest;
request.Method = "POST";
string postData = EncodeDictionary(args, false);
ASCIIEncoding encoding = new ASCIIEncoding();
byte[] postDataBytes = encoding.GetBytes(postData);
request.ContentType = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded";
request.ContentLength = postDataBytes.Length;
using(Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream())
{
requestStream.Write(postDataBytes, 0, postDataBytes.Length);
}
using (HttpWebResponse response = request.GetResponse() as HttpWebResponse)
{
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream());
return reader.ReadToEnd();
}
}
private string EncodeDictionary(Dictionary<string, string> dict,
bool questionMark)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
if (questionMark)
{
sb.Append("?");
}
foreach (KeyValuePair<string, string> kvp in dict)
{
sb.Append(HttpUtility.UrlEncode(kvp.Key));
sb.Append("=");
sb.Append(HttpUtility.UrlEncode(kvp.Value));
sb.Append("&");
}
sb.Remove(sb.Length - 1, 1); // Remove trailing &
return sb.ToString();
}

Answer 2

I don't know what your complete requirements are, but my strong suggestion is to "start simple".
Do not use "Content-type: multipart/form-data" unless you're sure you need it. Instead, start out with "application/x-www-form-urlencoded" (an old favorite) or "application/json" (even better).
Here is a nice little step-by-step example. You can find literally 100's more with a simple Google search:
http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/web-api-clients/calling-a-web-api-from-a-net-client