Problem
I’m working on a Windows Phone 8 app. I want to utilize a PHP web service to upload a SQLite database using an HTTP POST request with the MIME type multipart/form-data and a string data called “userid=SOME ID.”
I’m not interested in using third-party libraries like HttpClient, RestSharp, or MyToolkit. I tried the code below, but it neither uploads the file nor gives me any errors. It works perfectly in Android, PHP, and other environments, thus there is no problem with the web service. Here is the code I provided (for WP8). What exactly is the issue?
I’ve googled and can’t seem to find anything particular for WP8.
async void MainPage_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
var file = await Windows.ApplicationModel.Package.Current.InstalledLocation.GetFileAsync(DBNAME);
//Below line gives me file with 0 bytes, why? Should I use
//IsolatedStorageFile instead of StorageFile
//var file = await ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder.GetFileAsync(DBNAME);
byte[] fileBytes = null;
using (var stream = await file.OpenReadAsync())
{
fileBytes = new byte[stream.Size];
using (var reader = new DataReader(stream))
{
await reader.LoadAsync((uint)stream.Size);
reader.ReadBytes(fileBytes);
}
}
//var res = await HttpPost(Util.UPLOAD_BACKUP, fileBytes);
HttpPost(fileBytes);
}
private void HttpPost(byte[] file_bytes)
{
HttpWebRequest httpWebRequest = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("http://www.myserver.com/upload.php");
httpWebRequest.ContentType = "multipart/form-data";
httpWebRequest.Method = "POST";
var asyncResult = httpWebRequest.BeginGetRequestStream((ar) => { GetRequestStreamCallback(ar, file_bytes); }, httpWebRequest);
}
private void GetRequestStreamCallback(IAsyncResult asynchronousResult, byte[] postData)
{
//DON'T KNOW HOW TO PASS "userid=some_user_id"
HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)asynchronousResult.AsyncState;
Stream postStream = request.EndGetRequestStream(asynchronousResult);
postStream.Write(postData, 0, postData.Length);
postStream.Close();
var asyncResult = request.BeginGetResponse(new AsyncCallback(GetResponseCallback), request);
}
private void GetResponseCallback(IAsyncResult asynchronousResult)
{
HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)asynchronousResult.AsyncState;
HttpWebResponse response = (HttpWebResponse)request.EndGetResponse(asynchronousResult);
Stream streamResponse = response.GetResponseStream();
StreamReader streamRead = new StreamReader(streamResponse);
string responseString = streamRead.ReadToEnd();
streamResponse.Close();
streamRead.Close();
response.Close();
}
I tried to fix my problem in Windows 8, but it didn’t work either.
public async Task Upload(byte[] fileBytes)
{
using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
using (var content = new MultipartFormDataContent("Upload----" + DateTime.Now.ToString(System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture)))
{
content.Add(new StreamContent(new MemoryStream(fileBytes)));
//Not sure below line is true or not
content.Add(new StringContent("userid=farhanW8"));
using (var message = await client.PostAsync("http://www.myserver.com/upload.php", content))
{
var input = await message.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
}
}
}
}
Asked by Farhan Ghumra
Solution #1
Using MultipartFormDataContent as a starting point: –
HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();
MultipartFormDataContent form = new MultipartFormDataContent();
form.Add(new StringContent(username), "username");
form.Add(new StringContent(useremail), "email");
form.Add(new StringContent(password), "password");
form.Add(new ByteArrayContent(file_bytes, 0, file_bytes.Length), "profile_pic", "hello1.jpg");
HttpResponseMessage response = await httpClient.PostAsync("PostUrl", form);
response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
httpClient.Dispose();
string sd = response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync().Result;
Answered by loop
Solution #2
Here’s the final version of my code. My web service required a single file (named “file” in the POST parameter) and a string value (POST parameter name was “userid”).
/// <summary>
/// Occurs when upload backup application bar button is clicked. Author : Farhan Ghumra
/// </summary>
private async void btnUploadBackup_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var dbFile = await ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder.GetFileAsync(Util.DBNAME);
var fileBytes = await GetBytesAsync(dbFile);
var Params = new Dictionary<string, string> { { "userid", "9" } };
UploadFilesToServer(new Uri(Util.UPLOAD_BACKUP), Params, Path.GetFileName(dbFile.Path), "application/octet-stream", fileBytes);
}
/// <summary>
/// Creates HTTP POST request & uploads database to server. Author : Farhan Ghumra
/// </summary>
private void UploadFilesToServer(Uri uri, Dictionary<string, string> data, string fileName, string fileContentType, byte[] fileData)
{
string boundary = "----------" + DateTime.Now.Ticks.ToString("x");
HttpWebRequest httpWebRequest = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(uri);
httpWebRequest.ContentType = "multipart/form-data; boundary=" + boundary;
httpWebRequest.Method = "POST";
httpWebRequest.BeginGetRequestStream((result) =>
{
try
{
HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)result.AsyncState;
using (Stream requestStream = request.EndGetRequestStream(result))
{
WriteMultipartForm(requestStream, boundary, data, fileName, fileContentType, fileData);
}
request.BeginGetResponse(a =>
{
try
{
var response = request.EndGetResponse(a);
var responseStream = response.GetResponseStream();
using (var sr = new StreamReader(responseStream))
{
using (StreamReader streamReader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream()))
{
string responseString = streamReader.ReadToEnd();
//responseString is depend upon your web service.
if (responseString == "Success")
{
MessageBox.Show("Backup stored successfully on server.");
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("Error occurred while uploading backup on server.");
}
}
}
}
catch (Exception)
{
}
}, null);
}
catch (Exception)
{
}
}, httpWebRequest);
}
/// <summary>
/// Writes multi part HTTP POST request. Author : Farhan Ghumra
/// </summary>
private void WriteMultipartForm(Stream s, string boundary, Dictionary<string, string> data, string fileName, string fileContentType, byte[] fileData)
{
/// The first boundary
byte[] boundarybytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("--" + boundary + "\r\n");
/// the last boundary.
byte[] trailer = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("\r\n--" + boundary + "--\r\n");
/// the form data, properly formatted
string formdataTemplate = "Content-Dis-data; name=\"{0}\"\r\n\r\n{1}";
/// the form-data file upload, properly formatted
string fileheaderTemplate = "Content-Dis-data; name=\"{0}\"; filename=\"{1}\";\r\nContent-Type: {2}\r\n\r\n";
/// Added to track if we need a CRLF or not.
bool bNeedsCRLF = false;
if (data != null)
{
foreach (string key in data.Keys)
{
/// if we need to drop a CRLF, do that.
if (bNeedsCRLF)
WriteToStream(s, "\r\n");
/// Write the boundary.
WriteToStream(s, boundarybytes);
/// Write the key.
WriteToStream(s, string.Format(formdataTemplate, key, data[key]));
bNeedsCRLF = true;
}
}
/// If we don't have keys, we don't need a crlf.
if (bNeedsCRLF)
WriteToStream(s, "\r\n");
WriteToStream(s, boundarybytes);
WriteToStream(s, string.Format(fileheaderTemplate, "file", fileName, fileContentType));
/// Write the file data to the stream.
WriteToStream(s, fileData);
WriteToStream(s, trailer);
}
/// <summary>
/// Writes string to stream. Author : Farhan Ghumra
/// </summary>
private void WriteToStream(Stream s, string txt)
{
byte[] bytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(txt);
s.Write(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
}
/// <summary>
/// Writes byte array to stream. Author : Farhan Ghumra
/// </summary>
private void WriteToStream(Stream s, byte[] bytes)
{
s.Write(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
}
/// <summary>
/// Returns byte array from StorageFile. Author : Farhan Ghumra
/// </summary>
private async Task<byte[]> GetBytesAsync(StorageFile file)
{
byte[] fileBytes = null;
using (var stream = await file.OpenReadAsync())
{
fileBytes = new byte[stream.Size];
using (var reader = new DataReader(stream))
{
await reader.LoadAsync((uint)stream.Size);
reader.ReadBytes(fileBytes);
}
}
return fileBytes;
}
Darin Rousseau has been of great assistance to me.
Answered by Farhan Ghumra
Solution #3
This more straightforward method also works.
public void UploadMultipart(byte[] file, string filename, string contentType, string url)
{
var webClient = new WebClient();
string boundary = "------------------------" + DateTime.Now.Ticks.ToString("x");
webClient.Headers.Add("Content-Type", "multipart/form-data; boundary=" + boundary);
var fileData = webClient.Encoding.GetString(file);
var package = string.Format("--{0}\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"file\"; filename=\"{1}\"\r\nContent-Type: {2}\r\n\r\n{3}\r\n--{0}--\r\n", boundary, filename, contentType, fileData);
var nfile = webClient.Encoding.GetBytes(package);
byte[] resp = webClient.UploadData(url, "POST", nfile);
}
If necessary, add any other required headers.
Answered by Wolf5
Solution #4
I did some experimenting and came up with the following simplified, more generic solution:
private static string sendHttpRequest(string url, NameValueCollection values, NameValueCollection files = null)
{
string boundary = "----------------------------" + DateTime.Now.Ticks.ToString("x");
// The first boundary
byte[] boundaryBytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("\r\n--" + boundary + "\r\n");
// The last boundary
byte[] trailer = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("\r\n--" + boundary + "--\r\n");
// The first time it itereates, we need to make sure it doesn't put too many new paragraphs down or it completely messes up poor webbrick
byte[] boundaryBytesF = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("--" + boundary + "\r\n");
// Create the request and set parameters
HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest) WebRequest.Create(url);
request.ContentType = "multipart/form-data; boundary=" + boundary;
request.Method = "POST";
request.KeepAlive = true;
request.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;
// Get request stream
Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream();
foreach (string key in values.Keys)
{
// Write item to stream
byte[] formItemBytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(string.Format("Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"{0}\";\r\n\r\n{1}", key, values[key]));
requestStream.Write(boundaryBytes, 0, boundaryBytes.Length);
requestStream.Write(formItemBytes, 0, formItemBytes.Length);
}
if (files != null)
{
foreach(string key in files.Keys)
{
if(File.Exists(files[key]))
{
int bytesRead = 0;
byte[] buffer = new byte[2048];
byte[] formItemBytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(string.Format("Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"{0}\"; filename=\"{1}\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n", key, files[key]));
requestStream.Write(boundaryBytes, 0, boundaryBytes.Length);
requestStream.Write(formItemBytes, 0, formItemBytes.Length);
using (FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(files[key], FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
while ((bytesRead = fileStream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)) != 0)
{
// Write file content to stream, byte by byte
requestStream.Write(buffer, 0, bytesRead);
}
fileStream.Close();
}
}
}
}
// Write trailer and close stream
requestStream.Write(trailer, 0, trailer.Length);
requestStream.Close();
using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(request.GetResponse().GetResponseStream()))
{
return reader.ReadToEnd();
};
}
You can put it to use in the following way:
string fileLocation = Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments) + Path.DirectorySeparatorChar + "somefile.jpg";
NameValueCollection values = new NameValueCollection();
NameValueCollection files = new NameValueCollection();
values.Add("firstName", "Alan");
files.Add("profilePicture", fileLocation);
sendHttpRequest("http://example.com/handler.php", values, files);
You could also handle data like this in the PHP script:
echo $_POST['firstName'];
$name = $_POST['firstName'];
$image = $_FILES['profilePicture'];
$ds = DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR;
move_uploaded_file($image['tmp_name'], realpath(dirname(__FILE__)) . $ds . "uploads" . $ds . $image['name']);
Answered by Hockic
Solution #5
This class can be used in the following ways:
using System.Collections.Specialized;
class Post_File
{
public static void HttpUploadFile(string url, string file, string paramName, string contentType, NameValueCollection nvc)
{
string boundary = "---------------------------" + DateTime.Now.Ticks.ToString("x");
byte[] boundarybytes = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("\r\n--" + boundary + "\r\n");
byte[] boundarybytesF = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("--" + boundary + "\r\n"); // the first time it itereates, you need to make sure it doesn't put too many new paragraphs down or it completely messes up poor webbrick.
HttpWebRequest wr = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(url);
wr.Method = "POST";
wr.KeepAlive = true;
wr.Credentials = System.Net.CredentialCache.DefaultCredentials;
wr.Accept = "text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,*/*;q=0.8";
var nvc2 = new NameValueCollection();
nvc2.Add("Accepts-Language", "en-us,en;q=0.5");
wr.Headers.Add(nvc2);
wr.ContentType = "multipart/form-data; boundary=" + boundary;
Stream rs = wr.GetRequestStream();
bool firstLoop = true;
string formdataTemplate = "Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"{0}\"\r\n\r\n{1}";
foreach (string key in nvc.Keys)
{
if (firstLoop)
{
rs.Write(boundarybytesF, 0, boundarybytesF.Length);
firstLoop = false;
}
else
{
rs.Write(boundarybytes, 0, boundarybytes.Length);
}
string formitem = string.Format(formdataTemplate, key, nvc[key]);
byte[] formitembytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(formitem);
rs.Write(formitembytes, 0, formitembytes.Length);
}
rs.Write(boundarybytes, 0, boundarybytes.Length);
string headerTemplate = "Content-Disposition: form-data; name=\"{0}\"; filename=\"{1}\"\r\nContent-Type: {2}\r\n\r\n";
string header = string.Format(headerTemplate, paramName, new FileInfo(file).Name, contentType);
byte[] headerbytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(header);
rs.Write(headerbytes, 0, headerbytes.Length);
FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(file, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
byte[] buffer = new byte[4096];
int bytesRead = 0;
while ((bytesRead = fileStream.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)) != 0)
{
rs.Write(buffer, 0, bytesRead);
}
fileStream.Close();
byte[] trailer = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes("\r\n--" + boundary + "--\r\n");
rs.Write(trailer, 0, trailer.Length);
rs.Close();
WebResponse wresp = null;
try
{
wresp = wr.GetResponse();
Stream stream2 = wresp.GetResponseStream();
StreamReader reader2 = new StreamReader(stream2);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
if (wresp != null)
{
wresp.Close();
wresp = null;
}
}
finally
{
wr = null;
}
}
}
use it:
NameValueCollection nvc = new NameValueCollection();
//nvc.Add("id", "TTR");
nvc.Add("table_name", "uploadfile");
nvc.Add("commit", "uploadfile");
Post_File.HttpUploadFile("http://example/upload_file.php", @"C:\user\yourfile.docx", "uploadfile", "application/vnd.ms-excel", nvc);
example server upload_file.php:
m('File upload '.(@copy($_FILES['uploadfile']['tmp_name'],getcwd().'\\'.'/'.$_FILES['uploadfile']['name']) ? 'success' : 'failed'));
function m($msg) {
echo '<div style="background:#f1f1f1;border:1px solid #ddd;padding:15px;font:14px;text-align:center;font-weight:bold;">';
echo $msg;
echo '</div>';
}
Answered by woondark
Post is based on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19954287/how-to-upload-file-to-server-with-http-post-multipart-form-data