asked on

using HttpWebRequest/HttpWebResponse to generate webrequest

Hi all,

I am trying to use HttpWebRequest/HttpWebResponse to generate a report on the webserver...once the report is generated , I wanted to display the output.

I am not sure how to use the HttpWebResponse to wait for the report generation to complete and then call the generated report.

varReportURL = "http://abc/acweb/abc/PPM.rox?Submit&__scheduleType=sync&__overwrite=new&__outputname=/StrategicPolicyAnalysis/temp.roi&" & Server.UrlEncode(varPARAMETERS) 
 
Dim myReq As HttpWebRequest = HttpWebRequest.Create(varReportURL)
        Dim myResponse As HttpWebResponse = myReq.GetResponse
        Dim m_sPageResponded As String
        m_sPageResponded = myResponse.ResponseUri.ToString()
        'Response.Write(m_sPageResponded)
 
        Dim strm As StreamReader
 
        strm = New StreamReader(myResponse.GetResponseStream(), Encoding.ASCII)
        Dim sLine As String = ""
        While Not IsDBNull(sLine)
            Response.Write(sLine)
            sLine = strm.ReadLine()
            Console.WriteLine(sLine)
        End While
 
 
I was trying something like this but dont think this is correct.
once the report is generated.. I will using a url to display the generated report.
 
varReportURL = "http://abc/acweb/abc/temp.roi?ViewPage&format=pdf&action=view&operation=open"
Response.Write("<script>window.open('" + varReportURL + "','','_target=blank', 'width=1000,height=600');</script>")

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Bob Learned

Are you getting a response back from the server with GetResponse?

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

No, though the reports are getting generated on the server..

I tried displaying something within the loop and outside but nothing get displayed.

Dim myReq As HttpWebRequest = HttpWebRequest.Create(varReportURL)
        Dim myResponse As HttpWebResponse = myReq.GetResponse
        Dim m_sPageResponded As String
        m_sPageResponded = myResponse.ResponseUri.ToString()
        'Response.Write(m_sPageResponded)
 
        Dim strm As StreamReader
 
        strm = New StreamReader(myResponse.GetResponseStream(), Encoding.ASCII)
        Dim sLine As String = "abc"
        Response.Write("test")
        While Not IsDBNull(sLine)
            Response.Write(sLine)
            Response.Write("test")
            sLine = strm.ReadLine()
            Console.WriteLine(sLine)
        End While

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Bob Learned

Are you saying that the GetResponse call freezes, and never returns? How long does it take to generate a report?

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

just a couple of minutes at the most.
I am not getting any output when using those response.write statement inside and out of the loop .... but I do see the reports getting generated on the server .

Thanks

sanjaypandey

ASKER

Its definitely freezing, I removed the below code and its responding. Is there a way that I can wait for the time that report is taking to generate and then execute the next line of code that displays the report without using the StreamReader.

strm = New StreamReader(myResponse.GetResponseStream(), Encoding.ASCII)
Dim sLine As String = "abc"
Response.Write("test")
While Not IsDBNull(sLine)
Response.Write(sLine)
Response.Write("test")
sLine = strm.ReadLine()
Console.WriteLine(sLine)
End While

Bob Learned

The default timeout for the HttpWebRequest is 100000 milliseconds (100 seconds). If that doesn't cover you requirement, you can raise the TimeOut value to a higher number.

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

No that didnt help.... any other suggestion Please

Bob Learned

This may be a problem with the way the server expects the request. What kind of server application are you interfacing with?

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

This is Actuate Reporting server that we use for reporting purpose.

Actuate 8.0

Bob Learned

Can you see the report in a browser, if you navigate to the same URL that you are using for the HttpWebRequest?

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

Yes, and I can also view the report that get generated every time I run this code.

Bob Learned

There is an HTTP debugger, called Fiddler, which might help to look at the conversation between the browser and the report server:

Fiddler - Web Debugging Proxy
http://www.fiddlertool.com/fiddler/

You need to duplicate the conversation functions that the browser performs.

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

I will give this a try .. thanks

sanjaypandey

ASKER

Here is the piece of code that we have in java .. that uses java side httpresponse and request and works just fine

If some one can help me convert this to vb.net .

thanks

/**
   * Method fetchAndReturnFile open a provided url, and 
   * returns the byte stream of that url to the client. The appropriate
   * content type is set first.
   *
   * @param response HttpServletResponse
   * @param servletData FileProxyServletData
   */
  private void fetchAndReturnFile(HttpServletResponse response, FileProxyServletData servletData)
  {
    log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": isIgnoreIOException: " + servletData.isIgnoreIOException);
    
    URL url;
    URLConnection urlConnection;
    String contentType;
    int contentLength;
    byte bytes[] = new byte[LOCAL_BUFFER_SIZE];
    int bytesRead, bytesReadTotal = 0;
    int current;
    InputStream is;
    BufferedInputStream bis;
    OutputStream os;
    long start = 0, end = 0;
    
    try
    {
      response.reset();
      
      /* open url */
      url = new URL(servletData.protocol, servletData.host, servletData.file);
      log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": url: " + url);
      urlConnection = url.openConnection();
      urlConnection.connect();
      
      /* for http, check status */
      int responseCode = HttpServletResponse.SC_OK;
      if (STR_HTTP.equals(servletData.protocol))
      {
        HttpURLConnection httpUrlConnection = (HttpURLConnection) urlConnection;
        responseCode = httpUrlConnection.getResponseCode();
      }
      if (responseCode != HttpServletResponse.SC_OK)
      {
        servletData.isSuccess = false;
        return;
      }
      
      /* set headers */
      if (servletData.type != null)
        contentType = servletData.type;
      else
        contentType = urlConnection.getContentType();
      response.setContentType(contentType);
      log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": contentType: " + contentType);
            
      if (servletData.saveName != null)
        response.setHeader("Content-Disposition", buildContentDispositionHeaderValue(servletData));      
      
      /* prepare reader/writer */
      is = urlConnection.getInputStream();
      bis = new BufferedInputStream(is, servletData.bufferSizeInt);
      os = response.getOutputStream();
      if (servletData.bufferSize != null)
      {
        response.setBufferSize(servletData.bufferSizeInt);
        log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": buffer size: " + servletData.bufferSizeInt);
      }
      log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": is/os: " + is + "/" + os);
 
      /* fetch bytes and send to client */
      boolean isEnd = false;
      bytesRead = 0;
      start = System.currentTimeMillis();
      while (true)
      {
        bytesRead = 0;
        for (int i = 0; i < bytes.length; i++)
        {
          current = bis.read();
          if (current == -1)
          {
            isEnd = true;
            break;
          }
          bytes[i] = (byte) current;
          bytesRead++;
          bytesReadTotal++;
        }
        doWrite(servletData, os, bytes, bytesRead);
        if (isEnd) break;
        if (servletData.isIOExceptionThrown)
        {
          log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": isIOExceptionThrown true");
          servletData.isSuccess = false;
          bis.close();
          return;
        }
      }
      end = System.currentTimeMillis();
      response.setContentLength(bytesReadTotal);
      bis.close();
      log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": before flush");
      doFlush(servletData, os);
      doClose(servletData, os);
      if (servletData.isIOExceptionThrown)
      {
        log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": isIOExceptionThrown true after flush/close");
        servletData.isSuccess = false;
      }
      servletData.elapsed = end - start;
            
      log.trace (servletData.requestId + ": bytesReadTotal: " + bytesReadTotal + ", elapsed: " + servletData.elapsed + "ms");
    }
    catch (MalformedURLException mue)
    {
      log.error (servletData.requestId + ": bad url", mue);
      servletData.isSuccess = false;
    }
    catch (IOException ioe)
    {
      log.error (servletData.requestId + ": bad connection, referer: " + servletData.userAgent, ioe);
      servletData.isSuccess = false;
    }
    catch (Throwable t)
    {
      log.error (servletData.requestId + ": other exception", t);
      servletData.isSuccess = false;
    }
        
  } // fetchAndReturnFile
 
 
 
2. The client need to call that proxy and set up necessary parameters;
 
 protected void processOutData(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, MamsiSession mamsiSession, Properties outData)
  {
    /* session expire checking */
        HttpSession session =  request.getSession(true);
        OnlineUser user = (OnlineUser) request.getAttribute(mamsi.web.filter.Bouncer.SESSION_USER);
        boolean isSessionOk = false;
        boolean isFormValid = true;
        int mode = 0;
 
        String dateFrom = "";
        String dateTo = "";
        String reportName="";
        Properties prop = new Properties();
        Hashtable formStatus = new Hashtable();
 
 
        if (user != null)
        {
            isSessionOk = user.isSessionOK();
        }
        if (! isSessionOk)
        {
             //response.sendRedirect(MamsiServlet.encodeURL(response, URL_REDIRECT));
            mamsiSession.setRedirectUrl(URL_REDIRECT);
            return;
 
        }
 
        /* form validation */
        isFormValid = validateFormValues(outData,formStatus);
        if (DEBUG) trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "ProcessOutData(): wholeFormValid?=" + isFormValid, null);
 
        try{
            if(!isFormValid )
            {
              request.setAttribute(FORM_STATUS,formStatus);
              RequestDispatcher rd;
              rd = getServletContext().getRequestDispatcher(URL_REPORT_INDEX_VIEW);
              rd.forward(request,response);
            }
            else
            {
                 mode = Integer.parseInt(outData.getProperty(ELEMENT_MODE));
                if (DEBUG) trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "ProcessInData(): mode=" + mode, null);
 
                generateDocument(outData);
 
                /* redirect to file proxy */
                String reportFileName = buildReportFileName(this.nameOutput);
 
               session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_PROTOCOL, PROTOCOL);
               session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_HOST, HOST);
               session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_CONTENT_TYPE, CONTENT_TYPE);
               session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_FILE, reportFileName);
               session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_ERROR_URL, URL_ERROR) ;
 
 
 
                    if(DEBUG)
                    {
                          trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "processOutData()setAttributeFileProxyServlet:" + FileProxyServlet.SESSION_PROTOCOL + "=" +PROTOCOL,null);
                          trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "processOutData()setAttributeFileProxyServlet:" + FileProxyServlet.SESSION_HOST + "=" +HOST,null);
                          trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "processOutData()setAttributeFileProxyServlet:" + FileProxyServlet.SESSION_CONTENT_TYPE + "=" + "application/pdf",null);
                          trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "processOutData()setAttributeFileProxyServlet:" + FileProxyServlet.SESSION_FILE + "=" + reportFileName,null);
                          trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "processOutData()setAttributeFileProxyServlet:" + FileProxyServlet.SESSION_ERROR_URL + "=" + URL_ERROR,null);
 
                    }
 
                    mamsiSession.setRedirectUrl(URI_FILE_PROXY_SERVLET);
 
            }//end else
        }catch(javax.servlet.ServletException e)
        {
            trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "ProcessOutData():after form validation, exception thrown:" + e, null);
 
        }
        catch(java.io.IOException e)
        {
           trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "ProcessOutData():after form validation, exception thrown:" + e, null);
 
       }
 
  }
 
 
  /**
   * Method generateDocument
   */
  private void generateDocument(Properties prop)
  {
    if (DEBUG) trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "generateDocument(): here", null);
    URL url = null;
    URLConnection urlConnection = null;
    int bytesAvailable, bytesRead = 0;
    Object content;
    String file = buildRequestFilename(prop);
 
    try
    {
      url = new URL(PROTOCOL, HOST, file);
      if (DEBUG) trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "generateDocument(): url: " + url, null);
      urlConnection = url.openConnection();
      urlConnection.connect();
      content = urlConnection.getContent();
      if (DEBUG) trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "generateDocument(): content length: " + urlConnection.getContentLength() + ", content type: " + urlConnection.getContentType(), null);
    }
    catch (MalformedURLException mue)
    {
      trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_ERROR, "generateDocument(): bad url", mue);
    }
    catch (IOException ioe)
    {
      trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_ERROR, "generateDocument(): bad connection", ioe);
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
      trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_ERROR, "fetchAndReturnReport(): other exception", e);
    }
 
  } // generateDocument
 
  /**
   * Method buildReportFileName
   */
  private String buildReportFileName(String reportName)
  {
 
    StringBuffer buffer = new StringBuffer();
 
      buffer.append("/acweb/");
      buffer.append(SERVER_NAME);
      buffer.append(reportName);
      buffer.append(".roi?GetReportData&format=PDF");
 
 
    if (DEBUG) trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "buildReportFileName(): " + buffer.toString(), null);
    return buffer.toString();
 
  } // buildReportFileName
 
 
  /**
   * Method buildRequestFilename
   */
  private String buildRequestFilename(Properties prop)
  {
     StringBuffer buffer = new StringBuffer();
     int mode = Integer.parseInt(prop.getProperty(ELEMENT_MODE));
     this.setReportValues (mode);
     String dtFrom = prop.getProperty(ELEMENT_DATE_FROM);
     String dtTo = prop.getProperty(ELEMENT_DATE_TO);
     if(DEBUG)
       trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "buildRequestFilename(): dtFrom= " + dtFrom + ";dtTo=" + dtTo, null);
 
      buffer.append("/acweb/");
      buffer.append(SERVER_NAME);
      buffer.append(this.reportPath);
      buffer.append(this.reportName);
      buffer.append(".rox;");
      buffer.append(this.reportVersion);
      buffer.append("?submit&DtFrom=");
      buffer.append(dtFrom);
      buffer.append("&DtTo=");
      buffer.append(dtTo);
      buffer.append("&__scheduleType=immediate&__wait=wait&__overwrite=old&__outputname=");
      buffer.append(this.nameOutput);
 
    trace(TraceLog.TRACE_LEVEL_DEBUG, "buildRequestFilename(): file: " + buffer.toString(), null);
    return buffer.toString();
 
  }

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Bob Learned

What is this section doing?

session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_PROTOCOL, PROTOCOL);
session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_HOST, HOST);
session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_CONTENT_TYPE, CONTENT_TYPE);
session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_FILE, reportFileName);
session.setAttribute(FileProxyServlet.SESSION_ERROR_URL, URL_ERROR) ;

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

this is the reply I got from the java developer :

that set some attributes in the http session for easy retrieval during page interaction. You can ignore them if your app does not need that interaction.
that are basically the same parameters you need to build up the connection URL.

new URL(servletData.protocol, servletData.host, servletData.file);

Bob Learned

Is this doing a GET or a POST?

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

this is the reply I got from the java developer -

It does not matter. The Get method can call the post method.

Bob Learned

All I can say is "huh?". You need to find out what the browser uses when navigating to the report URL.

Bob

sanjaypandey

ASKER

looks like I am step closer... in that its not freezing up.....using this code below but its executing the code to display the report before report generation completes... any thoughts or help

varReportURL = "http://maroa/acweb/maroa/StrategicPolicyAnalysis/PPM.rox?Submit&__scheduleType=immediate&__overwrite=new&__outputname=/StrategicPolicyAnalysis/temp91.roi&" & Server.UrlEncode(varPARAMETERS)

Dim myReq As HttpWebRequest = HttpWebRequest.Create(varReportURL)
myReq.Method = WebRequestMethods.Http.Get
Dim myResponse As HttpWebResponse = myReq.GetResponse
Dim sline As String = ""
Dim reader As New StreamReader(myResponse.GetResponseStream())
Dim tmp As String = reader.ReadToEnd()
myResponse.Close()
varReportURL = "http://maroa/acweb/maroa/StrategicPolicyAnalysis/temp91.roi?ViewPage&format=pdf&action=view&operation=open"
Response.Write("<script>window.open('" + varReportURL + "','','_target=blank', 'width=1000,height=600');</script>")

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

sanjaypandey

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