Converting a WebClient method to async / await

ColinE picture ColinE · Nov 5, 2012 · Viewed 48.7k times · Source

I have some existing code which I am porting to Windows 8 WinRT. The code fetches data from URL, asynchronously invoking a passed delegate:

private void RequestData(string uri, Action<string> action)
{
  var client = new WebClient();
  client.DownloadStringCompleted += (s,e) => action(e.Result);
  client.DownloadStringAsync(new Uri(uri));
}

Converting to WinRT requires the use of HttpClient and asynchronous methods. I've read a few tutorials on async / await, but am a bit baffled. How can I change the method above, but maintain the method signature in order to avoid changing much more of my code?

Answer

Cole Cameron picture Cole Cameron · Nov 5, 2012
private async void RequestData(string uri, Action<string> action)
{
    var client = new WebClient();
    string data = await client.DownloadStringTaskAsync(uri);
    action(data);
}

See: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh194294.aspx