ServiceStack's JsonServiceClient
and XmlServiceClient
do not natively support progress reporting during an RPC call out of the box. However, you can achieve this functionality by implementing custom headers for streaming progress updates. This approach requires modifying both server-side and client-side code to send and receive these progress updates.
To implement progress reporting for your API in ServiceStack, you can follow the steps below:
- Serve-Side Adjustments:
Modify your service method(s) to support sending custom headers as progress reports. You'll need to create an
IStreamHandler2<T>
implementation, which extends the basic IStreamHandler interface. This interface is responsible for reading chunks of data and sending responses to clients using a StreamContext
.
public class ProgressReportingService : Service
{
public override IHttpResult Handle(IRequest req, IServiceBase serviceBase)
{
if (req.Headers["Custom-Progress-Header"] != null)
using (var reader = new StreamReader(req.RawBodyStream))
ReadAndProcessCustomProgressReports(reader.ReadToEnd());
return base.CreateResponse(new MyResult { Data = "Your response data" });
}
private void ReadAndProcessCustomProgressReports(string json)
{
var reports = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<List<YourCustomProgressReport>>(json);
if (reports != null)
foreach (var report in reports)
this.Broadcast(eventName: "progressUpdated", data: new { Report = report });
}
}
- Client-side Adjustments:
Update your Windows Forms client application code to include custom headers and manage the progress bar during RPC calls. You can create an extension method for
JsonServiceClient
that includes sending progress reports as part of its logic.
public static class JsonServiceClientExtensions
{
public static void SendCustomProgressReport(this JsonServiceClient client, int percentage)
{
var headerValue = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(new YourCustomProgressReport { Percentage = percentage });
using (var request = HttpWebRequest.CreateHttp(client.Url))
request.Headers["Custom-Progress-Header"] = headerValue;
client.SendJsonMessageAsString(request, new JsonResponseMessage());
}
}
In the thick client application:
using (var client = new JsonServiceClient("http://your-server/api"))
{
var result = await Task.Run(() => longRunningFunction());
using (client)
{
client.SendCustomProgressReport(percentage);
var response = await client.Get<MyResponse>("/api/path");
if (response != null)
UpdateUIWithServerData();
}
}
In your form code, use a timer or other event-driven mechanism to periodically update the progress bar using the sent custom progress reports.
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
private void InitializeComponent()
{
}
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
timer1 = new Timer { Interval = 50 };
timer1.Tick += (sender, args) => RefreshProgressBar();
timer1.Start();
}
private int _progress;
private Timer timer1;
public void RefreshProgressBar()
{
this.progressBar1.PerformInvoke(() => progressBar1.Value = _progress);
if (InvokeRequired) return;
UpdateUIWithServerData();
}
}
With these changes, you will be able to display the RPC call progress in your Windows Forms thick client application using ServiceStack. Note that this example uses JsonServiceClient and assumes a JSON format for progress reports. However, similar logic can be applied when working with XML or any other custom format.