WebClient.DownloadData Method (String) (System.Net)

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DownloadData Method (String)

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This page is specific to

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:

.NET Framework Class Library

WebClient..::.DownloadData Method (String)

Downloads the resource with the specified URI as a Byte array.

Namespace: System.Net
Assembly: System (in System.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

Public Function DownloadData ( _
    address As String _
) As Byte()

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As WebClient
Dim address As String
Dim returnValue As Byte()

returnValue = instance.DownloadData(address)

public byte[] DownloadData(
    string address
)

Visual C++

public:
array<unsigned char>^ DownloadData(
    String^ address
)

JScript

public function DownloadData(
    address : String
) : byte[]

Parameters

address: Type: System..::.String
The URI from which to download data.

Return Value

Type: array<System..::.Byte>[]()[]
A Byte array containing the downloaded resource.

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
WebException	The URI formed by combining BaseAddress and address is invalid. -or- An error occurred while downloading data.
NotSupportedException	The method has been called simultaneously on multiple threads.

Exception

Condition

WebException

The URI formed by combining BaseAddress and address is invalid.

-or-

An error occurred while downloading data.

NotSupportedException

The method has been called simultaneously on multiple threads.

Remarks

The DownloadData method downloads the resource with the URI specified by the address parameter. This method blocks while downloading the resource. To download a resource and continue executing while waiting for the server's response, use one of the DownloadDataAsync methods.

If the BaseAddress property is not an empty string ("") and address does not contain an absolute URI, address must be a relative URI that is combined with BaseAddress to form the absolute URI of the requested data. If the QueryString property is not an empty string, it is appended to address.

This method uses the RETR command to download an FTP resource. For an HTTP resource, the GET method is used.

Note:
This member outputs trace information when you enable network tracing in your application. For more information, see Network Tracing.

Examples

The following code example requests data from a server and displays the data returned. It assumes that remoteUri contains a valid URI for the requested data.

Visual Basic

Console.Write(ControlChars.Cr + "Please enter a Url(for example, http://www.msn.com): ")
Dim remoteUrl As String = Console.ReadLine()
' Create a new WebClient instance.
Dim myWebClient As New WebClient()
' Download the home page data.
Console.WriteLine(("Downloading " + remoteUrl))
' DownloadData() method takes a 'uriRemote.ToString()' and downloads the Web resource and saves it into a data buffer.
Dim myDatabuffer As Byte() = myWebClient.DownloadData(remoteUrl)

' Display the downloaded data.
Dim download As String = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(myDataBuffer)
Console.WriteLine(download)

Console.WriteLine("Download successful.")

Console.Write("\nPlease enter a URI (for example, http://www.contoso.com): ");
string remoteUri = Console.ReadLine();

// Create a new WebClient instance.
WebClient myWebClient = new WebClient();
// Download home page data.
Console.WriteLine("Downloading " + remoteUri);                        
// Download the Web resource and save it into a data buffer.
byte[] myDataBuffer = myWebClient.DownloadData (remoteUri);

// Display the downloaded data.
string download = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(myDataBuffer);
Console.WriteLine(download);

Console.WriteLine("Download successful.");

Visual C++

Console::Write( "\nPlease enter a URI (e.g. http://www.contoso.com): " );
String^ remoteUri = Console::ReadLine();

// Create a new WebClient instance.
WebClient^ myWebClient = gcnew WebClient;
// Download home page data.
Console::WriteLine( "Downloading {0}", remoteUri );
// Download the Web resource and save it into a data buffer.
array<Byte>^ myDataBuffer = myWebClient->DownloadData( remoteUri );

// Display the downloaded data.
String^ download = Encoding::ASCII->GetString( myDataBuffer );
Console::WriteLine( download );

Console::WriteLine( "Download successful." );

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

Reference

WebClient Class

WebClient Members

DownloadData Overload

System.Net Namespace