Can't return HTTP status and data from a method after using httpClient.GetAsync()

Question

I am having issues with the following code. I am retrieving a JSON object as a string and then wish to return this from my method so it can be used elsewhere. When I do however I get the message:

'filmsGlossary.searchQueries.returnJson(object); returns void, a return keyword must not be followed by an object expression'

public async void returnJson(object term)
    {
        //Set Variables
        var searchFormat = "&format=json";
        var termValue = term;         

        var httpClient = new HttpClient(); 

        try
        {                     
            //Set web service URL format
            string baseURI = "http://localhost/filmgloss/webService/web-service.php?termName=";
            string userURI = baseURI + termValue + searchFormat;

            //Send URL to web service and retrieve response code. 
            var response = await httpClient.GetAsync(userURI);
            response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

            var content = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
            return content.ToString(); 

        }
        catch (HttpRequestException hre)
        {               

        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {

        }
}

Originally I was only returning

return content;

However after reading it seemed that the issue might be that I needed to change this to:

return content.ToString();

However this did not help. I also read that I could change it to a synchronous, rather than asynchronous method and change the method to be 'public string' however I am only just learning c# and don't yet fully understand the implications of this (or how to do it).

Is it possible to resolve this error within the code I already have?

I would also like to understand the cause of the issue rather than just know the solution.

Thanks.

Answer 1

You really should paste the error messages that you are getting.

Why does your function declaration return void ? It should return Task< string >.

public async Task<string> returnJson(object term)

Also in the body you should return the Task, like this:

await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();