Consuming web api controller action from mvc controller

Question

I have two controllers, one mvc controller and one api controller, both are in the same project.

HomeController: Controller{ ... }
DataController: ApiController{ ... }

If I want to consume post action in DataController from HomeController is it necessary to use HttpClient ?

Answer 1

Not required. You can directly create the object of DataController object in HomeController and use its post method like instance method in .Net.

public class HomeController : Controller
    {

        public ActionResult GetResult()
        {
            MyApp.DataController dataController = new MyApp.DataController();
            var data = dataController.Post("arguments");

            return View(data);
        }
    }

Answer 2

There is a tool called Refit that will help you here, it masks all the need for httpclient interaction and allows you to create a service that you can inject into your controllers so you can keep them testable. Project page for Refit

Highly recommended this tool. I've used it quite a bit and think it's part of the essential toolkit when separating logic behind an api.