You actually can pass a complex type (class) in a GET request, but you need to "teach" WCF how to use it, via a QueryStringConverter. However, you usually shouldn't do that, especially in a method which will change something in the service (GET should be for read-only operations).
The code below shows both passing a complex type in a GET (with a custom QueryStringConverter) and POST (the way it's supposed to be done).
public class StackOverflow_6783264
{
public class InputData
{
public string FirstName;
public string LastName;
}
[ServiceContract]
public interface ITest
{
[OperationContract]
[WebGet(UriTemplate = "/InsertData?param1={param1}")]
string saveDataGet(InputData param1);
[OperationContract]
[WebInvoke(UriTemplate = "/InsertData")]
string saveDataPost(InputData param1);
}
public class Service : ITest
{
public string saveDataGet(InputData param1)
{
return "Via GET: " + param1.FirstName + " " + param1.LastName;
}
public string saveDataPost(InputData param1)
{
return "Via POST: " + param1.FirstName + " " + param1.LastName;
}
}
public class MyQueryStringConverter : QueryStringConverter
{
public override bool CanConvert(Type type)
{
return (type == typeof(InputData)) || base.CanConvert(type);
}
public override object ConvertStringToValue(string parameter, Type parameterType)
{
if (parameterType == typeof(InputData))
{
string[] parts = parameter.Split(',');
return new InputData { FirstName = parts[0], LastName = parts[1] };
}
else
{
return base.ConvertStringToValue(parameter, parameterType);
}
}
}
public class MyWebHttpBehavior : WebHttpBehavior
{
protected override QueryStringConverter GetQueryStringConverter(OperationDescription operationDescription)
{
return new MyQueryStringConverter();
}
}
public static void Test()
{
string baseAddress = "http://" + Environment.MachineName + ":8000/Service";
ServiceHost host = new ServiceHost(typeof(Service), new Uri(baseAddress));
host.AddServiceEndpoint(typeof(ITest), new WebHttpBinding(), "").Behaviors.Add(new MyWebHttpBehavior());
host.Open();
Console.WriteLine("Host opened");
WebClient client = new WebClient();
Console.WriteLine(client.DownloadString(baseAddress + "/InsertData?param1=John,Doe"));
client = new WebClient();
client.Headers[HttpRequestHeader.ContentType] = "application/json";
Console.WriteLine(client.UploadString(baseAddress + "/InsertData", "{\"FirstName\":\"John\",\"LastName\":\"Doe\"}"));
Console.Write("Press ENTER to close the host");
Console.ReadLine();
host.Close();
}
}
