Get description for HTTP status code

Question

In ASP.NET you can set the Response.StatusCode to for example 404. Should the status line / description always be set? (to in this case "404 Page Not Found")

How do you get the description if you only have the code (404)? Is this somewhere in the framework or do you manually have to hardcode the descriptions?

Blent

Answer 1

You can use the static method HttpWorkerRequest.GetStatusDescription for this.

Retharethink

This answer isn't applicable to client-profile .NET where System.Web.dll is unavailable, or in .NET Core where `System.Web is removed, unfortunately. – Calistacalisthenics

Answer 2

If you need it at the same time you're pulling Response.StatusCode, you can get the description from Response.StatusDescription.

Livelong

Answer 3

The status description can be retrieved with some crazy type casting. Here is the code snipped which retrieves the custom exception message (this is client side code only)

try
{
    string exText = ((HttpWebResponse)w.Response).StatusDescription);
}
catch (WebException w)
{    
}

Johen

This can't be a client-side code because it's C#, then server-side only. – Leper

Client side only, I haven't tested on the server side, but this works on the client side. – Johen

You're both right. It's "Client side" if the client is a .NET software. But how to retrieve it if it's another language ? Where this StatusDescription is in the raw HTTP response ? – Lifeanddeath

The above code is not remotely close to being client-side. It is compiled before execution and the compiled code is typically placed in a library before use. Client-side code do not need compilation. It may though appear as client-side, when the code is placed in the aspx file (using <% %>). – Poacher