One of the best features of HttpContext object is using its Item Collection. This article will contemplate on some of the very useful features that can be achieved through HttpContext Class.

Hide QueryString or Pass value with Server.Transfer()

Sometimes, we will have requirements where we need to pass data from source form to destination form when using Server.Transfer() method. Since, Server.Transfer will make no round trip to the client, the destination page processing will also falls under the same request. This is one of the ideal scenario where we can use the Item collection of HttpContext object. Refer the below code where we are passing EmployeeID from one form to another.

Source Form

        Context.Items.Add("empID", "123456");

        Server.Transfer("Destination.aspx");

Destination Form

       string empID = Context.Items["empID"].ToString();

       Response.Write(empID);

The above item collection accepts key value pair of type Object. Hence, we have capability of passing objects from one form to another with this item collection when we use Server.Transfer() method. The above tip also prevents the QueryString or data that is passed to the destination page shown to the user.

Source Form

        Employee emp = new Employee();

        emp.FirstName = "Satheesh";

        emp.LastName = "Babu";       

        Context.Items.Add ("emp", emp);

        Server.Transfer("Destination.aspx");

Destination Form

       Employee emp = Context.Items["emp"] as Employee;

       Response.Write(emp.FirstName+" " + emp.LastName);

Accessing Request/Response/Server/Session/Cache/User object in a Class

Most of us think the above objects can be accessed only in CodeBehind file and it can’t be accessed outside codebehind class i.e. any other custom class. But in reality, it can be accessed via the current request’s HttpContext object.

How to get the HttpContext object of the current request in a class file?

HttpContext class has a static property called Current which gives us the reference of current request’s HttpContext object. Once we have the HttpContext object we can access those objects easily.

public class AccessPageObjects

{

       public AccessPageObjects()

       {

              //

              // TODO: Add constructor logic here

              //

       }

    public void Print()

    {

        HttpContext context = HttpContext.Current;

        context.Response.Write("Test");

        context.Session["Key"] = "Value";

        string user = context.User.Identity.Name;     

    }

}

For the above code to work we need to make sure that we are including System.Web namespace in the class file.

Pass value to usercontrols using HttpContext object

We can pass values to usercontrols from codebehind using Context.Item Collection.

UserControl

public partial class WebUserControl : System.Web.UI.UserControl

{

    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

    {

       Employee emp = Context.Items["emp"] as Employee;      

       Response.Write(emp.FirstName + " " + emp.LastName + " in user control.");

    }

}

The above requirement can also be achieved through Page.Item collections in the same way like above. But Context object will be really useful when we need to pass an object from a source page to destination page’s usercontrols.

Source Form

        Employee emp = new Employee();

        emp.FirstName = "Satheesh";

        emp.LastName = "Babu";       

        Context.Items.Add("emp", emp);

        Server.Transfer("Destination.aspx");

UserControl in Destination Page

public partial class WebUserControl : System.Web.UI.UserControl

{

    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)

    {

       Employee emp = Context.Items["emp"] as Employee;      

       Response.Write(emp.FirstName + " " + emp.LastName + " in user control.");

    }

}

ASP.Net Request Processing Time

A very good use of HttpContext object will be calculating the request processing time. Take a look at Rick’s article in West-Wind with the title “A low-level Look at the ASP.NET Architecture” where he explains it very neatly. Find the link in the reference section for a depth understanding in ASP.Net request processing. Request processing time can be calculated in Global.asax file through Application_BeginRequest and Application_EndRequest event. By default, this event will not be present in Global.asax file so we need to add it explicitly.

    protected void Application_BeginRequest(Object sender, EventArgs e)

    {

        Context.Items.Add("Request_Start_Time", DateTime.Now);

    }

    protected void Application_EndRequest(Object sender, EventArgs e)

    {

        TimeSpan tsDuration = DateTime.Now.Subtract((DateTime)Context.Items["Request_Start_Time"]);

    }