(Visual FoxPro) How to Avoid Large Strings in HTTP Responses

In some programming languages/environments, returning and passing large strings is problematic for both performance and other reasons (for example, with SQL Server limitations on sizes varchar variables).

One way of avoiding the need to return the actual string data, is to pass the data from one place to another via a Chilkat StringBuilder or BinData object. This example demonstrates a simple HTTP GET where the response body contains XML approximately 274K in size. The response body is loaded into the Chilkat.Xml without the XML content ever needing to leave the native code internal to Chilkat.

Note: This example requires Chilkat v9.5.0.64 or greater.

Chilkat ActiveX Downloads ActiveX for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows

LOCAL loHttp
LOCAL loResp
LOCAL loSb
LOCAL lnSuccess
LOCAL loXml
LOCAL lnBAutoTrim

* This example assumes the Chilkat HTTP API to have been previously unlocked.
* See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

* For versions of Chilkat < 10.0.0, use CreateObject('Chilkat_9_5_0.Http')
loHttp = CreateObject('Chilkat.Http')

loResp = loHttp.QuickGetObj("https://www.chilkatsoft.com/hamlet.xml")
IF (loHttp.LastMethodSuccess <> 1) THEN
    ? loHttp.LastErrorText
    RELEASE loHttp
    CANCEL
ENDIF

* For versions of Chilkat < 10.0.0, use CreateObject('Chilkat_9_5_0.StringBuilder')
loSb = CreateObject('Chilkat.StringBuilder')
* Copy the response body to sb.
lnSuccess = loResp.GetBodySb(loSb)

* For versions of Chilkat < 10.0.0, use CreateObject('Chilkat_9_5_0.Xml')
loXml = CreateObject('Chilkat.Xml')
* Load the XML from the sb.
lnBAutoTrim = 0
lnSuccess = loXml.LoadSb(loSb,lnBAutoTrim)

? "The response body was " + STR(loSb.Length) + " characters in length."
? "Success."

* The output is:
* 
* 	The response body was 279658 characters in length.
* 	Success.

RELEASE loHttp
RELEASE loSb
RELEASE loXml