(Unicode C++) REST Follow Redirects

Demonstrates how to follow a 302/303 redirect response.

Chilkat C/C++ Library Downloads
MS Visual C/C++ Linux/CentOS C/C++ Alpine Linux C/C++ MAC OS X C/C++	armhf/aarch64 C/C++ C++ Builder iOS C/C++ Android C/C++	Solaris C/C++ MinGW C/C++

#include <CkRestW.h>
#include <CkUrlW.h>

void ChilkatSample(void)
    {
    // This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
    // See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

    CkRestW rest;

    bool bTls = true;
    int port = 443;
    bool bAutoReconnect = true;
    bool success = rest.Connect(L"chilkatsoft.com",port,bTls,bAutoReconnect);
    if (success != true) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",rest.lastErrorText());
        return;
    }

    // Send a POST to a URL that will respond with a 302 redirect..
    rest.AddQueryParam(L"firstName",L"John");
    rest.AddQueryParam(L"lastName",L"Doe");
    const wchar_t *responseText = rest.fullRequestFormUrlEncoded(L"POST",L"/echoPost302.asp");
    if (rest.get_LastMethodSuccess() != true) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",rest.lastErrorText());
        return;
    }

    int statusCode = rest.get_ResponseStatusCode();

    // Examine the response status code
    if (statusCode < 300) {
        wprintf(L"Not a redirect.\n");
        wprintf(L"%s\n",responseText);
        return;
    }

    if (statusCode > 399) {
        wprintf(L"Error response: Status code = %d\n",statusCode);
        wprintf(L"%s\n",responseText);
        return;
    }

    wprintf(L"Redirect status code = %d\n",statusCode);

    // The response header will contain a Location field with the redirect URL, such as this:
    // Location: http://www.chilkatsoft.com/echoPostFinal.asp

    // The response status code determines how the client should behave.
    // Here are some common possibilities:

    // 301: Moved Permanently
    // This and all future requests should be directed to the given URI.  (Keep the original HTTP method for the redirect.  In this case, the 
    // original request was a POST, so we POST to the redirect URL.)

    // 302: Found (aka Object Moved aka Moved Temporarily)
    // This is the most popular redirect code, but also an example of industrial practice contradicting the standard. HTTP/1.0 specification (RFC 1945 ) required the client
    // to perform a temporary redirect (the original describing phrase was Moved Temporarily), but popular browsers implemented it as a 303 See Other. Therefore, HTTP/1.1
    // added status codes 303 and 307 to disambiguate between the two behaviors. However, the majority of Web applications and frameworks still use the 302 status code
    // as if it were the 303.

    // 303: See Other
    // The response to the request can be found under another URI using a GET method. When received in response to a PUT, it should be assumed that the server has
    // received the data and the redirect should be issued with a separate GET message.

    // 307: Temporary Redirect
    // In this occasion, the request should be repeated with another URI, but future requests can still use the original URI. In contrast to 303, the request method
    // should not be changed when reissuing the original request. For instance, a POST request must be repeated using another POST request.

    wprintf(L"%s\n",rest.responseHeader());

    CkUrlW *redirectUrl = rest.RedirectUrl();
    if (rest.get_LastMethodSuccess() == false) {
        wprintf(L"No Location header found for redirect.\n");
        return;
    }

    // Prep for the redirect..
    rest.ClearAllParts();

    // Disconnect and re-connect.  
    // (This can be skipped if both the host and SSL/TLS conditions are the same.)
    rest.Disconnect(100);
    success = rest.Connect(redirectUrl->host(),redirectUrl->get_Port(),redirectUrl->get_Ssl(),bAutoReconnect);
    if (success != true) {
        wprintf(L"%s\n",rest.lastErrorText());
        return;
    }

    if ((statusCode == 301) || (statusCode == 307)) {
        // Redirect using a POST, sending the same params to the new destination
        rest.AddQueryParam(L"firstName",L"John");
        rest.AddQueryParam(L"lastName",L"Doe");
        responseText = rest.fullRequestFormUrlEncoded(L"POST",redirectUrl->path());
        if (rest.get_LastMethodSuccess() != true) {
            wprintf(L"%s\n",rest.lastErrorText());
            return;
        }

    }

    if ((statusCode == 302) || (statusCode == 303)) {
        // Redirect using a GET, sending the query params found in the redirect URL.
        responseText = rest.fullRequestFormUrlEncoded(L"GET",redirectUrl->pathWithQueryParams());
        if (rest.get_LastMethodSuccess() != true) {
            wprintf(L"%s\n",rest.lastErrorText());
            return;
        }

    }

    // Show the final status code and the response text.
    wprintf(L"Final status code = %d\n",rest.get_ResponseStatusCode());

    wprintf(L"Final response text (HTML, XML, JSON, or whatever..)\n");
    wprintf(L"%s\n",responseText);
    }