How to convert WebResponse.GetResponseStream return into a string?

I see many examples but all of them read them into byte arrays or 256 chars at a time, slowly. Why?

Is it not advisable to just convert the resulting Stream value into a string where I can parse it?

Solution 1:

You can use StreamReader.ReadToEnd(),

using (Stream stream = response.GetResponseStream())
{
   StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(stream, Encoding.UTF8);
   String responseString = reader.ReadToEnd();
}

Solution 2:

You should create a StreamReader around the stream, then call ReadToEnd.

You should consider calling WebClient.DownloadString instead.

Solution 3:

As @Heinzi mentioned the character set of the response should be used.

var encoding = response.CharacterSet == ""
    ? Encoding.UTF8
    : Encoding.GetEncoding(response.CharacterSet);

using (var stream = response.GetResponseStream())
{
    var reader = new StreamReader(stream, encoding);
    var responseString = reader.ReadToEnd();
}