HttpClient Awesomeness

To many people `async` is old hat now...


But to many of us it's still quite new :)


But, **wow** is it awesome :)


Just like with Linq, to start with it doesn't feel that big a deal, but later - after you've been using it a bit - then you know that you are never going back :)


One of the first `async` components that people come across is `HttpClient`. Using this makes async network code really wonderfully writeable and readable :)

	var client = new HttpClient();
	var msg = await client.GetAsync(string.Format(MovieListUrl, ApiToken, searchTerm));
	if (msg.IsSuccessStatusCode)
	{
	using (var stream = await msg.Content.ReadAsStreamAsync())
	{
	using (var streamReader = new StreamReader(stream))
	{
	var str = await streamReader.ReadToEndAsync();
	var list = await JsonConvert.DeserializeObjectAsync<MovieList>(str);
	return list;
	}
	}
	}

view raw MovieList hosted with ❤ by GitHub

from https://github.com/Cheesebaron/RottenTomatoSample


Further, when you use `HttpClient` on iOS, it isn't just better looking code - it can also be better performing code - as it can make use of the native iOS HttpHandling instead of the Mono .Net one.


Last year, PaulBetts produced a github repo to assist with this http://log.paulbetts.org/fast-http-with-modernhttpclient/


To integrate that back into the PCL world of MvvmCross, a couple of regular MvvmCross contributors have posted lots of useful links:

stonkingly good work in progress from @Cheesebaron - could HttpClient be put behind an Interface? - https://t.co/kfjMcFI1vl
— MvvmCross (@MvvmCross) November 6, 2013

New Blog - Implementing modernhttpclient in Xamarin and MvvmCross. http://t.co/IlNUV0wqTm @MvvmCross @paulcbetts @xamarinhq
— Michael Ridland (@rid00z) November 7, 2013

This is awesome - and well deserving of badges #6 and #2 for Tomascz and Michael

AWESOMENESS!!!!

... although actually right now I seem to be missing a post... where is the first badge for @rid00z - will go hunt!