How can I see what information my (c# implemented) POST is sending?

Question

This is the code I'm using, (taken largely from another online source, btw):

            string uri = "http://www.blah.com";
            // Create my request
            HttpWebRequest hwrOrdersIDCallback = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(uri);
            hwrOrdersIDCallback.KeepAlive = false;
            hwrOrdersIDCallback.ProtocolVersion = HttpVersion.Version10;
            hwrOrdersIDCallback.Method = "POST";

            // Turn the req string into a byte stream
            byte[] postBytes = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(sbOrderIDsLine.ToString());

            // Set content type and stream length
            hwrOrdersIDCallback.ContentType = "application/x-www-form-urlencoded";
            hwrOrdersIDCallback.ContentLength = postBytes.Length;                

            Stream requestStream = hwrOrdersIDCallback.GetRequestStream();

            // Send the POST
            requestStream.Write(postBytes, 0, postBytes.Length);
            requestStream.Close();

            // Grab the response and display it in a label
            HttpWebResponse hwrOrdersIDResponse = (HttpWebResponse)hwrOrdersIDCallback.GetResponse();
            label1.Text = (new StreamReader(hwrOrdersIDResponse.GetResponseStream()).ReadToEnd());

I should be getting some specific data back from the server if the POST was completed successfully. I am NOT getting that data and I wanted to know if there was a way to see the information that is getting sent to the server by this POST.

Answer 1

Do you absolutely have to investigate programmatically?

The easiest way to see what's going on is either to use Fiddler or WireShark.

Answer 2

Fiddler2 is a great tool for debugging traffic for ajax/service calls. It monitors traffic, and you can view the details of the calls and see what data is posted and returned.

Answer 3

Use fiddler.

Answer 4

Create file named <your exe>.config in the application directory and place this inside it:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<configuration>
    <system.diagnostics>
     <trace autoflush="true" />
     <sources>
      <source name="System.Net">
       <listeners>
        <add name="System.Net"/>
                            </listeners>
      </source>
      <source name="System.Net.Sockets">
       <listeners>
        <add name="System.Net"/>
       </listeners>
      </source>
     </sources>
     <sharedListeners>
                    <add name="System.Net"
                             type="System.Diagnostics.TextWriterTraceListener"
                             initializeData="System.Net.trace.log"/>
     </sharedListeners>
     <switches>
      <add name="System.Net" value="Verbose" />
      <add name="System.Net.Sockets" value="Verbose" />               
     </switches>
    </system.diagnostics>
</configuration>

or use WireShark as others suggested. The trace technique is easier to setup, but harder to read.