Data caching per request in Owin application

Question

In traditional ASP.NET applications (that use System.Web), I'm able to cache data in

HttpContext.Current.Items 

Now in Owin the HttpContext is not available anymore. Is there a way to do the similar thing in Owin - a static method/property through which I can set/get per request data?

This question gave some hints but not exact a solution in my case.

Answer 1

Finally I found OwinRequestScopeContext. Very simple to use.

In the Startup class:

app.UseRequestScopeContext();

Then I can add per request cache like this:

OwinRequestScopeContext.Current.Items["myclient"] = new Client();

Then anywhere in my code I can do (just like HttpContext.Current):

var currentClient = OwinRequestScopeContext.Current.Items["myclient"] as Client;

Here is the source code if you're curious. It uses CallContext.LogicalGetData and LogicalSetData. Does any one see any problem with this approach of caching request data?

Answer 2

You just need to use OwinContext for this:

From your middleware:

public class HelloWorldMiddleware : OwinMiddleware
{
   public HelloWorldMiddleware (OwinMiddleware next) : base(next) { }

   public override async Task Invoke(IOwinContext context)
   {   
       context.Set("Hello", "World");
       await Next.Invoke(context);     
   }   
}

From MVC or WebApi:

Request.GetOwinContext().Get<string>("Hello");