Web request timeout in .NET

Question

I am trying to make a web service request call to a third part web site who's server is a little unreliable. Is there a way I can set a timeout on a request to this site? Something like this pseudo code:

try // for 1 minute
{
    // Make web request here
    using (WebClient client new WebClient()) //...etc.
}
catch
{
}

Answer 1

You could use the Timeout property:

var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("http://www.google.com");
request.Timeout = 1000; //Timeout after 1000 ms
using (var stream = request.GetResponse().GetResponseStream())
using (var reader = new StreamReader(stream))
{
    Console.WriteLine(reader.ReadToEnd());
}

---

UPDATE:

To answer the question in the comment section about XElement.Load(uri) you could do the following:

var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("http://stackoverflow.com/feeds");
request.Timeout = 1000; //Timeout after 1000 ms
using (var stream = request.GetResponse().GetResponseStream())
using (var reader = new StreamReader(stream))
{
    var xel = XElement.Load(reader);
}

Answer 2

You could check for WebTimeout exception from server side then use SignalR to actively send timeout messsage back to clients:

var request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("http://www.your_third_parties_page.com");
request.Timeout = 1000; //Timeout after 1000 ms

try
{
    using (var stream = request.GetResponse().GetResponseStream())
    using (var reader = new StreamReader(stream))
    {
         Console.WriteLine(reader.ReadToEnd());
    }
}
catch (WebException ex)
{
    if (ex.Status == WebExceptionStatus.Timeout)
    {
         //If timeout then send SignalR message to inform the clients...
         var context = GlobalHost.ConnectionManager.GetHubContext<YourHub>();
         context.Clients.All.addNewMessageToPage("This behavious have been processing too long!");
    }
}

See more how to setup SignalR for asp.net here