SystemNetHttp

SystemNetHttp is a .NET library that provides HTTP networking capabilities for applications. It offers a high-level API for issuing HTTP requests and receiving responses from resources identified by URIs, with an emphasis on asynchronous operation and integration with the .NET runtime. The library is designed to work across supported operating systems and runtimes in the .NET ecosystem.

Core concepts and components include a central HTTP client entry point, typically exposed as a reusable client instance, along with message types such as HttpRequestMessage, HttpResponseMessage, and HttpContent. It supports common HTTP methods and provides facilities for configuring request headers, query parameters, and timeouts. The library also includes a pipeline of request handlers that enable features such as automatic decompression, redirection handling, cookies, and authentication. Content handling supports streaming, buffering policies, and various media types to accommodate different payloads.

SystemNetHttp emphasizes security and reliability through its transport layer integration with the underlying networking stack, including support for TLS configurations and certificate validation. It is designed to be used with .NET features such as asynchronous programming with Task, cancellation tokens, and dependency injection patterns. For long-lived or shared usage, the library can be paired with factory-based patterns to manage the lifecycle of HttpClient instances and optimize resource usage.

In practice, SystemNetHttp is used to implement client-side web communications in desktop, server, and cross-platform applications, enabling robust and scalable communication with web services and RESTful APIs. See also System.Net.Http, HttpClient, HttpRequestMessage, and HttpResponseMessage for related concepts.