HttpResponse class abstract interface

An HTTP response, which returns the headers and data from the server to the client in response to an HTTP request.

Every HttpRequest object provides access to the associated HttpResponse object through the response property. The server sends its response to the client by writing to the HttpResponse object.

Writing the response

This class implements IOSink. After the header has been set up, the methods from IOSink, such as writeln(), can be used to write the body of the HTTP response. Use the close() method to close the response and send it to the client.

server.listen((HttpRequest request) {
  request.response.write('Hello, world!');
  request.response.close();
});

When one of the IOSink methods is used for the first time, the request header is sent. Calling any methods that change the header after it is sent throws an exception.

Setting the headers

The HttpResponse object has a number of properties for setting up the HTTP headers of the response. When writing string data through the IOSink, the encoding used is determined from the "charset" parameter of the "Content-Type" header.

HttpResponse response = ...
response.headers.contentType
    = ContentType("application", "json", charset: "utf-8");
response.write(...);  // Strings written will be UTF-8 encoded.

If no charset is provided the default of ISO-8859-1 (Latin 1) will be used.

HttpResponse response = ...
response.headers.add(HttpHeaders.contentTypeHeader, "text/plain");
response.write(...);  // Strings written will be ISO-8859-1 encoded.

An exception is thrown if you use the write() method while an unsupported content-type is set.

Implemented types

Properties

bufferOutput bool
Gets or sets if the HttpResponse should buffer output.
getter/setter pair
connectionInfo HttpConnectionInfo?
Gets information about the client connection. Returns null if the socket is not available.
no setter
contentLength int
Gets and sets the content length of the response. If the size of the response is not known in advance set the content length to -1, which is also the default if not set.
getter/setter pair
cookies List<Cookie>
Cookies to set in the client (in the 'set-cookie' header).
no setter
deadline Duration?
Set and get the deadline for the response. The deadline is timed from the time it's set. Setting a new deadline will override any previous deadline. When a deadline is exceeded, the response will be closed and any further data ignored.
getter/setter pair
done Future
A future that will complete when the consumer closes, or when an error occurs.
no setterinherited
encoding Encoding
The Encoding used when writing strings.
getter/setter pairinherited
hashCode int
The hash code for this object.
no setterinherited
headers HttpHeaders
Returns the response headers.
no setter
persistentConnection bool
Gets and sets the persistent connection state. The initial value of this property is the persistent connection state from the request.
getter/setter pair
reasonPhrase String
The reason phrase for the response.
getter/setter pair
runtimeType Type
A representation of the runtime type of the object.
no setterinherited
statusCode int
The status code of the response.
getter/setter pair

Methods

add(List<int> data) → void
Adds byte data to the target consumer, ignoring encoding.
inherited
addError(Object error, [StackTrace? stackTrace]) → void
Passes the error to the target consumer as an error event.
inherited
addStream(Stream<List<int>> stream) Future
Adds all elements of the given stream.
inherited
close() Future
Close the target consumer.
inherited
detachSocket({bool writeHeaders = true}) Future<Socket>
Detaches the underlying socket from the HTTP server. When the socket is detached the HTTP server will no longer perform any operations on it.
flush() Future
Returns a Future that completes once all buffered data is accepted by the underlying StreamConsumer.
inherited
noSuchMethod(Invocation invocation) → dynamic
Invoked when a nonexistent method or property is accessed.
inherited
redirect(Uri location, {int status = HttpStatus.movedTemporarily}) Future
Respond with a redirect to location.
toString() String
A string representation of this object.
inherited
write(Object? object) → void
Converts object to a String by invoking Object.toString and adds the encoding of the result to the target consumer.
inherited
writeAll(Iterable objects, [String separator = ""]) → void
Iterates over the given objects and writes them in sequence.
inherited
writeCharCode(int charCode) → void
Writes the character of charCode.
inherited
writeln([Object? object = ""]) → void
Converts object to a String by invoking Object.toString and writes the result to this, followed by a newline.
inherited

Operators

operator ==(Object other) bool
The equality operator.
inherited