MVC 4 Web API access Session

It's not recommended to use Session  in Web API for various of good reasons. However, in case you're still so interested to access Session for any business needs, here is a quick solution to allow accessing Session in Web API.

 
// In global.asax
public class MvcApp : System.Web.HttpApplication
{
 public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
 {
  var route = routes.MapHttpRoute(
   name: "DefaultApi",
   routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{id}",
   defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional }
  );
  route.RouteHandler = new MyHttpControllerRouteHandler();
 }
}

// Create two new classes
public class MyHttpControllerHandler : HttpControllerHandler, IRequiresSessionState
{
 public MyHttpControllerHandler(RouteData routeData): base(routeData)
 {
 }
}
public class MyHttpControllerRouteHandler : HttpControllerRouteHandler
{
 protected override IHttpHandler GetHttpHandler(RequestContext requestContext)
 {
  return new MyHttpControllerHandler(requestContext.RouteData);
 }
}

// Now Session is visible in your Web API
public class ValuesController : ApiController
{
 public string GET(string input)
 {
  var session = HttpContext.Current.Session;
  if (session != null)
  {
   if (session["Time"] == null)
    session["Time"] = DateTime.Now;
   return "Session Time: " + session["Time"] + input;
  }
  return "Session is not availabe" + input;
 }
}
 

Source is here.

Output JSON from WCF RESTful Web Service

Under Microsoft WCF 4 framework, output either XML or JSON is fairly straightforward by simply setting a proper attribute property in your public service API function.

 
[ServiceContract]
[AspNetCompatibilityRequirements(RequirementsMode = AspNetCompatibilityRequirementsMode.Allowed)]
[ServiceBehavior(InstanceContextMode = InstanceContextMode.PerCall)]
public class MyWebService
{
   [OperationContract]
   [WebGet(UriTemplate = "MyWebFunction/{userReq}", 
           ResponseFormat = WebMessageFormat.Json )]
   public string MyWebFunction(string userReq)
   {
      // do your magic here
      return "your magic result";
   }
   
   // your other public web function(s)
}