Is it possible for a Controller method to handle all Posted items which derive from a particular base class? The idea is to be able to dispatch Commands by posting them to an endpoint. When I try the following, the "cmd" parameter in the Post method is always null.
Example
//the model:
public abstract class Command{
public int CommandId{get; set;}
}
public class CommandA:Command{
public string StringParam{get; set;}
}
public class CommandB:Command{
public DateTime DateParam{get; set;}
}
//and in the controller:
public HttpResponseMessage Post([FromBody]Command cmd)
{
//cmd parameter is always null when I Post a CommandA or CommandB
//it works if I have separate Post methods for each Command type
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
if (cmd is CommandA)
{
var cmdA = (CommandA)cmd;
// do whatever
}
if (cmd is CommandB)
{
var cmdB = (CommandB)cmd;
//do whatever
}
//placeholder return stuff
var response = Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.Created);
var relativePath = "/api/ToDo/" + cmd.TestId.ToString();
response.Headers.Location = new Uri(Request.RequestUri, relativePath);
return response;
}
throw new HttpResponseException(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest);
}
Again, when I try this approach the Post method gets called, but the parameter is always null from the framework. However if I replace it with a Post method with a specific CommandA parameter type, it works.
Is what I'm attempting possible? Or does every message type need a separate handler method in the controller?