Choosing JSON or XML

Question

With Web Api, how can I allow the user to choose whether they get JSON or XML back from the web service?

You can change return type on demand. Already answered at http://stackoverflow.com/a/12487921/929902 — Teoman shipahi, Mar 29 '13 at 22:14

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 29 '13 at 22:36

Web API out of the box allows the client to choose what format they want back from the server. They can send:

Accept: application/json

in the HTTP header to get JSON back, and:

Accept: application/xml

to get XML back. JSON is the default if no Accept header is specified.

This is referred to as content negotiation and you can learn more about it here:

1 Answers1