Exploring the System.Net namespace

Chances are, if you need a way to transmit data, someone else has already figured out the best way to do this.

For instance, you could write all the code to transfer a file to and from a machine or use FTP and rely on existing software.

In fact, there are many ways to transfer data. Many of those ways are so standardized that they are part of the BCL. You can use them without dealing with third-party NuGet packages. Let us discuss some of the offerings in the System.Net namespace and see what we can do with them.

Understanding HTTP/HTTPS

HTTP was the protocol that enabled millions of users to finally use the internet. Before HTTP, the only way to exchange data was through technically complicated protocols, most of which had to be controlled through the command line. When Sir Tim Berners-Lee published his ideas about the World Wide Web and the accompanying Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), people with little or no technical background...