[GIS] Upload shapefile using GeoServer REST API and C#

Question

I'd like to upload shapefiles using GeoServer REST API and C#. So far, I can create workspaces using the REST API and C#. From GeoServer documentation (specific to cURL), the difference between creating a workspace and uploading a shapefile is in the HTTP Method (workspace creation uses POST, shapefile uploading uses PUT), ContentType (workspace creation uses application/xml, shapefile uploading uses application/zip), and finally there is the --data-binary parameter in shapefile uploading.

The code I use for creating workspace is shown below. Can anyone kindly help me refactor this code so that I can use it to upload a shapefile.

        String gUrl = "http://localhost:8081/geoserver/rest/workspaces";
        WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(gUrl);

        request.ContentType = "text/xml";
        request.Method = "POST";
        request.Credentials = new NetworkCredential("geoServer-username", "password");

        byte[] buffer = Encoding.GetEncoding("UTF-8").GetBytes("<workspace><name>new_workspace_csharp_2</name></workspace>");
        Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream();
        requestStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
        requestStream.Close();

        WebResponse response = request.GetResponse();
        Console.Write("Response from GeoServer: " + response);

EDITED:
I've managed to make some headway, and I can now upload a shapefile using C# and the GeoServer REST API. My refactoring effort, which now works, is shown below:

    public bool UploadShapeFile(string workspace, string dsName, Uri zipUri)
    {
        String fileUri = zipUri.AbsolutePath;
        Console.Write(fileUri);

        byte[] localShapeFile = readLocalShapeFile(fileUri);

        String sUrl = "http://localhost:8081/geoserver/rest/workspaces/cs_ws1/datastores/cs_ds1/file.shp";
        WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(sUrl);

        request.ContentType = "application/zip";
        request.Method = "PUT";
        request.Credentials = new NetworkCredential("gs-username", "password");

        // byte[] buffer = Encoding.GetEncoding("UTF-8").GetBytes(@fileUri);
        Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream();
        requestStream.Write(localShapeFile, 0, localShapeFile.Length);
        requestStream.Close();

        WebResponse response = request.GetResponse();
        Console.Write("Response from GeoServer: " + response);


        return false;
    }

    private byte[] readLocalShapeFile(string filePath)
    {
        byte[] buffer;
        FileStream fStream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
        try {
            int length = (int)fStream.Length;
            buffer = new byte[length]; 
            int count; 
            int sum = 0; 

            // Read until Read method returns 0 - End of stream reached
            while ((count = fStream.Read(buffer, sum, length - sum)) > 0)
                sum += count;
        }
        finally {
            fStream.Close();
        }

        return buffer;
    }

However, I still believe there can be a more elegant way of doing this. Any suggestions will be highly appreciated.

Answer 1

I've been able to achieve this using the code segments below. But it'll be great if someone can come up with a better solution.

Part I: Uploading a shape file to GeoServer without PostGIS

    public bool UploadShapeFile(string workspace, string dsName, Uri zipUri)
    {
        String fileUri = zipUri.AbsolutePath;
        Console.Write(fileUri);

        byte[] localShapeFile = readLocalShapeFile(fileUri);

        String sUrl = "http://localhost:8081/geoserver/rest/workspaces/" + 
                        workspace + "/datastores/" + 
                        dsName + "/file.shp";

        WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(sUrl);

        request.ContentType = "application/zip";
        request.Method = "PUT";
        request.Credentials = new NetworkCredential("geoserver-username", "passwd");

        Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream();
        requestStream.Write(localShapeFile, 0, localShapeFile.Length);
        requestStream.Close();

        WebResponse response = request.GetResponse();
        Console.Write("Response from GeoServer: " + response);


        return false;
    }

    private byte[] readLocalShapeFile(string filePath)
    {
        byte[] buffer;
        FileStream fStream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read);
        try {
            int length = (int)fStream.Length; 
            buffer = new byte[length]; 
            int count;
            int sum = 0;

            while ((count = fStream.Read(buffer, sum, length - sum)) > 0)
                sum += count;
        }
        finally {
            fStream.Close();
        }

        return buffer;
    }

Part II: Upload Shape File to GeoServer's PostGIS store First, create a DB Data Store as shown:

    public string CreateDbDataStore(string ws, string dsName)
    {
        String gUrl = "http://localhost:8081/geoserver/rest/workspaces/" + ws + "/datastores.xml";
        WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(gUrl);

        request.ContentType = "application/xml";
        request.Method = "POST";
        request.Credentials = new NetworkCredential("geoserver-username", "passwd");
        string dbXml = getDbXml(dsName);

        byte[] buffer = Encoding.GetEncoding("UTF-8").GetBytes(dbXml);
        Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream();
        requestStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
        requestStream.Close();

        WebResponse response = request.GetResponse();
        Console.Write("Response from GeoServer: " + response);

        return dsName;
    }

Then, create a DB Table and FeatureType as shown:

    public bool CreatePostGISTableAndFeatureType(string ws, string ds, string title, string projection)
    {
        string featXml = GetFeatureXml(ds, title, projection);
        string fUrl = "http://localhost:8081/geoserver/rest/workspaces/" + ws +
                        "/datastores/" + ds + "/featuretypes";

        WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(fUrl);
        request.ContentType = "application/xml";
        request.Method = "POST";
        request.Credentials = new NetworkCredential("geoserver-username", "passwd");

        byte[] buffer = Encoding.GetEncoding("UTF-8").GetBytes(featXml);

        Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream();
        requestStream.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
        requestStream.Close();

        WebResponse response = request.GetResponse();

        return false;
    }

    private string GetFeatureXml(string dsName, string title, string projection)
    {
        string fXml = "<featureType>" +
                            "<name>" + dsName + "</name>" +
                            "<nativeName>" + dsName + "</nativeName>" +
                            "<title>" + title + "</title>" +
                            "<srs>" + projection + "</srs>" +
                            "<attributes>" +
                                "<attribute>" +
                                    "<name>the_geom</name>" +
                                    "<binding>com.vividsolutions.jts.geom.Point</binding>" +
                                "</attribute>" +
                                "<attribute>" +
                                    "<name>description</name>" +
                                    "<binding>java.lang.String</binding>" +
                                "</attribute>" +
                                "<attribute>" +
                                    "<name>timestamp</name>" +
                                    "<binding>java.util.Date</binding>" +
                                "</attribute>" +
                            "</attributes>" +
                        "</featureType>";
        return fXml;
    }

Finally, upload the shape file using the UploadShapeFile(..) method above, specifying the previously created (postgis) data store as the dsName.