DownloadStringAsync wait for request completion

Question

I am using this code to retrieve an url content:

private ArrayList request(string query)
{
    ArrayList parsed_output = new ArrayList();

    string url = s         


        

Answer 1

this will keep your gui responsive, and is easier to understand IMO:

public static async Task DownloadStringAsync(Uri uri, int timeOut = 60000)
{
    string output = null;
    bool cancelledOrError = false;
    using (var client = new WebClient())
    {
        client.DownloadStringCompleted += (sender, e) =>
        {
            if (e.Error != null || e.Cancelled)
            {
                cancelledOrError = true;
            }
            else
            {
                output = e.Result;
            }
        };
        client.DownloadStringAsync(uri);
        var n = DateTime.Now;
        while (output == null && !cancelledOrError && DateTime.Now.Subtract(n).TotalMilliseconds < timeOut)
        {
            await Task.Delay(100); // wait for respsonse
        }
    }
    return output;
}