Load Content Via WebService

RadNotification offers built-in support for gathering data from a WebService. The path to the web service and the name of the service method are specified in the WebMethodPath and WebMethodName properties. In order to use the integrated support, the web service should have the following signature:

C#

[ScriptService]
public class WebServiceName : WebService
{
    [WebMethod]
    public string WebServiceMethodName(object context)
	{
		// We cannot use a dictionary as a parameter, 
		//because it is only supported by script services.
		// The context object should be cast to a dictionary at runtime.
		IDictionary<string, object> contextDictionary = (IDictionary<string, object>) context;
		
		//...
	}
}

VB

<ScriptService()> _
Public Class WebServiceName
    Inherits WebService
    <WebMethod()> _
    Public Function WebServiceMethodName(context As Object) As String
        ' We cannot use a dictionary as a parameter, 
        'because it is only supported by script services.
        ' The context object should be cast to a dictionary at runtime.
        Dim contextDictionary As IDictionary(Of String, Object) = DirectCast(context, IDictionary(Of String, Object))

        '...
    End Function
End Class

An example method in the WebService:

ASP.NET

<telerik:RadNotification RenderMode="Lightweight" ID="RadNotification1" Animation="Slide" runat="server" OffsetX="-20"
    VisibleOnPageLoad="true" OffsetY="-20" Width="250px" Height="80px" LoadContentOn="EveryShow"
    WebMethodName="GetWeatherForcast" WebMethodPath="NotificationWebService.asmx"
    VisibleTitlebar="false" Value="rainyState" EnableRoundedCorners="true" Skin="Office2007">
</telerik:RadNotification>

C#

[WebMethod]
public string GetWeatherForcast(object context)
{
    IDictionary<string, object> contextDictionary = (IDictionary<string, object>)context;
    string weather = ((string)contextDictionary["Value"]).Replace("State", "");


    return GetWeatherContent(weather);
}

protected string GetWeatherContent(string weather)
{
    int temperature = 0;
    string imgUrl = "Img/";
    switch (weather)
    {
        case "rainy":
            temperature = new Random().Next(10, 15);
            imgUrl += "RainyIcon.png";
            break;
        case "cloudy":
            temperature = new Random().Next(15, 20);
            imgUrl += "CloudyIcon.png";
            break;
        default: //sunny :)
            temperature = new Random().Next(20, 25);
            imgUrl += "SunnyIcon.png";
            break;
    }

    HtmlGenericControl wrapper = new HtmlGenericControl("div");
    HtmlGenericControl img = new HtmlGenericControl("img");
    img.Attributes.Add("class", "imageThumb");
    img.Attributes.Add("src", imgUrl);
    img.Attributes.Add("alt", "");
    HtmlGenericControl textWrapper = new HtmlGenericControl("div");
    textWrapper.Attributes.Add("class", "textWrapper");
    textWrapper.InnerHtml = String.Format("The weather forcast is {0}. <br> Expected degrees: {1}", weather.ToUpper(), temperature);
    wrapper.Controls.Add(img);
    wrapper.Controls.Add(textWrapper);
    StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
    HtmlTextWriter writer = new HtmlTextWriter(sw);
    wrapper.RenderControl(writer);
    return sw.ToString();
}

VB

Public Function GetWeatherForcast(context As Object) As String
	Dim contextDictionary As IDictionary(Of String, Object) = DirectCast(context, IDictionary(Of String, Object))
	Dim weather As String = DirectCast(contextDictionary("Value"), String).Replace("State", "")


	Return GetWeatherContent(weather)
End Function

Protected Function GetWeatherContent(weather As String) As String
	Dim temperature As Integer = 0
	Dim imgUrl As String = "Img/"
	Select Case weather
		Case "rainy"
			temperature = New Random().[Next](10, 15)
			imgUrl += "RainyIcon.png"
			Exit Select
		Case "cloudy"
			temperature = New Random().[Next](15, 20)
			imgUrl += "CloudyIcon.png"
			Exit Select
		Case Else
			'sunny :)
			temperature = New Random().[Next](20, 25)
			imgUrl += "SunnyIcon.png"
			Exit Select
	End Select

	Dim wrapper As New HtmlGenericControl("div")
	Dim img As New HtmlGenericControl("img")
	img.Attributes.Add("class", "imageThumb")
	img.Attributes.Add("src", imgUrl)
	img.Attributes.Add("alt", "")
	Dim textWrapper As New HtmlGenericControl("div")
	textWrapper.Attributes.Add("class", "textWrapper")
	textWrapper.InnerHtml = [String].Format("The weather forcast is {0}. <br> Expected degrees: {1}", weather.ToUpper(), temperature)
	wrapper.Controls.Add(img)
	wrapper.Controls.Add(textWrapper)
	Dim sw As New StringWriter()
	Dim writer As New HtmlTextWriter(sw)
	wrapper.RenderControl(writer)
	Return sw.ToString()
End Function