Angular 2 Http get() Example

By Arvind Rai, April 13, 2017

On this page we will provide angular 2 Http get() example. Angular HTTP library provides Http client for server communication. get() is the Http client method that uses HTTP GET method to communicate server using HTTP URL. We need to pass HTTP URL to Http.get() and it will return the instance of RxJS Observable. To listen values of Observable we need to subscribe it. We can also directly fetch Observable value in our HTML template using async pipe. Observable can be converted into Promise using RxJS toPromise() method. Http.get() communicates to server only when we fetch values from Observable or Promise. On this page we will create a book service in which we will access books from a URL in JSON format. We will iterate the book using Observable and Promise. Find the complete example step by step.

Software Used
Http.get()
Observable and Promise
Http.get with Observable
Http.get with Promise
Complete Example
Test Application
Reference
Download Source Code

Software Used

Find the software used in our example.
1. Angular 4.0.0
2. TypeScript 2.2.0
3. Node.js 6.10.1
4. Angular CLI 1.0.0
5. Angular Compiler CLI 4.0.0

Http.get()

Http.get() performs a request with HTTP GET method. The syntax is as given below.

get(url: string, options?: RequestOptionsArgs) : Observable<Response>

get() is the method of angular Http API that interacts with server using HTTP GET method. It accepts a HTTP URL and returns Observable instance. RequestOptionsArgs is optional. To use HTTP get(), we need to follow below steps.
Step-1:: First step is that we need to import HttpModule in @NgModule using imports metadata in our application module.

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { HttpModule } from '@angular/http';

@NgModule({
---------
---------
  imports: [     
        BrowserModule,
	HttpModule
  ]
---------
---------
})

Step-2:: We should perform server communication in a service class and not in component. This approach is preferable by design. In a service class we will use dependency injection to get the instance of angular Http as given below.

constructor(private http:Http) { }

Step-3:: Pass URL to use http.get().

Observable<Response> ob = this.http.get(this.url);

http.get() returns instance of Observable that can be later subscribed to get result. We can also fetch Observable directly in HTML template using async pipe.

Observable and Promise

We can use either Observable or Promise with http.get().
Observable: This is a RxJS API. Observable is a representation of any set of values over any amount of time. All angular Http methods return Observable. Observable provides methods such as map(), catch() etc. map() applies a function to each value emitted by source Observable and returns finally an instance of Observable. catch() is called when an error is occurred. catch() also returns Observable.

Promise: This is a JavaScript class. Promise is used for asynchronous computation. A Promise represents value which may be available now, in the future or never. Promise is a proxy for a value which is not known when the promise is created. Promise has methods such as then(), catch() etc. http.get() returns Observable and to convert it into Promise we need to call RxJS toPromise() on the instance of Observable. The then() method of Promise returns a Promise and that can be chained later. The catch() method of Promise is executed when an error is occurred and it also returns Promise.

Http.get with Observable

Http.get() returns instance of Observable<Response>. To change it into instance of Observable<Book[]>, we need to use RxJS map() operator.

getBooksWithObservable(): Observable<Book[]> {
    return this.http.get(this.url)
        .map(this.extractData)
        .catch(this.handleErrorObservable);
}

Find the extractData() method. map() converts Response object of http.get into Book.

private extractData(res: Response) {
    let body = res.json();
    return body;
}

To handle error, http.get provides catch() method. Find the handleErrorObservable() method.

private handleErrorObservable (error: Response | any) {
    console.error(error.message || error);
    return Observable.throw(error.message || error);
}

To display Observable in our HTML template we can go by two way.
1. Angular directive can directly use Observable with async pipe. Find the code snippet that we will write in component.

observableBooks: Observable<Book[]>
this.observableBooks = this.bookService.getBooksWithObservable();

Now we can iterate observableBooks with ngFor as follows.

<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of observableBooks | async" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

async pipe will mark observableBooks to listen for any changes.
2. Subscribe to the Observable and fetch values stored by it. Find the code snippet that we will write in component.

observableBooks: Observable<Book[]>
books: Book[];
this.observableBooks = this.bookService.getBooksWithObservable();
this.observableBooks.subscribe(
      books => this.books = books,
      error =>  this.errorMessage = <any>error);

Now we can iterate books with ngFor as follows.

<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of books" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

Http.get with Promise

Now find the code to use Http.get with Promise.

getBooksWithPromise(): Promise<Book[]> {
     return this.http.get(this.url).toPromise()
	    .then(this.extractData)
	    .catch(this.handleErrorPromise);
}

In the above code, we are passing our HTTP URL to http.get() that returns Observable<Response>. Now on this value we call RxJS toPromise() method that will convert it into Promise<Response>. After calling then() method on it, it returns Promise<Book[]>. If there is any error then the catch() method will execute. extractData() used in then(), is the same used in map() method with Observable. Find the handleErrorPromise() method used in catch().

private handleErrorPromise (error: Response | any) {
	console.error(error.message || error);
	return Promise.reject(error.message || error);
}

To display Promise on our HTML template we can go by two way.
1. Get instance of Promise and use it in HTML template with async pipe. Find the code snippet that we will write in component.

promiseBooks: Promise<Book[]>
this.promiseBooks = this.bookService.getBooksWithPromise();

Now we will iterate promiseBooks in our HTML template using ngFor with async pipe as follows.

<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of promiseBooks | async" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

2. We can call then() method and assign value to our component variable as follows.

promiseBooks: Promise<Book[]>
books: Book[];
this.promiseBooks = this.bookService.getBooksWithPromise();
this.promiseBooks.then(
        books => this.books = books,
        error =>  this.errorMessage = <any>error);

Now iterate books in HTML template using ngFor as follows.

<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of books" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

Complete Example

Now find the complete example.
book.service.ts

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { Http, Response } from '@angular/http';
import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
import 'rxjs/add/operator/map';
import 'rxjs/add/operator/catch';
import 'rxjs/add/operator/toPromise';

import { Book } from './book';

@Injectable()
export class BookService {
    url = "http://localhost:4200/assets/data/books.json";
    constructor(private http:Http) { }
    getBooksWithObservable(): Observable<Book[]> {
        return this.http.get(this.url)
	        .map(this.extractData)
	        .catch(this.handleErrorObservable);
    }
    getBooksWithPromise(): Promise<Book[]> {
        return this.http.get(this.url).toPromise()
	    .then(this.extractData)
	    .catch(this.handleErrorPromise);
    }
    private extractData(res: Response) {
	let body = res.json();
        return body;
    }
    private handleErrorObservable (error: Response | any) {
	console.error(error.message || error);
	return Observable.throw(error.message || error);
    }
    private handleErrorPromise (error: Response | any) {
	console.error(error.message || error);
	return Promise.reject(error.message || error);
    }	
}

book.ts

export class Book {
   id: number;
   name: string;
   constructor() { 
   }
}

books.json

[
  {"id": 1, "name": "Core Java"},
  {"id": 2, "name": "Angular 2"},
  {"id": 3, "name": "Hibernate"}
]

observable.component.ts

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { Observable } from 'rxjs';

import { BookService } from './book.service';
import { Book } from './book';

@Component({
   selector: 'app-observable',
   templateUrl: './observable.component.html'
})
export class ObservableComponent implements OnInit { 
   observableBooks: Observable<Book[]>
   books: Book[];
   errorMessage: String;
   constructor(private bookService: BookService) { }
   ngOnInit(): void {
        this.observableBooks = this.bookService.getBooksWithObservable();
	this.observableBooks.subscribe(
            books => this.books = books,
            error =>  this.errorMessage = <any>error);
   }
}

observable.component.html

<h3>Book Details with Observable</h3>
<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of observableBooks | async" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

<h3>Book Details after "subscribe" to Observable </h3>
<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of books" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

<div *ngIf="errorMessage"> {{errorMessage}} </div>

promise.component.ts

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';

import { BookService } from './book.service';
import { Book } from './book';

@Component({
   selector: 'app-promise',
   templateUrl: './promise.component.html'
})
export class PromiseComponent implements OnInit { 
   promiseBooks: Promise<Book[]>
   books: Book[];
   errorMessage: String;
   constructor(private bookService: BookService) { }
   ngOnInit(): void {
	this.promiseBooks = this.bookService.getBooksWithPromise();
	this.promiseBooks.then(
           books => this.books = books,
           error =>  this.errorMessage = <any>error);
   }
}

promise.component.html

<h3>Book Details with Promise</h3>
<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of promiseBooks | async" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

<h3>Book Details after "then" to Promise </h3>
<ul>
  <li *ngFor="let book of books" >
    Id: {{book.id}}, Name: {{book.name}}
  </li>
</ul>

<div *ngIf="errorMessage"> {{errorMessage}} </div>

app.component.ts

import { Component } from '@angular/core';

@Component({
   selector: 'app-root',
   template: `
		<app-observable></app-observable>
		<app-promise></app-promise>
             `
})
export class AppComponent { 

}

app.module.ts

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { HttpModule } from '@angular/http';

import { AppComponent }  from './app.component';
import { ObservableComponent }  from './observable.component';
import { PromiseComponent }  from './promise.component';
import { BookService } from './book.service';

@NgModule({
  imports: [     
        BrowserModule,
	HttpModule
  ],
  declarations: [
        AppComponent,
	ObservableComponent,
	PromiseComponent
  ],
  providers: [
        BookService
  ],
  bootstrap: [
        AppComponent
  ]
})
export class AppModule { }

Test Application

To test the application, find following steps.
1.: Download source code. In angular CLI application, place src folder.
2. Inside src/assets/data folder we have placed books.json file. We can access JSON data using following URL.

http://localhost:4200/assets/data/books.json

3.: Run the application. Find the print screen of the output.

To use parameters with Http.get(), find the link.

Angular 2 Http get() Parameters + Headers + URLSearchParams + RequestOptions Example

Note: Angular version 4.3 has introduced HttpClient to perform HTTP requests. If we are using Angular version 4.3 or higher, we should use HttpClient. Find the example to handle GET request using HttpClient.

Angular HttpClient get Example