WebApi Controller returned value in Entity Framework 5 and MVC 4 project

Question

I\'m working on a webapi, EF5, Windsor Castle in a MVC 4 project, and I have a question...should I return the Entity (or DTO) in the Get method or Should I return an HttpRespons

Answer 1

I will return DTO wrapped in HttpResponseMessage as below:

return this.Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, branch);

DTO/ViewModel will enable to send only required properties.

HttpResponseMessage allow to send additional status code, for example in case of invalid input, we can send statusCode precondition failed.

if (model.EventDate == null)
            {
                var responseMessage = new HttpResponseMessage();
                responseMessage.StatusCode = HttpStatusCode.PreconditionFailed;
                responseMessage.ReasonPhrase = "Please enter valid EventDate input";
                return responseMessage;

            }