MVC 3 Web API Routing Not Working - asp.net-mvc

Question

I'm fighting issues with routing in an MVC 3 Web API. It seems like it should be pretty simple, but I'm not making any headway.
My error is:
<Error>
<Message>The request is invalid.</Message>
<MessageDetail>
The parameters dictionary contains a null entry for parameter 'id' of non-nullable type 'System.Int32' for method 'Boolean NewViolationsPublished(Int32)' in 'BPA.API.Controllers.CacheManagementController'. An optional parameter must be a reference type, a nullable type, or be declared as an optional parameter.
</MessageDetail>
</Error>
My RegisterRoutes is such:
public static void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
{
routes.IgnoreRoute("{resource}.axd/{*pathInfo}");
routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "NukeAllItemsFromCache",
routeTemplate: "api/CacheManagement/NukeAllItemsFromCache");
routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "ControllerAndAction",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{action}"
);
routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "ControllerAndActionAndId",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional, action = "Get" },
constraints: new { id = #"^\d+$" } // Only integers
);
routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "ControllerAndId",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{id}",
defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional },
constraints: new { id = #"^\d+$" } // Only integers
);
}
And my controller is (i took out the code for ease of reading):
public class CacheManagementController : ApiController
{
public CacheManagementController()
[HttpGet]
public bool NewViolationsPublished(int id)
[HttpGet]
public bool IsCached(CachedItemLabels label, int clientId)
[HttpGet]
public void RemoveItemFromCache(int clientId, CachedItemLabels cacheLabel, string test)
[HttpGet]
public string NukeAllItemsFromCache()
}
I get the error when I try to call:
http://localhost/api/CacheManagement/NukeAllItemsFromCache
TIA

Answer 1

Are you sure you're defining your routes in the right place? Web API routes should be configured using System.Web.Http.GlobalConfiguration.Configuration.Routes.MapHttpRoute (normally in a WebApiConfig.cs file in App_Start), as shown on http://www.asp.net/web-api/overview/extensibility/configuring-aspnet-web-api, which is different from the route configuration used by vanilla MVC.
I think you may just be hitting the default Web API route, which is api/{controller}/{id}, with ID optional. The action is determined by the HTTP verb, which in this case is GET, and all of your methods match that by virtue of the [HttpGet].
Edit: example
Global.asax
protected void Application_Start()
{
AreaRegistration.RegisterAllAreas();
WebApiConfig.Register(GlobalConfiguration.Configuration);
FilterConfig.RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilters.Filters);
RouteConfig.RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);
BundleConfig.RegisterBundles(BundleTable.Bundles);
GlobalModifiers.ApplyGlobalConfiguration(this, true);
}
WebApiConfig.cs
public static class WebApiConfig
{
public static void Register(HttpConfiguration config)
{
config.Routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "action-specific",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional }
);
}

Answer 2

I beleave your problem is in this route:
routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "ControllerAndActionAndId",
routeTemplate: "api/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
defaults: new { id = RouteParameter.Optional, action = "Get" },
constraints: new { id = #"^\d+$" } // Only integers
);
You specify id as an optional parameter and at the same time constrain it to actually be a non-nullable number. If /api/CacheManagement/NukeAllItemsFromCache is an exception, then add additional route for it, otherwise ease a constraint to something like #"^\d*$" if possible.

Answer 3

You are missing the default action for the route you configured:
routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "NukeAllItemsFromCache",
routeTemplate: "api/CacheManagement/NukeAllItemsFromCache");
should be
routes.MapHttpRoute(
name: "NukeAllItemsFromCache",
routeTemplate: "api/CacheManagement/NukeAllItemsFromCache",
defaults: new { action = "NukeAllItemsFromCache" }
);

Answer 4

You tried to put parameter id as nullable like:
[HttpGet]
public bool NewViolationsPublished(int? id)
or
[HttpGet]
public bool NewViolationsPublished(Nullable<Int32> id)
Maybe this works...

Answer 5

Double check that your controller extends ApiController rather than Controller
public class CacheManagementController : ApiController
rather than
public class CacheManagementController : Controller