import 'dart:html' is Failing

I'm trying to get use HttpResponse.getString() to fetch some data but I can't get it to import. I'm using the Dart VM.

I've tried

import 'dart:html' which gives me Error: Not found: 'dart:html'
import 'package:http/http.dart but this package does not have the HttpRequest class
import 'dart:io' which has the class but not the getString() method

Here is my code

void main() async {
  Future<String> data = HttpRequest.getString('localhost:8000');
  print(data);
}

Why can't I access this class and method?

Solution

How are you running your program?

dart:html is only available for applications running inside a browser.
package:http is not the same as dart:html and does therefore have other classes. But you can achieve the same by using that package.
dart:io is only available when running your application by the Dart VM. But you can use this to achieve the same but you need to write the code differently.

Since you get the error Error: Not found: 'dart:html' I assume you are trying to get this working in the Dart VM.

You can do it like this if you want to use the http package which I think it the easiest way to get what you want:

import 'package:http/http.dart' as http;

Future<void> main() async {
  Future<String> data = http.read('localhost:8000');
  print(await data);
}

And if you want to use dart:io it can be done like this:

import 'dart:convert';
import 'dart:io';

Future<void> main() async {
  final clientRequest = await HttpClient().getUrl(Uri.parse('localhost:8000'));
  final clientResponse = await clientRequest.close();
  final data = await clientResponse
      .transform(const Utf8Decoder())
      .fold<StringBuffer>(
          StringBuffer(), (buffer, element) => buffer..write(element));
  print(data.toString());
}