This subclass of WebResponse is returned by WebRequest.GetResponse( ) when you request access to a file URI. Since this subclass does not add any new methods , there's no need to cast the return value to a FileWebResponse ; the GetResponseStream( ) method returns a System.IO.Stream from which the file's contents can be retrieved. public class FileWebResponse : WebResponse { // Protected Constructors protected FileWebResponse (System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationInfo serializationInfo , System.Runtime.Serialization.StreamingContext streamingContext ); // Public Instance Properties public override long ContentLength {get; } // overrides WebResponse public override string ContentType {get; } // overrides WebResponse public override WebHeaderCollection Headers {get; } // overrides WebResponse public override Uri ResponseUri {get; } // overrides WebResponse // Public Instance Methods public override void Close ( ); // overrides WebResponse public override Stream GetResponseStream ( ); // overrides WebResponse // Protected Instance Methods protected virtual void Dispose (bool disposing ); } HierarchySystem.Object System.MarshalByRefObject WebResponse(System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable, System.IDisposable) FileWebResponse |