Where to put common code in view controller View functions? - c#

In one of the controllers, every view has a fixed preprocessing. Is there a better way of doing this, instead of the below code; such that SomeFunctionAsync works without writing that line before return View() for all functions with return View() in this controller? I also have some ajax post functions.
public async Task<ActionResult> View1()
{
await SomeFunctionAsync();
return View();
}
public async Task<ActionResult> View2()
{
await SomeFunctionAsync();
return View();
}
In other words, at the end I want to be able to write the following with having the same effect
public async Task<ActionResult> View1()
{
return View();
}
public async Task<ActionResult> View2()
{
return View();
}

If Action Filter as suggested by Varun doesnt suits you, you can try another way.
Create a parent View of all the view. In the action method for your parent view. Call this Method SomeFunctionAsync(). Thus, parent view will be called for all of yours views and the required method will be executed

You can create a base class for your controller, and have have each view in your code call a generic method. I use GetView as a method name (or you could override the existing ones).
Like so:
public class MyControllerBase : Controller {
public Task<ActionResult> GetView() {
yourCommonMethod();
return View();
}
public Task<ActionResult> GetView(string viewName) {
yourCommonMethod();
return View(viewName);
}
public Task<ActionResult> GetView(object model) {
yourCommonMethod();
return View(model);
}
public Task<ActionResult> GetView(string viewName, object model) {
yourCommonMethod();
return View(viewName, model);
}
}
Then in your controller, inherit from that:
public class MyController : MyControllerBase {
public async Task<ActionResult> View1()
{
return GetView();
}
}
If the common method is the same for all controllers and has no controller-specific dependencies, it could be that simple. However, you may want to look at using generics as well:
public class MyControllerBase<T> : Controller {
// base class stuff here based on type T's interface
}
public class MyController : MyControllerBase<MyController> {
// regular class here, sending MyController to the base
}
These are pretty much building blocks of OOP. You may do well to get a book that covers the basics of OOP and work through this type of stuff.

There are tow ways :
Use a single Action with different views like return View("View1") or retrun View("View2"), you can make if else conditions there so you will call your function at a single place.
If you want to go with your current procedure(not recommended) then you have to use Action Filter attribute and decorate it on Controller level then every action would execute your logic before execution of your Action

Related

Asp.net core Cleanest way to return View or Json/XML

In asp.net core I would like to set up my API controller to do the following:
by default return View(model);
/api/id.json to return model; as json
/api/id.xml to return model; as xml
The second two can be achieved by using the [FormatFilter] see here
[FormatFilter]
public class ProductsController
{
[Route("[controller]/[action]/{id}.{format?}")]
public Product GetById(int id)
However this requires the method to return an object and not a View(object). Is there anyway to cleanly support also returning Views?
You cannot do both in the same action. However, you can factor out the common functionality into a private method and then implement two actions with minimal code duplication:
[Route("[controller]")]
[FormatFilter]
public class ProductsController : Controller
{
private Product GetByIdCore(int id)
{
// common code here, return product
}
[HttpGet("[action]/{id}")]
[ActionName("GetById")]
public IActionResult GetByIdView(int id) => View(GetByIdCore(id));
[HttpGet("[action]/{id}.{format}")]
public Product GetById(int id) => GetByIdCore(id);
}
It's necessary to use different action names here, because the method signatures cannot differ merely on return type. However, the [ActionName] attribute can be used as above to make them appear to have the same name for the purposes of URL generation and such.
You can actually achieve this just using the one action. Here's an example of how I got it to work:
[FormatFilter]
public class ProductsController : Controller
{
[Route("[controller]/[action]/{id}.{format?}")]
public IActionResult GetById(int id, string format)
{
var yourModel = ...;
if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(format))
return View(yourModel);
return Ok(yourModel);
}
By using IActionResult as the return type, you can return either a ViewResult or an OkObjectResult. You can get access to the format value by taking it as a parameter in your action, check if it's empty and then react accordingly.
I also added Controller as the base class in order to access the convenience methods for creating the relevant results (View(...) and Ok(...)).
If you're going to be using this pattern a lot, to keep your controllers as clean as possible, you could create a base class that exposed a "FormatOrView" method:
[FormatFilter]
public abstract class FormatController : Controller
{
protected ActionResult FormatOrView(object model)
{
var filter = HttpContext.RequestServices.GetRequiredService<FormatFilter>();
if (filter.GetFormat(ControllerContext) == null)
{
return View(model);
}
else
{
return new ObjectResult(model);
}
}
}
And then your controller can inherit from this and use the FormatOrView method
public class ProductsController : FormatController
{
[Route("[controller]/[action]/{id}.{format?}")]
public ActionResult GetById(int id)
{
var product = new { Id = id };
return FormatOrView(product);
}
}
Edit to list final accepted answer by GreyCloud: Here is a generic slightly simplified method you can put into a controller (or make an extension method or put into an abstract base class as above). Note the ?. in case the service is not defined for some reason.
private ActionResult<T> FormatOrView<T>(T model) {
return HttpContext.RequestServices.GetRequiredService<FormatFilter>()?.GetFormat(ControllerContext) == null
? View(model)
: new ActionResult<T>(model);
}
The FormatFilter is part of the content negotiation of your app, in AspNetCore, you have the control to handle your input or output formatters also on the ConfigureServices where you have more control, even you can add more media types there
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
services.AddMvc(options =>
{
options .OutputFormatters.Add(new XmlDataContractSerializerOutputFormatter());
options .InputFormatters.Add(new XmlDataContractSerializerInputFormatter(options ));
//more output formatters
var jsonOutputFormatter = options.OutputFormatters.OfType<JsonOutputFormatter>().FirstOrDefault();
if (jsonOutputFormatter != null)
{
jsonOutputFormatter.SupportedMediaTypes.Add("application/vnd.myvendormediatype");
}
}
}
But going back on the content negotiation in your controllers you can keep just one. The only thing is that you need to know the mediaType to return your View or your json content. Only be sure to pass an accept header with the content type you want. With the content type you are defining for an api or for an mvc application which is the content/format the client should expect
[HttpGet("[action]/{id}")]
public IActionResult public Product GetById(int id, [FromHeader(Name = "Accept")] string mediaType)
{
if (mediaType == "application/vnd.myvendormediatype")
{
var data = GetYourData(...)
return Json(data);
}
else return View("YourDefaultView");
}

View error when invoking methods from base controller in MVC 5

I have the following controllers
public class StoreController : Controller
{
public ActionResult Index()
{
var model = new SomeViewModel();
return View(model);
}
}
and
public class SofiaStoreController : StoreController
{
public ActionResult GetIndex(string city)
{
return base.Index();
}
}
When invoking the base Index method from the derived class I get this error:
The view 'getindex' or its master was not found or no view engine
supports the searched locations. The following locations were
searched:
Seems the GetIndex() method looks for a view in the derived controller's view folder by default even though no View() method is called but since there isn't such the error occurs.
Any idea why the method implicitly looks for a view and how to overcome the error ?
EDIT: After spending some time research the problem I came across these two posts: http://howtoprogram.eu/question/asp-net-c-asp-net-mvc-inherited-controller-using-base-view,2445 and http://www.davidwhitney.co.uk/Blog/2010/01/19/asp-net-mvc-view-engine-that-supports-view-path-inheritance/ Seems that controller inheritance is not that popular or straightforward decision. The solutions to my problem could be :
1. Not to use controller inheritance
2. Creating a custom view engine as shown in the second link (advanced)
3. As other people mentioned bellow - using full path to the view or RedirectToAction also could work
It does look for a view based on the Action method name you originally called. You can always override this behavior if you use the overloaded View() method that accepts the view name/path:
public class StoreController : Controller
{
public ActionResult Index(string viewName = "Index")
{
var model = new SomeViewModel();
return View(viewName, model);
}
}
public class SofiaStoreController : StoreController
{
public ActionResult GetIndex(string city)
{
return base.Index();
}
}

Prevent double MVC Default Controller Invocation

I would like to know, if it is possible for each subsequent request, to not have the default constructor in the controller invoked?
Here's the fake scenario:
I have a controller (HomeController) with 3 Action methods. Now, each method uses a property from a Customer type. I don't want this Customer Type to always be instantiated for each action method.
Sample Code:
public class HomeController : SampleController
{
public HomeController(System systemInstance)
{
base.System = systemInstance;
}
public ActionResult Index()
{
//Do something with the CustomerType
base.ValidationResult = ValidationEngine.Validate(base.Customer.Address)
return View();
}
public ActionResult Index()
{
//Do something with the CustomerType
base.ValidationResult = ValidationEngine.Validate(base.Customer.ShoppingCart)
return View();
}
}
What I'm trying to achieve it that upon the first Invocation, I instantiate the base.System Property and then for each subsequent action method, I can just reference the instantiated type.
I dont want to store this type in the Session, or in the Cache.
Hope this makes sense :)
Thank u

Can a controller manage more than one model?

I want my controller to put modelA into viewA and modelB into viewB.
From what I know a controller can be associated with only one view using only one model.
Correct me please if I'm wrong.
A Controller-action can only produce 1 View at a time.
But it is possible to build some conditional logic into the Controller and decide which View(s) to
show.
a controller can be associated with only one view using only one model
No, a CRUD controller normally associates with 1 Model and produces List/Edit/Delete/Create Views.
So multiple Views is quite normal, so is multiple ViewModels. And a ViewModel often combines information form more than 1 Model entity.
I want my controller to put modelA into viewA and modelB into viewB.
BO classes:
class modelA{
...
}
class modelB{
...
}
Controller code:
...other using statements...
using MyProj.DAL;
using MyProj.BO;
public class MyController:Controller
{
//Create object of your Data Access Layer's MyDAL functionality
MyDAL DALobj = new MyDAL();
public ActionResult viewAList(){
modelA mobj = DALobj.FetchObjFromDB();
return View(mobj);
}
public ActionResult viewACreate(modelA newobj){
...check if modelstate is okay and tweak your model object here...
DALobj.SendDataToDB(newobj);
return RedirectToView("some other view | index");
}
public ActionResult viewBList(){
...same as viewAList() but with modelB this time...
}
public ActionResult viewBCreate(){
...same as viewACreate() but with modelB this time...
}
}//controller ends here
I guess what is asked is:
From what I know a controller can be associated with only one view
using only one model.
I translate it as :
There can be only one view consuming one model associated with a particular controller.
which I think looks like this:
public class PersonController : Controller
{
static List<Person> people = new List<Person>();
public ActionResult Index()
{
return View(people);
}
public ActionResult Details(Person person)
{
return View(person);
}
public ActionResult Create()
{
return View();
}
[AcceptVerbs(HttpVerbs.Post)]
public ActionResult Create(Person person)
{
if (!ModelState.IsValid)
{
return View("Create", person);
}
people.Add(person);
return RedirectToAction("Index");
}
}
Here is one controller, four Actions, one model. So, One Controller is associated with one model, but not only view (which you can get; by removing any other two Functionalities(not functions, Create-functionality has two functions, one for GET & POST each))
Now, question arises, can you use multiple models in 1 controller?
Answer: Yes. I just showed it in first code example.
Question: Can there be two+ models in 1 controller?
Answer: yes. Create a wrapper model, put other two models in it. and BAM!
How?
(Of course. sigh!)
MODEL | BO:
public class BigObjClass{
public A a;
public B b;
}
public class A{
public int serial{get;}
public int age{get;set;}
}
public class B{
public string Name{get;}
public string Address{get;set;}
}
Now, as in very first code example, use BigObjClass's object and pass it to the views.
Please let me know if any of this makes sense to you.

GET and POST methods with the same Action name in the same Controller [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
MVC [HttpPost/HttpGet] for Action
(4 answers)
Closed 2 years ago.
Why is this incorrect?
{
public class HomeController : Controller
{
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult Index()
{
Some Code--Some Code---Some Code
return View();
}
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index()
{
Some Code--Some Code---Some Code
return View();
}
}
How can I have a controlller thas answer one thing when is "getted" and one when is "posted"?
Since you cannot have two methods with the same name and signature you have to use the ActionName attribute:
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult Index()
{
// your code
return View();
}
[HttpPost]
[ActionName("Index")]
public ActionResult IndexPost()
{
// your code
return View();
}
Also see "How a Method Becomes An Action"
While ASP.NET MVC will allow you to have two actions with the same name, .NET won't allow you to have two methods with the same signature - i.e. the same name and parameters.
You will need to name the methods differently use the ActionName attribute to tell ASP.NET MVC that they're actually the same action.
That said, if you're talking about a GET and a POST, this problem will likely go away, as the POST action will take more parameters than the GET and therefore be distinguishable.
So, you need either:
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult ActionName() {...}
[HttpPost, ActionName("ActionName")]
public ActionResult ActionNamePost() {...}
Or,
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult ActionName() {...}
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult ActionName(string aParameter) {...}
I like to accept a form post for my POST actions, even if I don't need it. For me it just feels like the right thing to do as you're supposedly posting something.
public class HomeController : Controller
{
public ActionResult Index()
{
//Code...
return View();
}
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(FormCollection form)
{
//Code...
return View();
}
}
To answer your specific question, you cannot have two methods with the same name and the same arguments in a single class; using the HttpGet and HttpPost attributes doesn't distinguish the methods.
To address this, I'd typically include the view model for the form you're posting:
public class HomeController : Controller
{
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult Index()
{
Some Code--Some Code---Some Code
return View();
}
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(formViewModel model)
{
do work on model --
return View();
}
}
You received the good answer to this question, but I want to add my two cents. You could use one method and process requests according to request type:
public ActionResult Index()
{
if("GET"==this.HttpContext.Request.RequestType)
{
Some Code--Some Code---Some Code for GET
}
else if("POST"==this.HttpContext.Request.RequestType)
{
Some Code--Some Code---Some Code for POST
}
else
{
//exception
}
return View();
}
Can not multi action same name and same parameter
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult Index()
{
return View();
}
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Index(int id)
{
return View();
}
althought int id is not used
You can't have multiple actions with the same name. You could add a parameter to one method and that would be valid. For example:
public ActionResult Index(int i)
{
Some Code--Some Code---Some Code
return View();
}
There are a few ways to do to have actions that differ only by request verb. My favorite and, I think, the easiest to implement is to use the AttributeRouting package. Once installed simply add an attribute to your method as follows:
[GET("Resources")]
public ActionResult Index()
{
return View();
}
[POST("Resources")]
public ActionResult Create()
{
return RedirectToAction("Index");
}
In the above example the methods have different names but the action name in both cases is "Resources". The only difference is the request verb.
The package can be installed using NuGet like this:
PM> Install-Package AttributeRouting
If you don't want the dependency on the AttributeRouting packages you could do this by writing a custom action selector attribute.
Today I was checking some resources about the same question and I got an example very interesting.
It is possible to call the same method by GET and POST protocol, but you need to overload the parameters like that:
#using (Ajax.BeginForm("Index", "MyController", ajaxOptions, new { #id = "form-consulta" }))
{
//code
}
The action:
[ActionName("Index")]
public async Task<ActionResult> IndexAsync(MyModel model)
{
//code
}
By default a method without explicit protocol is GET, but in that case there is a declared parameter which allows the method works like a POST.
When GET is executed the parameter does not matter, but when POST is executed the parameter is required on your request.

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