List not being displayed in DropDown Menu at View - asp.net-mvc-3

Question

I am just learning MVC. Here's What I have tried so far:
public class StoreXml
{
public string StoreCode { get; set; }
public static IQueryable<StoreXml> GetStores()
{
return new List<StoreXml>
{
new StoreXml { StoreCode = "0991"},
new StoreXml { StoreCode = "0015"},
new StoreXml { StoreCode = "0018"}
}.AsQueryable();
}
In Controller:
public SelectList GetStoreSelectList()
{
var Store = StoreXml.GetStores();
return new SelectList(Store.ToArray(),"StoreCode");
}
public ActionResult IndexDDL()
{
ViewBag.Store = GetStoreSelectList();
return View();
}
In View:
#Html.DropDownList("store", ViewBag.Stores as SelectList, "Select a Store")
What am I doing wrong here? Dropdown shows Cie_Mvc.Models.StoreXml only but no values. Please suggest.

Answer 1

You're storing it in ViewBag.Store and calling it in the View, ViewBag.Stores
public ActionResult IndexDDL()
{
ViewBag.Stores = GetStoreSelectList();
return View();
}
#Html.DropDownList("store", ViewBag.Stores as SelectList, "Select a Store")
As a side note, this is the issue with using a dynamic object. I would suggest putting the property in a ViewModel, so you get intellisense.

Answer 2

I would do it differently. I would separate my class from my list of the classes like:
public class StoreXml
{
public string StoreCode { get; set; }
}
Then I would use something like a repository to get some data, even if it is hard coded, or you can just populate a list from your controller. Always use a view model to represent your data on the view:
public class MyViewModel
{
public string StoreXmlCode { get; set; }
public IEnumerable<StoreXml> Stores { get; set; }
}
And then your controller can look something like this:
public class MyController
{
public ActionResult MyActionMethod()
{
MyViewModel viewModel = new MyViewModel();
viewModel.Stores = GetStores();
return View(viewModel);
}
private List<StoreXml> GetStores()
{
List<StoreXml> stores = new List<StoreXml>();
stores.Add(new StoreXml { StoreCode = "0991"});
stores.Add(new StoreXml { StoreCode = "0015"});
stores.Add(new StoreXml { StoreCode = "0018"});
return stores;
}
}
And then your view could look something like this:
#model MyProject.ViewModels.Stores.MyViewModel
#Html.DropDownListFor(
x => x.StoreXmlCode,
new SelectList(Model.Stores, "StoreCode", "StoreCode", Model.StoreXmlCode),
"-- Select --"
)
I hope this can lead you in the right direction :)