Managing multiple forms in MVC3 project and validating conditionally - asp.net-mvc-3

I have refactored two separate pages into one, and have merged the view model as well.
Now in my project the login and register forms are in the same page in a tabbed view.
The problem I have is with the validation.
The first form has two fields that are Required and the other form has 2 other fields that are also Required. If I post the first form, Validation will fail for the other two fields.
I experimented with IValidatableObject but I can't do something like:
public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
{
if (PostPackOrigin == "LoginForm")
{
if(Username == "")
yield return new ValidationResult("Username missing");
if(Password == "")
yield return new ValidationResult("Password missing");
}
if (PostPackOrigin == "RegistrationForm")
{
if(Name == "")
yield return new ValidationResult("Name missing");
if(Email == "")
yield return new ValidationResult("Email missing");
}
}
Or something like that.
How can we detect the origin of the postback, or is there another way to handle the validation?
Many thanks

Related

How to pass datastructure in MVC post

I have a form to update entity "Item", It has a drop down list for its category. So its model has two properties: string CategoryName, and List AvailableCategories. In my view, I will compose the combo box for user to select a category based on the value of both:
#if (Model != null && Model.AvailableCategories != null)
{
List<SelectListItem> selectListItem = new List<SelectListItem>();
foreach (var catName in Model.AvailableCategories)
{
selectListItem.Add(new SelectListItem() { Text = catName, Value = catName, Selected = (catName == Model.CategoryName) });
}
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(Model.CategoryName))
{
#Html.DropDownList("CategoryName", selectListItem, "Select Category")
}
else
{
#Html.DropDownList("CategoryName", selectListItem)
}
}
So the drop down list is ready, and CategoryName will be updated when user submit. But the issue is the property List AvailableCategories is null when user submit the form. In my httppost controller code, If I need to perform some server side validation:
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult NewItem(NewItemViewModel itemModel, string submit)
{
if (contact server and find validation failed here)
{
ModelState.AddModelError("ItemName", "Server said it's not valid");
return View(itemModel);
}
}
Now the returned model "itemModel" has AvailableCategories set to null, since it's not present in the form. If I really needs to make this up on server side, I need to query database again to fill this list, which is not efficient. What is the most elegant way to compose this helper DataStructure back during submit?
What I can think of on client side is #1: Add a hidden field to save all strings so it can be post back, Or #2 Add submit function to compose all data into the model and then post from script. Then if there are server validation errors, I need to match those errors to the right validation field line by line...

EF, POCO, DbContext and Validating Deletions

I'm fairly new to the world of MVC and EF, and I've come quite a ways on my own, but one thing I haven't been able to find online is how people validate for "do not delete" conditions.
I'm using EF4.1 database-first POCO classes generated with the DbContext T4 template. In my partial class files I've already decorated all of my classes with the "IValidatableObject" interface that gets called on changes for my business rules that go beyond the standard MetaData attribute type of validations.
What I need now is a validation that works via the same mechanism (and is, therefore, transparent to the UI and the controller) for checking if deletions are OK. My thought was to create an interface like so:
public interface IDeletionValidation
{
DbEntityValidationResult ValidateDeletion(DbEntityValidationResult validationResults);
}
...and then do this in an override to ValidateEntity in the DbContext...
public partial class MyEntityContext
{
protected override DbEntityValidationResult ValidateEntity(DbEntityEntry entityEntry, IDictionary<object, object> items)
{
DbEntityValidationResult val = base.ValidateEntity(entityEntry, items);
if (entityEntry.State == EntityState.Deleted)
{
IDeletionValidation delValidationEntity = entityEntry.Entity as IDeletionValidation;
if (delValidationEntity != null)
val = delValidationEntity.ValidateDeletion(val);
}
return val;
}
...and then I could implement the IDeletionValidation interface on those classes that need to have a validation done before they can be safely deleted.
An example (not working, see caveat in comments) of the ValidateDeletion code would be...
public partial class SalesOrder : IDeletionValidation, IValidatableObject
{
public DbEntityValidationResult ValidateDeletion(DbEntityValidationResult validations)
{
// A paid SalesOrder cannot be deleted, only voided
// NOTE: this code won't work, it's coming from my head and note from the actual source, I forget
// what class I'd need to add to the DbEntityValidationResult collection for this type of validation!
if (PaidAmount != 0)
validations.Add(new ValidationResult("A paid SalesOrder cannot be deleted, only voided"));
return validations;
}
public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
{
List<ValidationResult> validations = new List<ValidationResult>();
// Verify that the exempt reason is filled in if the sales tax flag is blank
if (!IsTaxable && string.IsNullOrEmpty(TaxExemptReason))
validations.Add(new ValidationResult("The Tax Exempt Reason cannot be blank for non-taxable orders"));
return validations;
}
....
}
Am I on the right track? Is there a better way?
Thanks,
CList
EDIT --- Summary of the one-interface method proposed by Pawel (below)
I think the one-interface way presented below and my way above is a little bit of a chocolate vs. vanilla argument in terms of how you want to do it. Performance should be about the same for large numbers of updates / deletes, and you may want to have your delete validation be a separate interface that doesn't apply to all of your validated classes, but if you want all of your validations in one place here it is...
Mod your DBContext
protected override bool ShouldValidateEntity(DbEntityEntry entityEntry)
{
return entityEntry.Sate == EntityState.Deleted ||
base.ShouldValidateEntity(entityEntry);
}
protected override DbEntityValidationResult ValidateEntity(DbEntityEntry entityEntry, IDictionary<object, object> items)
{
var myItems = new Dictionary<object, object>();
myItems.Add("IsDelete", (entityEntry.State == EntityState.Deleted));
// You could also pass the whole context to the validation routines if you need to, which might be helpful if the
// validations need to do additional lookups on other DbSets
// myItems.Add("Context", this);
return base.ValidateEntity(entityEntry, myItems);
}
Put the deletion-validation in your entity's Validate
public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
{
List<ValidationResult> validations = new List<ValidationResult>();
bool isDelete = validationContext.Items.ContainsKey("IsDelete")
? (bool)validationContext.Items["IsDelete"]
: false;
if (isDelete)
{
if (PaidAmount != 0)
validations.Add(new ValidationResult("You cannot delete a paid Sales Order Line", new string[] { "PaidAmount" }));
return validations;
}
// Update / Add validations!!
// Verify that the exempt reason is filled in if the sales tax flag is blank
if (!IsTaxable && string.IsNullOrEmpty(TaxExemptReason))
validations.Add(new ValidationResult("The Tax Exempt Reason cannot be blank for non-taxable orders"));
return validations;
}
...and in the interest of brevity and only putting all of the check-if-delete code in one place, you could even create an extension method on the ValidationContext class (if you're into that sort of thing) like so...
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static bool IsDelete(this System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.ValidationContext validationContext)
{
return validationContext.Items.ContainsKey("IsDelete")
? (bool)validationContext.Items["IsDelete"]
: false;
}
}
...which gives us this for our validation code...
public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
{
List<ValidationResult> validations = new List<ValidationResult>();
if (validationContext.IsDelete())
{
....
I am not really sure why you need a separate interface just for deleted entities. You could pass the entity state (or the EntityEntry object, or the context) to your IValidatableObject.Validate() method by using the items dictionary you pass to the base.ValidateEntity() method. Take a look at the "Custom Validation Sample: Uniqness" section in this blog post http://blogs.msdn.com/b/adonet/archive/2011/05/27/ef-4-1-validation.aspx. This way you could do everything using just one interface - IValidatableObject.
In addition to that - by default EF validates only Added and Modified entities. If you want to validate entities that are in the Deleted state you need to override DbContext.ShouldValidateEntity() method with something like this:
protected override bool ShouldValidateEntity(DbEntityEntry entityEntry)
{
return entityEntry.Sate == EntityState.Deleted ||
base.ShouldValidateEntity(entityEntry);
}

"user may do X is user owns object Y": Implement logic in Model Validation or Controller logic?

Consider, for example's sake, the logic "A user may only edit or delete a comment that the user has authored".
My Controller Actions will repeat the logic of checking whether the currently logged in user can affect the comment. Example
[Authorize]
public ActionResult DeleteComment(int comment_id)
{
var comment = CommentsRepository.getCommentById(comment_id);
if(comment == null)
// Cannot find comment, return bad input
return new HttpStatusCodeResult(400);
if(comment.author != User.Identity.Name)
// User not allowed to delete this comment, return Forbidden
return new HttpStatusCodeResult(403);
// Error checking passed, continue with delete action
return new HttpStatusCodeResult(200);
}
Of course, I can bundle that logic up in a method so that I'm not copy / pasting that snippet; however, taking that code out of the controller and putting it in a ValidationAttribute keeps my Action smaller and easier to write tests for. Example
public class MustBeCommentAuthorAttribute : ValidationAttribute
{
// Import attribute for Dependency Injection
[Import]
ICommentRepository CommentRepository { get; set; }
protected override ValidationResult IsValid(object value, ValidationContext validationContext)
{
int comment_id = (int)value;
var comment = CommentsRepository.getCommentById(comment_id);
if(comment == null)
return new ValidationResult("No comment with that ID");
if(comment.author != HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.Name)
return new ValidationResult("Cannot edit this comment");
// No errors
return ValidationResult.Success;
}
}
public class DeleteCommentModel
{
[MustBeCommentAuthor]
public int comment_id { get; set; }
}
Is Model Validation the right tool for this job? I like taking that concern out of the controller Action; but in this case, it may complicate things further. This is especially true when you consider that this Action is part of a RESTful API and needs to return a different HTTP Status Code depending on the Validation errors in the ModelState.
Is there "best practice" in this case?
Personally, I think that it looks nice, but you are getting carried away with annotations. I think that this does not belong in your presentation layer and it should be handled by your service layer.
I would have something on the lines of:
[Authorize]
public ActionResult DeleteComment(int comment_id)
{
try
{
var result = CommentsService.GetComment(comment_id, Auth.Username);
// Show success to the user
}
catch(Exception e)
{
// Handle by displaying relevant message to the user
}
}

ASP.Net MVC Hide/Show Menu Items Based On Security

I'm working on an ASP.Net MVC 3 site. The _Layout master view contains a menu and I want to hide some of the items in the menu based on if you are logged in and what roles you are in.
This currently works using code like this
#if (HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
{
<li id="MyLearningTab">#Html.ActionLink("My Learning", "MyLearning", "Learning")</li>
if (HttpContext.Current.User.IsInRole("Reporters"))
{
<li id="ReportTab">#Html.ActionLink("Reports", "Index", "Reports")</li>
}
if (HttpContext.Current.User.IsInRole("Administrators"))
{
<li id="DashboardTab">#Html.ActionLink("Dashboard", "Dashboard", "Admin")</li>
<li id="AdminTab">#Html.ActionLink("Admin", "Index", "Admin")</li>
}
}
I'd like to refactor this in to something more readable and came up with something like this
#if ((bool)ViewData["MenuMyLearning"]){<li id="MyLearningTab">#Html.ActionLink("My Learning", "MyLearning", "Learning")</li> }
#if((bool)ViewData["MenuReports"]){<li id="ReportTab">#Html.ActionLink("Reports", "Index", "Reports")</li>}
#if ((bool)ViewData["MenuDashboard"]){<li id="DashboardTab">#Html.ActionLink("Dashboard", "Dashboard", "Admin")</li>}
#if ((bool)ViewData["MenuAdmin"]){<li id="AdminTab">#Html.ActionLink("Admin", "Index", "Admin")</li>}
I originally added the following to my base controller constructor thinking I could setup the ViewData for these properties there
ViewData["MenuDashboard"] = User != null && User.Identity.IsAuthenticated && User.IsInRole("Administrators");
ViewData["MenuAdmin"] = User != null && User.Identity.IsAuthenticated && User.IsInRole("Administrators");
ViewData["MenuReports"] = User != null && User.Identity.IsAuthenticated && User.IsInRole("Reportors");
ViewData["MenuMyLearning"] = User != null && User.Identity.IsAuthenticated;
However it turns out the User object is null at this point in the lifecycle. I've also tried creating a custom global filter but the ViewData is then not accessable.
What is the recommended way of doing something like this? Should I just leave it how it was at first with all the HttpContext code in the view?
General advice about roles
The way I have done this is to create a custom principal and to store the extra required information in there. In your example, this would at least include the roles for the user. That way you avoid making lots of extra trips to the user store (which is likely a SQL database).
Have a look a this question of mine in which I give the code which I am using successfully: Is this Custom Principal in Base Controller ASP.NET MVC 3 terribly inefficient?
Note that I am storing the custom principal in the cache rather than in the session (just being paranoid about session hijacking).
I like this approach as it is very extensible. For example, I have since extended this to expose Facebook credentials for when the user logs in via Facebook.
Just remember that if you are caching data you need to remember to update it when it changes!
Answer to your question
Just to add, in your specific case, you should probably store this extra information in a ViewModel and then your view would say things like:
#if(ShowReports) { <li id="ReportTab">#Html.ActionLink("Reports", "Index", "Reports")</li> }
#if(ShowDashboard) { <li id="DashboardTab">#Html.ActionLink("Dashboard", "Dashboard", "Admin")</li> }
#if(ShowAdmin { <li id="AdminTab">#Html.ActionLink("Admin", "Index", "Admin")</li> }
with the ViewModel Code saying something like:
public bool ShowReports {get;set;}
public bool ShowDashboard {get;set;}
public bool ShowAdmin {get;set;}
public void SetViewModel()
{
if (User.Identity.IsAuthenticated)
{
if (HttpContext.Current.User.IsInRole("Reporters"))
{
ShowReports = true;
}
if (HttpContext.Current.User.IsInRole("Administrators"))
{
ShowDashboard = true;
ShowAdmin = true;
}
}
}
I actually tend to take this one step further and create a ReportsLink in my ViewModel and set it to contain the link if the user is authorised or to be an empty string if they are not. Then the view just says:
#Model.ReportsLink
#Model.DashboardLink
#Model.AdminLink
In that case the pertinent part of the ViewModel might be like this:
ReportLink = new MvcHtmlString(HtmlHelper.GenerateLink(HttpContext.Current.Request.RequestContext, System.Web.Routing.RouteTable.Routes, "linktext", "routename", "actionname", "controllername", null, null));
Here is what I ended up doing. I created a helper class called MenuSecurity with static boolean properties for each menu item showing which items should be visible. Each property looked like this
public static bool DashboardVisible
{
get
{
return
HttpContext.Current.User != null &&
HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.IsAuthenticated;
}
}
I then tidied up my menu partial view to look like this
#if (MenuSecurity.ReportsVisible){<li id="ReportTab">#Html.ActionLink("Reports", "Index", "Reports")</li>}
#if (MenuSecurity.DashboardVisible){<li id="DashboardTab">#Html.ActionLink("Dashboard", "Dashboard", "Admin")</li>}
#if (MenuSecurity.AdminVisible){<li id="AdminTab">#Html.ActionLink("Admin", "Index", "Admin")</li>}
Create a partial view and return the view from the controller:
LayoutViewModel.cs:
public class LayoutViewModel
{ ...
public bool ShowAdmin { get; set; }
}
LayoutController.cs:
public PartialViewResult GetAdminMenu()
{
LayoutViewModel model = new LayoutViewModel();
model.ShowAdmin = userHasPermission("Admin"); // change the code here
return PartialView("_AdminMenu", model);
}
_AdminMenu.cshtml (partial view):
#model DelegatePortal.ViewModels.LayoutViewModel
#if (#Model.ShowAdmin)
{
<!-- admin links here-->
}
_Layout.csthml (main view):
...
#Html.Action("GetAdminMenu", "Layout")

What is the MVC version of this code?

i'm trying to wrap my head around how to enterprise up my code: taking a simple routine and splitting it up into 5 or 6 methods in 3 or 4 classes.
i quickly came up three simple examples of code how i currently write it. Could someone please convert these into an MVC/MVP obfuscated version?
Example 1: The last name is mandatory. Color the text box red if nothing is entered. Color it green if stuff is entered:
private void txtLastname_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Lastname mandatory.
//Color pinkish if nothing entered. Greenish if entered.
if (txtLastname.Text.Trim() == "")
{
//Lastname is required, color pinkish
txtLastname.BackColor = ControlBad;
}
else
{
//Lastname entered, remove the coloring
txtLastname.BackColor = ControlGood;
}
}
Example 2: The first name is optional, but try to get it. We'll add a bluish tint to this "try to get" field:
private void txtFirstname_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Firstname can be blank.
//Hint them that they should *try* to get it with a bluish color.
//If they do enter stuff: it better be not all spaces.
if (txtFirstname.Text == "")
{
//Nothing there, hint it blue
txtFirstname.BackColor = ControlRequired;
}
else if (txtFirstname.Text.Trim() == "")
{
//They entered spaces - bad user!
txtFirstname.BackColor = ControlBad;
}
else
{
//Entered stuff, remove coloring
txtFirstname.BackColor = SystemColors.Window;
}
}
Example 3 The age is totally optional. If an age is entered, it better be valid:
private void txtAge_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
//Age is optional, but if entered it better be valid
int nAge = 0;
if (Int32.TryParse(txtAge.Text, out nAge))
{
//Valid integer entered
if (nAge < 0)
{
//Negative age? i don't think so
txtAge.BackColor = ControlBad;
}
else
{
//Valid age entered, remove coloring
txtAge.BackColor = SystemColors.Window;
}
}
else
{
//Whatever is in there: it's *not* a valid integer,
if (txtAge.Text == "")
{
//Blank is okay
txtAge.BackColor = SystemColors.Window;
}
else
{
//Not a valid age, bad user
txtAge.BackColor = ControlBad;
}
}
}
Every time i see MVC code, it looks almost like random splitting of code into different methods, classes, and files. i've not been able to determine a reason or pattern to their madness. Without any understanding of they why it's being one some way, it makes no sense. And using the words model, view, controller and presenter, like i'm supposed to know what that means, doesn't help.
The model is your data.
The view shows data on screen.
The controller is used to carry out
the users actions
And oranges taste orangy.
Here's my attempt at splitting things up in order to make the code more difficult to follow. Is this anywhere close to MVC?
private void txtFirstname_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
FirstnameTextChangedHandler(sender, e);
}
private void FirstnameTextChangedHandler(sender, e)
{
string firstname = GetFirstname();
Color firstnameTextBoxColor = GetFirstnameTextBoxColor(firstname);
SetFirstNameTextBoxColor(firstnameTextBoxColor);
}
private string GetFirstname()
{
return txtFirstname.Text;
}
private Color GetFirstnameTextBoxColor(string firstname)
{
//Firstname can be blank.
//Hint them that they should *try* to get it with a bluish color.
//If they do enter stuff: it better be not all spaces.
if (firstname == "")
{
//Nothing there, hint it blue
return GetControlRequiredColor();
}
else if (firstname.Trim() == "")
{
//They entered spaces - bad user!
return GetControlBadColor();
}
else
{
//Entered stuff, remove coloring
return GetControlDefaultColor();
}
}
private Color GetControlRequiredColor()
{
return ControlRequired;
}
private Color GetControlBadColor()
{
return ControlBad;
}
private Color GetControlGoodColor()
{
return ControlGood;
}
//am i doin it rite
i've obfuscated the code, but it's still altogether. The next step in the MVC obfuscation, i gather, is to hide the code in 3 or 4 different files.
It's that next step that i don't understand. What is the logical separation of which functions are moved into what other classes? Can someone translate my 3 simple examples above into full fledged MVC obfuscation?
Edit: Not ASP/ASP.NET/Online. Pretend it's on a desktop, handheld, surface, kiosk. And pretend it's language agnostic.
The purpose of MVC/MVP patterns is not obfuscation, but separation of concerns. Obfuscation is to (conceal the) intended meaning in communication, making communication confusing, intentionally ambiguous, and more difficult to interpret: ref. The use of patterns is to make the code cleaner and more understandable. I suggest you start out by reading the wikipedia entries on MVC and MVP.
Both patterns are ways of structuring your code so that your application is broken up into elements that carry out specific purposes that have clearly defined interaction boundaries. Rather than having code that specifically addresses business concerns, input/output handling, and presentation throughout the various classes of the application, these concerns are separated and isolated in the various architectural components. These architectural elements are insulated from one another by the interaction boundaries (interfaces) making them more independent of one another and easier to modify without affect the application as a whole.
The main idea I have when implementing MVC for Windows Forms is that I want to have unit tests for my model and my controller. In order to achieve that, my controller should not know anything about the views using it, and so any notifications that should be handled on UI level are implemented as events. In your example, my controller would look something like this:
class Controller
{
// This is the model we are operating on
private Model model_;
public enum Status
{
Normal,
Required,
Good,
Bad
}
public delegate void FirstNameStatusChangedDelegate(Status newStatus);
public event FirstNameStatusChangedDelegate FirstNameStatusChangedEvent;
public string FirstName
{
get { return model_.FirstName; }
set
{
if (value == "")
RaiseFirstNameStatusChanged(Status.Required);
else if ( value.Trim() == "" )
RaiseFirstNameStatusChanged(Status.Bad);
else
{
model_.FirstName = value;
RaiseFirstNameStatusChanged(Status.Normal);
}
}
}
private void RaiseFirstNameStatusChanged(Status newStatus)
{
if ( FirstNameStatusChangedEvent != null )
FirstNameStatusChangedEvent(newStatus);
}
}
And the view would provide handlers for the FirstNameStatusChanged event:
class View : Form
{
private Controller controller_;
private static readonly Dictionary<Controller.Status, Color> statusColors_ = new Dictionary<Controller.Status, Color>
{
{Controller.Status.Normal, SystemColors.Window},
{Controller.Status.Required, ControlRequired},
{Controller.Status.Good, ControlGood},
{Controller.Status.Bad, ControlRed}
};
public View(Controller controller)
{
InitializeComponent();
controller_ = controller;
contoller_.FirstNameStatusChangedEvent += OnFirstNameStatusChanged;
}
private void txtFirstname_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{ controller_.FirstName = txtFirstName.Text; }
private void OnFirstNameStatusChanged(Controller.Status newStatus)
{ txtFirstName.BackColor = statusColors_[newStatus]; }
}
Most of what you doing in your code belongs to the Controller class since it describes the the logic. Your View should just describe UI and give easy access to UI components. Model class should describe your data model.
The idea is simple: Controller does everything, but it has to know about the View and the Model. For example as View is initialized, Controller sets up all the logic ( kinda what you already doing). As Model is assigned to the Controller - it sets the values into appropriate UI controls and does the same to retrieve data and return is as Model.
So basically you give your data model class to the controller, it does the editing and returns your data as model class again.
It would be very hard to follow MVC in classic ASP.NET if possible, so I will reply based on MVP.
On your first example, you are trying to do a validation. Validating a surname is the responsibility of Presenter. Showing the field red is the responsibility of View. So, your view class would be like this:
private void Page_Load()
{
this._presenter = new Presenter();
}
private void txtLastname_TextChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
txtLastName.BackColor = presenter.IsLastnameValid(txtLastName.Text) ?
ControlGood : ControlBad;
}
And your presenter class would be something like this:
public Presenter()
{
public bool IsLastNameValid(string lastname)
{
return string.IsNullOrEmpty(lastname);
}
}
Last name is your model here.
Please note that I prepared this classes only for showing how would you form an MVP structure. In real world, there are lots of better ways to do validation. Normally you would use this approach for your business instead of validation.
Ian,
If you want the controls to validate immediately, you need to use javascript or jQuery. This is also true for classic ASP.NET. Since you are using Code Behind methods, I assume that your validation waits for a postback.
The following examples are from the NerdDinner project. NerdDinner is an open source project that serves as an example of ASP.NET MVC architecture. The authors have graciously provided a tutorial with it, available at http://nerddinnerbook.s3.amazonaws.com/Intro.htm
When a form is submitted in ASP.NET MVC, it enters the corresponding controller as a FormCollection object:
[AcceptVerbs(HttpVerbs.Post)]
public ActionResult Edit(int id, FormCollection formValues) {
Dinner dinner = dinnerRepository.GetDinner(id);
try
{
UpdateModel(dinner);
dinnerRepository.Save();
}
catch
{
ModelState.AddModelErrors(dinner.GetRuleViolations())
}
return RedirectToAction("Details", new { id = dinner.DinnerID });
}
UpdateModel takes the form values and attempts to stuff them into the dinner object. The dinner object looks like this:
public partial class Dinner {
public bool IsValid {
get { return (GetRuleViolations().Count() == 0); }
}
public IEnumerable<RuleViolation> GetRuleViolations() {
yield break;
}
public IEnumerable<RuleViolation> GetRuleViolations() {
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(Title))
yield return new RuleViolation("Title is required", "Title");
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(Description))
yield return new RuleViolation("Description is required", "Description");
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(HostedBy))
yield return new RuleViolation("HostedBy is required", "HostedBy");
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(Address))
yield return new RuleViolation("Address is required", "Address");
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(Country))
yield return new RuleViolation("Country is required", "Address");
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(ContactPhone))
yield return new RuleViolation("Phone# is required", "ContactPhone");
if (!PhoneValidator.IsValidNumber(ContactPhone, Country))
yield return new RuleViolation("Phone# does not match country", "ContactPhone");
yield break;
}
partial void OnValidate(ChangeAction action) {
if (!IsValid)
throw new ApplicationException("Rule violations prevent saving");
}
}
Notice the IsValid method and the RuleViolations enumerator. If everything is set up properly, all you have to do is define your validations in here, and ASP.NET MVC will take care of the rest for you.
The final validated result looks like this:
I encourage you to get the NerdDinner application and tutorial at http://nerddinner.codeplex.com/

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