How can I intercept all controller calls in an MVC application? - asp.net-mvc-3

Question

Is there a quick method for intercepting all controller calls in MVC-3?
For logging and testing purposes, I'd like to build a tool that can intercept all controller calls, and log which controller was called, with which message, at what time.

Answer 1

I can't remember where I got this from, but I was looking around for something similar a while back and found an article or something somewhere that contained this logging filter:
public class LogActionFilter : ActionFilterAttribute
{
public override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext filterContext)
{
Log("OnActionExecuting", filterContext.RouteData);
}
public override void OnActionExecuted(ActionExecutedContext filterContext)
{
Log("OnActionExecuted", filterContext.RouteData);
}
public override void OnResultExecuting(ResultExecutingContext filterContext)
{
Log("OnResultExecuting", filterContext.RouteData);
}
public override void OnResultExecuted(ResultExecutedContext filterContext)
{
Log("OnResultExecuted", filterContext.RouteData);
}
private void Log(string methodName, RouteData routeData)
{
var controllerName = routeData.Values["controller"];
var actionName = routeData.Values["action"];
var message = string.Format("{0} controller: {1} action: {2}", methodName, controllerName, actionName);
Debug.WriteLine(message, "Action Filter Log");
}
}
To use it, just add it to the global filters in global.asax:
public static void RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilterCollection filters)
{
filters.Add(new HandleErrorAttribute());
filters.Add(new LogActionFilter());
}
I'll have a look now to see if I can find the source.
Edit: Found it. It was from this question.

Answer 2

Depending on how big the site is already, you could create a class in the hierarchy between the framework's Controller class and your main controllers.
Something like
public class MyBaseController : Controller {
protected override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext filterContext) {
// your logging stuff here
base.OnActionExecuting(filtercontext);
}
}
Then the rest of your controllers can inherit from this, e.g.
public class HomeController : MyBaseController {
// action methods...
}

Answer 3

You can use your own controller factory and register it as well:
From: (many example on the net - insert logging where you want)
adapted from: http://www.keyvan.ms/custom-controller-factory-in-asp-net-mvc
using System;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Web.Mvc;
using System.Web.Routing;
namespace IControllerFactorySample.ControllerFactories
{
public class YourControllerFactory : IControllerFactory
{
#region IControllerFactory Members
public IController CreateController(RequestContext requestContext, string controllerName)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(controllerName))
throw new ArgumentNullException("controllerName");
IController controller = Activator.CreateInstance(Type.GetType(controllerName)) as IController;
return controller;
}
public void ReleaseController(IController controller)
{
if (controller is IDisposable)
(controller as IDisposable).Dispose();
else
controller = null;
}
#endregion
}
}
dont forget to register it in global.asax.cs
ControllerBuilder.Current.SetControllerFactory(
typeof(YourControllerFactory));

Answer 4

there is a routing debugger developed by Phil Haack
ASP.Net Routing Debugger