how can I convert model to entity? - asp.net-mvc

I can not save data in database beacuse model can not convert to entity,
I am getting data from model but Add function can not add intodatabase.
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Create(Patient Patient)
{
_context.Patients.Add(Patient); "(Error here)"
try
{
_context.SaveChanges();
}
catch (DbEntityValidationException ex)
{
foreach (var entityValidationErrors in ex.EntityValidationErrors)
{
foreach (var validationError in entityValidationErrors.ValidationErrors)
{
Response.Write("Property: " + validationError.PropertyName + " Error: " + validationError.ErrorMessage);
}
}
}
return RedirectToAction("Index", "Patients");
}
}
Error :cannot convert from 'CandidateScreening.Models.Patient' to 'CandidateScreening.Data.Entities.Patient'

You have 2 different classes for viewmodel and data model, of course both of them cannot implicitly converted to each other. The simplest way to enable conversion is using implicit operator (or explicit operator, depending on context) to convert between viewmodel and data model, see this example below:
public static implicit operator Patient(PatientVM patient)
{
return new Patient
{
// list of properties
// example:
// PatientId = patient.PatientId
};
}
Then assign viewmodel contents to data model inside POST action method as provided below:
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Create(PatientVM patient)
{
Patient patientData = patient;
_context.Patients.Add(patientData);
// other stuff
return RedirectToAction("Index", "Patients");
}
Note: The viewmodel class name intentionally changed in the example to differentiate between data model & viewmodel class.

You can also use Automapper. Here is an example:
CandidateScreening.Data.Entities.Patient patient = Mapper.Map<CandidateScreening.Data.Entities.Patient>(patientVm);//where patientVm has type CandidateScreening.Models.Patient

Related

How to code a Polymorphic Model Binder and Provider in MVC 6

This question has been asked before on SO and elsewhere in the context of MVC3 and there are bits and bobs about it related to ASP.NET Core RC1 and RC2 but niot a single example that actually shows how to do it the right way in MVC 6.
There are the following classes
public abstract class BankAccountTransactionModel {
public long Id { get; set; }
public DateTime Date { get; set; }
public decimal Amount { get; set; }
public readonly string ModelType;
public BankAccountTransactionModel(string modelType) {
this.ModelType = modelType;
}
}
public class BankAccountTransactionModel1 : BankAccountTransactionModel{
public bool IsPending { get; set; }
public BankAccountTransactionModel1():
base(nameof(BankAccountTransactionModel1)) {}
}
public class BankAccountTransactionModel2 : BankAccountTransactionModel{
public bool IsPending { get; set; }
public BankAccountTransactionModel2():
base(nameof(BankAccountTransactionModel2)) {}
}
In my controller I have something like this
[Route(".../api/[controller]")]
public class BankAccountTransactionsController : ApiBaseController
{
[HttpPost]
public IActionResult Post(BankAccountTransactionModel model) {
try {
if (model == null || !ModelState.IsValid) {
// failed to bind the model
return BadRequest(ModelState);
}
this.bankAccountTransactionRepository.SaveTransaction(model);
return this.CreatedAtRoute(ROUTE_NAME_GET_ITEM, new { id = model.Id }, model);
} catch (Exception e) {
this.logger.LogError(LoggingEvents.POST_ITEM, e, string.Empty, null);
return StatusCode(500);
}
}
}
My client may post either BankAccountTransactionModel1 or BankAccountTransactionModel2 and I would like to use a custom model binder to determine which concrete model to bind based on the value in the property ModelType which is defined on the abstract base class BankAccountTransactionModel.
Thus I have done the following
1) Coded up a simple Model Binder Provider that checks that the type is BankAccountTransactionModel. If this is the case then an instance of BankAccountTransactionModelBinder is returned.
public class BankAccountTransactionModelBinderProvider : IModelBinderProvider {
public IModelBinder GetBinder(ModelBinderProviderContext context) {
if (context == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(context));
if (context.Metadata.IsComplexType && !context.Metadata.IsCollectionType) {
var type1 = context.Metadata.ModelType;
var type2 = typeof(BankAccountTransactionModel);
// some other code here?
// tried this but not sure what to do with it!
foreach (var property in context.Metadata.Properties) {
propertyBinders.Add(property, context.CreateBinder(property));
}
if (type1 == type2) {
return new BankAccountTransactionModelBinder(propertyBinders);
}
}
return null;
}
}
2) Coded up the BankAccountTransactionModel
public class BankAccountTransactionModelBinder : IModelBinder {
private readonly IDictionary<ModelMetadata, IModelBinder> _propertyBinders;
public BankAccountTransactionModelBinder(IDictionary<ModelMetadata, IModelBinder> propertyBinders){
this._propertyBinders = propertyBinders;
}
public Task BindModelAsync(ModelBindingContext bindingContext) {
if (bindingContext == null) throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(bindingContext));
// I would like to be able to read the value of the property
// ModelType like this or in some way...
// This does not work and typeValue is...
var typeValue = bindingContext.ValueProvider.GetValue("ModelType");
// then once I know whether it is a Model1 or Model2 I would like to
// instantiate one and get the values from the body of the Http
// request into the properties of the instance
var model = Activator.CreateInstance(type);
// read the body of the request in some way and set the
// properties of model
var key = some key?
var result = ModelBindingResult.Success(key, model);
// Job done
return Task.FromResult(result);
}
}
3) Lastly I register the provider in Startup.cs
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
services.AddMvc(options => {
options.ModelBinderProviders.Insert(0, new BankAccountTransactionModelBinderProvider());
options.Filters.Add(typeof (SetUserContextAttribute));
});
The whole thing seems OK in that the provider is actually invoked and the same is the case for the model builder. However, I cannot seem to get anywhere with coding the logic in BindModelAsync of the model binder.
As already stated by the comments in the code, all that I'd like to do in my model binder is to read from the body of the http request and in particular the value of ModelType in my JSON. Then on the bases of that I'd like to instantiate either BankAccountTransactionModel1 or BankAccountTransactionModel and finally assign values to the property of this instance by reading them of the JSON in the body.
I know that this is a only a gross approximation of how it should be done but I would greatly appreciate some help and perhaps example of how this could or has been done.
I have come across examples where the line of code below in the ModelBinder
var typeValue = bindingContext.ValueProvider.GetValue("ModelType");
is supposed to read the value. However, it does not work in my model binder and typeValue is always something like below
typeValue
{}
Culture: {}
FirstValue: null
Length: 0
Values: {}
Results View: Expanding the Results View will enumerate the IEnumerable
I have also noticed that
bindingContext.ValueProvider
Count = 2
[0]: {Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ModelBinding.RouteValueProvider}
[1]: {Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.ModelBinding.QueryStringValueProvider}
Which probably means that as it is I do not stand a chance to read anything from the body.
Do I perhaps need a "formatter" in the mix in order to get desired result?
Does a reference implementation for a similar custom model binder already exist somewhere so that I can simply use it, perhaps with some simple mods?
Thank you.

.NET MVC Custom validation (without data annotation)

use .NET MVC and code-first EF to implement of requested functionality. Business objects are relatively complex and I use System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations.IValidatableObject to validate business object.
Now I'm trying to find the way, how to show validation result from business object, using MVC ValidationSummary without using data annotations. For example (very simplified):
Business Object:
public class MyBusinessObject : BaseEntity, IValidatableObject
{
public virtual IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
{
return Validate();
}
public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate()
{
List<ValidationResult> results = new List<ValidationResult>();
if (DealType == DealTypes.NotSet)
{
results.Add(new ValidationResult("BO.DealType.NotSet", new[] { "DealType" }));
}
return results.Count > 0 ? results.AsEnumerable() : null;
}
}
Now in my MVC controller I have something like this:
public class MyController : Controller
{
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult New(MyModel myModel)
{
MyBusinessObject bo = GetBoFromModel(myModel);
IEnumerable<ValidationResult> result = bo.Validate();
if(result == null)
{
//Save bo, using my services layer
//return RedirectResult to success page
}
return View(myModel);
}
}
In view, I have Html.ValidationSummary();.
How I can pass IEnumerable<ValidationResult> to the ValidationSummary?
I tried to find an answer by googling, but all examples I found describes how to show validation summary using data annotations in Model and not in Business object.
Thanks
Add property, say BusinessError, in the model
in the View do the following
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(model => model.BusinessError)
Then in your controller whenever you have error do the following
ModelState.AddModelError("BussinessError", your error)
I would have a look at FluentValidation. It's a framework for validation without data annoations. I've used it with great success in some projects for complex validation, and it is also usable outside of the MVC-project.
Here is the sample code from their page:
using FluentValidation;
public class CustomerValidator: AbstractValidator<Customer> {
public CustomerValidator() {
RuleFor(customer => customer.Surname).NotEmpty();
RuleFor(customer => customer.Forename).NotEmpty().WithMessage("Please specify a first name");
RuleFor(customer => customer.Company).NotNull();
RuleFor(customer => customer.Discount).NotEqual(0).When(customer => customer.HasDiscount);
RuleFor(customer => customer.Address).Length(20, 250);
RuleFor(customer => customer.Postcode).Must(BeAValidPostcode).WithMessage("Please specify a valid postcode");
}
private bool BeAValidPostcode(string postcode) {
// custom postcode validating logic goes here
}
}
Customer customer = new Customer();
CustomerValidator validator = new CustomerValidator();
ValidationResult results = validator.Validate(customer);
bool validationSucceeded = results.IsValid;
IList<ValidationFailure> failures = results.Errors;
Entity Framework should throw a DbEntityValidationException if there are validation errors. You can then use the exception to add the errors to the ModelState.
try
{
SaveChanges();
}
catch (DbEntityValidationException ex)
{
AddDbErrorsToModelState(ex);
}
return View(myModel);
protected void AddDbErrorsToModelState(DbEntityValidationException ex)
{
foreach (var validationErrors in ex.EntityValidationErrors)
{
foreach (var validationError in validationErrors.ValidationErrors)
{
ModelState.AddModelError(validationError.PropertyName, validationError.ErrorMessage);
}
}
}
One of the ways to pass the contents of IEnumerate and keep taking advantage of Html.ValidationSummary is by updating ModelState.
You can find a good discussion on how to update the ModelState here.

Asp.net mvc what is the best practice of rebuilding ViewModel?

On POST , if validation failed and before sending back the ViewModel to the same View with Model State errors, do you rebuild ViewModel for all SelectLists, ReadOnly fields etc?
right now I have separate methods for Fill First Time(for GET Edit-Method) / Rebuild ViewModels from domain objects, what is the best practice so I can be DRY and also not have to change two methods any time I add a new readonly property to ViewModel?
My Solution: Followed this Pattern
Followed pattern suggested here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/2775656/57132
In IModelBuilder Implementation
Build(..)
{
var viewModel = new ViewModel();
// and Fill all Non-ReadOnly fields
...
...
call CompleteViewModel(viewModel)
}
CompleteViewModel(ViewModel viewModel)
{
//Fill all ReadOnly & SelectLists
...
}
The reason I went with this solution is because I don't want to store stuff on server to retrieve across the HTTP Requests
I don't rebuild it, because I don't stay at POST. I follow POST-REDIRECT-GET pattern, so if I post to /User/Edit/1 using POST HTTP method, I get redirected to /User/Edit/1 uasing GET.
ModelState is transferred to TempData to follow Post-Redirect-Get and be availabe at GET call. View model is built in one place, at GET call. Example:
[HttpPost]
[ExportModelStateToTempData]
public ActionResult Edit(int id, SomeVM postedModel)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid) {
//do something with postedModel and then go back to list
return RedirectToAction(ControllerActions.List);
}
//return back to edit, because there was an error
return RedirectToAction(ControllerActions.Edit, new { id });
}
[ImportModelStateFromTempData]
public ActionResult Edit(int id)
{
var model = //create model here
return View(ControllerActions.Edit, model);
}
This is code for attributes importing/exporting ModelState:
public abstract class ModelStateTempDataTransferAttribute : ActionFilterAttribute
{
protected static readonly string Key = typeof(ModelStateTempDataTransferAttribute).FullName;
}
public class ExportModelStateToTempDataAttribute : ModelStateTempDataTransferAttribute
{
public override void OnActionExecuted(ActionExecutedContext filterContext)
{
//Only export when ModelState is not valid
if (!filterContext.Controller.ViewData.ModelState.IsValid)
{
//Export if we are redirecting
if ((filterContext.Result is RedirectResult) || (filterContext.Result is RedirectToRouteResult))
{
filterContext.Controller.TempData[Key] = filterContext.Controller.ViewData.ModelState;
}
}
base.OnActionExecuted(filterContext);
}
}
public class ImportModelStateFromTempDataAttribute : ModelStateTempDataTransferAttribute
{
public override void OnActionExecuted(ActionExecutedContext filterContext)
{
ModelStateDictionary modelState = filterContext.Controller.TempData[Key] as ModelStateDictionary;
if (modelState != null)
{
//Only Import if we are viewing
if (filterContext.Result is ViewResult)
{
filterContext.Controller.ViewData.ModelState.Merge(modelState);
}
else
{
//Otherwise remove it.
filterContext.Controller.TempData.Remove(Key);
}
}
base.OnActionExecuted(filterContext);
}
}
The simplest solution would be to pass in you viewModel to the method and account for null
private MyViewModel BuildViewModel(MyViewModel model = null)
{
model = model ?? new MyViewModel();
model.ReadOnlyList = new .....
.
.
return model;
}
for Create:
var model = BuildViewModel();
for rebuild:
model = buildViewModel(model);
I like #LukLed's answer above - it looks very interesting. If you want another option, here's what I currently do.
In my service layer, I have a method to build my view model. I call that on GET and return the the view model to the view. On POST, I build the model from the incoming ID and then TryUpdateModel(model). From there, you can do whatever you like (save, check model state, etc.). With this method, you only have 1 build method and only have to update it once if your model changes (i.e. add/remove properties in the future, etc.).
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult AssessFocuses(int apaID)
{
var model = this.apaService.BuildAssessFocusesViewModel(apaID);
return this.View(model);
}
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult AssessFocuses(int apaID, string button)
{
var model = this.apaService.BuildAssessFocusesViewModel(apaID);
this.TryUpdateModel(model);
switch (button)
{
case ButtonSubmitValues.Back:
case ButtonSubmitValues.Next:
case ButtonSubmitValues.Save:
case ButtonSubmitValues.SaveAndClose:
{
try
{
this.apaService.SaveFocusResults(model);
}
catch (ModelStateException<AssessFocusesViewModel> mse)
{
mse.ApplyTo(this.ModelState);
}
if (!this.ModelState.IsValid)
{
this.ShowErrorMessage(Resources.ErrorMsg_WEB_ValidationSummaryTitle);
return this.View(model);
}
break;
}
default:
throw new InvalidOperationException(string.Format(Resources.ErrorMsg_WEB_InvalidButton, button));
}
switch (button)
{
case ButtonSubmitValues.Back:
return this.RedirectToActionFor<APAController>(c => c.EnterRecommendationsPartner(model.ApaID));
case ButtonSubmitValues.Next:
return this.RedirectToActionFor<APAController>(c => c.AssessCompetenciesPartner(model.ApaID));
case ButtonSubmitValues.Save:
this.ShowSuccessMessage(Resources.Msg_WEB_NotifyBarSuccessGeneral);
return this.RedirectToActionFor<APAController>(c => c.AssessFocuses(model.ApaID));
case ButtonSubmitValues.SaveAndClose:
default:
return this.RedirectToActionFor<UtilityController>(c => c.CloseWindow());
}
}

Deserialize webapi repsonse to mvc4 viewmodel in application

I am trying to setup and consume an asp.net webapi rest application and consume it from another project.
I have made a simple helper to call the service like
public static string GetApiResponse(string apiMethod,Dictionary<string,string>queryString=null)
{
using (var client = new WebClient())
{
client.Headers.Add("ApiKey", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ApiKey"]);
//add any query string values into the client
if (queryString != null)
{
foreach (var query in queryString)
{
client.QueryString.Add(query.Key, query.Value);
}
}
try
{
string url = string.Format("{0}{1}", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ApiBaseUrl"],apiMethod);
return(client.DownloadString(url));
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
return ex.Message;
}
}
}
I am consuming it from my controller in a different project like
private IEnumerable<CustomerModel> CustomerDetails()
{
var json = ApiRestHelper.GetApiResponse("Customer/Get");
var data = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<CustomerViewModel>(json, new JsonSerializerSettings
{
});
The returned data from the service is looking like
[{"CustomerId":"24a62bf8-7a4e-4837-859d-1f04dc983011","FirstName":"Joe","LastName":"Bloggs","StoreCustomerId":null}]
My CustomerViewModel is
public class CustomerViewModel
{
public IEnumerable<CustomerModel> Customers { get; set; }
}
I can see the data that is returned is an array and I am trying to convert it to the list. I get an error
Cannot deserialize JSON array (i.e. [1,2,3]) into type 'WebApplication.Models.ViewModels.CustomerViewModel'.
The deserialized type must be an array or implement a collection interface like IEnumerable, ICollection or IList.
What do I need to change to allow the deserialization into my view model?
I was trying to do it wrong.
var data = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<List<CustomerModel>>(json, new JsonSerializerSettings
{
});
Does the trick

How to pass model to an action which have other parameters

My problem with the following is how do I send the ModelStateErrors to the action Employee, when I go through the catch part in DeleteEmployee
public ActionResult Employee(int ID, string Name)
{
EmployeeListModel model = new EmployeeListModel (ID, projectName);
return View(model);
}
public ActionResult DeleteEmployee(Employee emp)
{
try
{
emp.Delete();
return RedirectToAction("Employee", new { ID = emp.ID, Name = emp.Name });
}
catch (Exception e)
{
EmployeeListModel model = new EmployeeListModel (emp.ID, emp.Name);
ModelState.AddModelError("Error", e.Message);
return RedirectToAction("Employee", model);
}
}
With return View("Employee", model); I a still not able to send the ID and Name as parameter.
Use TempData to persist the ModelState across multiple controller actions.
MvcContrib has an action filter that does this. Jeremy Skinner wrote the code and a blog post about it at http://www.jeremyskinner.co.uk/2008/10/18/storing-modelstate-in-tempdata-with-aspnet-mvc/. The link there for the source is broken, so I posted the code below.
ModelStateToTempDataAttribute Source Code
/// <summary>
/// When a RedirectToRouteResult is returned from an action, anything in the ViewData.ModelState dictionary will be copied into TempData.
/// When a ViewResultBase is returned from an action, any ModelState entries that were previously copied to TempData will be copied back to the ModelState dictionary.
/// </summary>
public class ModelStateToTempDataAttribute : ActionFilterAttribute
{
public const string TempDataKey = "__MvcContrib_ValidationFailures__";
/// <summary>
/// When a RedirectToRouteResult is returned from an action, anything in the ViewData.ModelState dictionary will be copied into TempData.
/// When a ViewResultBase is returned from an action, any ModelState entries that were previously copied to TempData will be copied back to the ModelState dictionary.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="filterContext"></param>
public override void OnActionExecuted(ActionExecutedContext filterContext)
{
var modelState = filterContext.Controller.ViewData.ModelState;
var controller = filterContext.Controller;
if(filterContext.Result is ViewResultBase)
{
//If there are failures in tempdata, copy them to the modelstate
CopyTempDataToModelState(controller.ViewData.ModelState, controller.TempData);
return;
}
//If we're redirecting and there are errors, put them in tempdata instead (so they can later be copied back to modelstate)
if((filterContext.Result is RedirectToRouteResult || filterContext.Result is RedirectResult) && !modelState.IsValid)
{
CopyModelStateToTempData(controller.ViewData.ModelState, controller.TempData);
}
}
private void CopyTempDataToModelState(ModelStateDictionary modelState, TempDataDictionary tempData)
{
if(!tempData.ContainsKey(TempDataKey)) return;
var fromTempData = tempData[TempDataKey] as ModelStateDictionary;
if(fromTempData == null) return;
foreach(var pair in fromTempData)
{
if (modelState.ContainsKey(pair.Key))
{
modelState[pair.Key].Value = pair.Value.Value;
foreach(var error in pair.Value.Errors)
{
modelState[pair.Key].Errors.Add(error);
}
}
else
{
modelState.Add(pair.Key, pair.Value);
}
}
}
private static void CopyModelStateToTempData(ModelStateDictionary modelState, TempDataDictionary tempData)
{
tempData[TempDataKey] = modelState;
}
}
Here are some similar posts
ASP.NET MVC - How to Preserve ModelState Errors Across RedirectToAction?
How can I maintain ModelState with RedirectToAction?
From the view, the model state dictionary is a part of the ViewDataDictionary, so try accessing it through viewdata, at least in MVC 3 (believe that way in older versions as well). You don't need to pass it through the model, but instead access it this way.
However, i don't know if model state errors are retained if you do a redirect; you may want to return the response directly instead:
return View("Employee", model);
HTH.
The values for ID and Name are being sent wrapped up in the EmployeeListModel you pass to the "View" ActionResult:
Model.ID
Model.Name
Note, #Brian is correct in that you'll need to use the "View" ActionResult rather than "RedirectToAction" ActionResult otherwise the modelstate errors would be lost. The alternative is to store your modelstate in TempData which is really a special wrapper around the session object. You would need to use something like the "RedirectToAction" ActionResult if you need to ensure your url's are updated properly ...
Store the ModelState in TempData:
TempData["ModelState"] = ModelState;
Then merge the ModelState using an action filter for example:
protected override void OnActionExecuted(ActionExecutedContext context)
{
filterContext.Controller.ViewData.ModelState.Merge((ModelStateDictionary)TempData["ModelState"]);
}
Hope this helps.
Try below code
//as a best practise always use Viewmodel e.g. employeeViewMode and strongly type your view to viewmodel
public class EmployeviewModel
{
public int id;
public string name;
public string errormessage;
}
public ActionResult Employee(int ID)
{
EmployeeListModel model = new EmployeeListModel(ID, projectName);
EmployeviewModel vm = new EmployeviewModel();
vm.id = model.id;
vm.name = model.name;
if (TempData.Keys.Count() > 0)
{
vm.errormessage = TempData["errormessage"];
}
return View(vm);
}
public ActionResult DeleteEmployee(Employee emp)
{
try
{
emp.Delete();
return RedirectToAction("Employee", new { ID = emp.ID, Name = emp.Name });
}
catch (Exception e)
{
//use TempData to store error message
TempData["ErrorMessage"] = e.message;
return RedirectToAction("Employee", emp.ID);
}
}

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