Ninject with MVC4 conditional binding on HttpContext.Current - asp.net-mvc

I'm not very experienced with Ninject, so I may have a concept completely wrong here, but this is what I want to do. I have a multi-tenant web application and would like to inject a different class object depending on what URL was used to come to my site.
Something along the lines of this, although maybe I can use .When() in the binding, but you get the idea:
private static void RegisterServices(IKernel kernel)
{
var currentTenant = TenantLookup.LookupByDomain(HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.Host.ToLower());
if (currentTenant.Foldername == "insideeu")
{ kernel.Bind<ICustomerRepository>().To<AXCustomerRepository>(); }
else
{ kernel.Bind<ICustomerRepository>().To<CustomerRepository>(); }
...
The problem is that HttpContext.Current is null at this point. So my question is how can I get the HttpContext data in NinjectWebCommon.RegisterServices. Any direction on where I might be going wrong with Ninject would be much appreciated as well.
Thank you

The problem is that your binding here resolves at compile time; whereas you need it to resolve at runtime, for every request. To do this, use ToMethod:
Bind<ICustomerRepository>().ToMethod(context =>
TenantLookup.LookupByDomain(HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.Host.ToLower()).Foldername == "insideeu"
? new AXCustomerRepository() : new CustomerRepository());
This means that, every time the ICustomerRepository is called for, NInject will run the method using the current HttpContext, and instantiate the appropriate implementation.
Note that you can also use Get to resolve to the type rather than to the specific constructor:
Bind<ICustomerRepository>().ToMethod(context =>
TenantLookup.LookupByDomain(HttpContext.Current.Request.Url.Host.ToLower())
.Foldername == "insideeu" ?
context.Kernel.Get<AXCustomerRepository>() : context.Kernel.Get<CustomerRepository>()
as ICustomerRepository);

Related

Using Dependency Injection without any DI Library

I am new to Repository and DI and trying to implement in my MVC 5 project.
I implemented Constructor Injection where in my controller has a constructor like this:
IBook _ibook;
public Test(IBook ibook)
{
_ibook = ibook;
}
Without any DI library, it throws an error: There is no empty constructor.
To avoid this, I added one more constructor as below:
public Test ():this(new Book())
{
}
Since I am new to DI, I don't want to risk my project by using DI library which can later throw some error that I may not be able to resolve.
I want to know what issues I might encounter if I am not using DI library.
In case it is recommended, which DI library is good for beginners? I have seen few videos of NInject and Unity.
It is a good idea to delay any decision to use some kind of tool or library until the last responsible moment. With a good design you can add a DI library later on. This means that you practice Pure DI.
The preferred interception point in MVC is the IControllerFactory abstraction since it allows you to intercept the creation of MVC controllers, and doing so prevents you from having to implement a second constructor (which is an anti-pattern). Although it is possible to use IDependencyResolver, the use of that abstraction is much less convenient because it is also called by MVC to resolve things you are typically not interested in.
A custom IControllerFactory that will act as your Composition Root can be implemented as follows:
public sealed class CompositionRoot : DefaultControllerFactory
{
private static string connectionString =
ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["app"].ConnectionString;
private static Func<BooksContext> bookContextProvider = GetCurrentBooksContext;
private static IBookRepository bookRepo = new BookRepository(bookContextProvider);
private static IOrderBookHandler orderBookHandler = new OrderBookHandler(bookRepo);
protected override IController GetControllerInstance(RequestContext _, Type type) {
// Unfortunately, because of MVC's design, controllers are not stateless, and
// you will have to create them per request.
if (type == typeof(OrderBookController))
return new HomeController(orderBookHandler);
if (type == typeof(BooksController))
return new BooksController(bookRepo);
// [other controllers here]
return base.GetControllerInstance(_, type);
}
private static BooksContext GetCurrentBooksContext() {
return GetRequestItem<BooksContext>(() => new BooksContext(connectionString));
}
private static T GetRequestItem<T>(Func<T> valueFactory) where T : class {
var context = HttpContext.Current;
if (context == null) throw new InvalidOperationException("No web request.");
var val = (T)context.Items[typeof(T).Name];
if (val == null) context.Items[typeof(T).Name] = val = valueFactory();
return val;
}
}
Your new controller factory can be hooked into MVC as follows:
public class MvcApplication : System.Web.HttpApplication
{
protected void Application_Start() {
ControllerBuilder.Current.SetControllerFactory(new CompositionRoot());
// the usual stuff here
}
}
When you practice Pure DI, you will typically see your Composition Root consist of a big list of if statements. One statement per root object in your application.
Starting off with Pure DI has some interesting advantages. The most prominent one is compile time support, because this is something you will lose immediately when you start using a DI library. Some libraries try minimize this loss by allowing you to verify your configuration in a way that the compiler would do; but this verification is done at runtime and the feedback cycle is never as short as that which the compiler can give you.
Please don't be tempted to simplify development by implementing some mechanism that allows creating types using reflection, because in doing so you are building your own DI library. There are many downsides to this, e.g. you lose compile time support while not getting back any of the benefits that an existing DI library can give you.
When your Composition Root is starting to get hard to maintain, that is the moment you should consider switching from Pure DI to a DI library.
Do note that in my example Composition Root, all application components (except for the controllers) are defined as singleton. Singleton means that the application will only have one instance of each component. This design needs your components to be stateless (and thus thread-safe), anything that has state (such as the BooksContext) should not be injected through the constructor. In the example I used a Func<T> as the provider of the BooksContext which is stored per request.
Making your object graphs singletons has many interesting advantages. For instance, it prevents you from making common configuration errors such as Captive Dependencies and it forces you into a more SOLID design. And besides, some DI libraries are very slow, and making everything a singleton might prevent performance problems when switching to a DI library later on. On the other hand, the downside of this design is that everybody on the team should understand that all components must be stateless. Storing state in components will cause needless grief and aggravation. My experience is that stateful components are much easier to detect than most DI configuration errors. I have also noticed that having singleton components is something that feels natural to most developers, especially those who aren't experienced with DI. For a detailed discussion on the two composition models to choose from and their downsides and advantages, take a look at this serie of blog posts.
Note that in the example I manually implemented a per-request lifestyle for the BooksContext. Although all DI libraries have out-of-the-box support for scoped lifestyles such as per-request lifestyles, I would argue against using those scoped lifestyles (except perhaps when the library guarantees to throw an exception instead of failing silently). Most libraries do not warn you when you resolve a scoped instance outside the context of an active scope (for instance resolving a per-request instance on a background thread). Some containers will return you a singleton instance, others return you a new instance each time you ask. This is really troublesome because it hides bugs and can cause you many hours trying to debug your application (I speak from experience here).
The simplest and sanest solution is to use Pure DI. With ASP.NET MVC, this is most easily done by deriving from DefaultControllerFactory and overriding GetControllerInstance:
protected override IController GetControllerInstance(
RequestContext requestContext, Type controllerType)
{
if (controllerType == typeof(Test))
return new Test(new Book());
return base.GetControllerInstance(requestContext, controllerType);
}
Then register your new Controller Factory in your Global.asax like this:
ControllerBuilder.Current.SetControllerFactory(new MyControllerFactory());
Unfortunately, much documentation will tell you to use IDependencyResolver, or Bastard Injection to deal with Dependency Injection, but these will not make your code more maintainable.
There are lots of more details, including examples of how to properly use Dependency Injection with ASP.NET MVC, in my book.
If you're only interested in Dependency Injection to achieve some level of abstraction, you're definitely not required to use any IoC framework.
If you don't care about scope, lifetime and nested dependencies, you may end up with something as primitive as this:
internal class MyBasicResolver : IDependencyResolver
{
private readonly Dictionary<Type, Type> _services = new Dictionary<Type, Type>()
{
{ typeof(IBook), typeof(Book) }
// more services registrations
};
public object GetService(Type serviceType)
{
return _services.ContainsKey(serviceType) ? Activator.CreateInstance(_services[serviceType]) : null;
}
public IEnumerable<object> GetServices(Type serviceType)
{
yield return GetService(serviceType);
}
}
Then register it as the current Dependency Resolver for MVC:
DependencyResolver.SetResolver(new MyBasicResolver());
See MSDN
Ninject and unity provide object container, which contains object wich you have register at startup of the application,
But why you need to use di, Di states that two objects should not depend upon its concreation it should depend upon its abstraction, so if suppose in futere you need to replace Book class to eBook, here both the class has same function but it has diffrunt concreation at that time you need to just your di configuration you dont need to recode the controller for eBook.
I am using unity di in my most projects I didt face any issue which I cant resolve its easy and make practice to use that, dont be afraid for that.

MVC3, Ninject, MvcSiteMapProvider - How to inject dependency to overridden method

I have an MVC3 application that is using Ninject and MvcSiteMapProvider.
I have created this class which MvcSiteMapProvider uses to dynamically add nodes to my sitemap:
public class PageNodeProvider : DynamicNodeProviderBase
{
public override IEnumerable<DynamicNode> GetDynamicNodeCollection()
{
// need to get repository instance
var repository = // how do I get this???
foreach (var item in repository.GetItems())
{
yield return MakeDynamicNode(item);
}
}
}
The MvcSiteMapProvider instantiates this type itself, so I'm not sure how to inject my repository into it.
I thought about using service location by getting a handle on my kernel and calling Get<Repository>() in the method. But, I saw this property when looking at the definition of NinjectHttpApplication:
// Summary:
// Gets the kernel.
[Obsolete("Do not use Ninject as Service Locator")]
public IKernel Kernel { get; }
Do not use Ninject as Service Locator ?! How else am I supposed to do this?
I then found this question here on stackoverflow and all answers say don't use Service Location.
What am I supposed to do?
This seems to be another chapter from the book "Why providers are bad design?". You have the same problem as with any kind of ASP.NET providers. There are no really good and satisfying solutions for them. Just hacks.
I think the best option you have is to fork the project and change the DefaultSiteMapProvider to use DepencencyResolver instead of the Activator and provide the implementation back to the community. Then you can use constructor injection in your PageNodeProvider implementation. This will solve the problem once for all types and everyone.
Of course you could also use the DependencyResolver just in your implementation. But this is by far not the best solution because you should get the instances as close to the root as possible, it makes testing more complicated and it solves the problem just for you.
Even though I see that you've decided to ditch the provider altogether, I'd like to elaborate on using the DependencyResolver. Basically, you can manually get the correct repository instance via Ninject using
var repository = DependencyResolver.Current.GetService<IRepository>();
This is less robust, as you have to maintain this as well as the NinjectMVC3.cs class should the stuff change, and it is a bit more complicated to test.

What's the simplest way to intercept a method call for added functionality?

Suppose i have a repository that returns a list of Posts. The repository interface has a GetAll() method which does what it suggests.
Now in keeping with the theory that i shouldn't be putting domain logic in the repository, i want to intercept calls to the concrete GetAll() method such that i can add the following logic to the GetAll() result:
return GetAll().OrderByDescending(p => p.Posted).ToList();
The reason i want to intercept this is because (1) i don't want to have the client remember to call an extension method (OrderByDescending or some useless wrapper of that), i want it called every time and (2) i don't want to have all my concrete implementations have to remember to order the GetAll() result - i want this logic in a single place external to any repository.
What's the easiest way to do this?
I'm already using StructureMap so if i can intercept with this it might be a low cost option. But i don't think SM intercepts method calls, just the creation of the object instance?
Do i need to go to a proxy or mixin pattern? Do i need to go all-in with Castle Dynamic Proxy? Or is there another method i should consider or perhaps a combination?
I'm really interested in a concrete suggestion to my particular example above. I'm novice to AOP so please be gentle.
Went with the DynamicProxy option. It was easier to use than i thought.
All it took was the using Castle.DynamicProxy; reference...
A bit of IInterceptor...
public class PostRepoInterceptor : IInterceptor
{
public void Intercept(IInvocation invocation)
{
invocation.Proceed();
if (invocation.Method.Name.Equals("GetAll", StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
invocation.ReturnValue = this.GetModifiedGetAllResult(invocation.ReturnValue);
}
private object GetModifiedGetAllResult(object getAllResult)
{
return Post.GetOrderedPosts((IList<Post>)getAllResult);
}
}
Two new lines in StructureMap config:
public RepoRegistry()
{
var pg = new ProxyGenerator();
For<IPostRepository>()
.EnrichAllWith(z => pg.CreateInterfaceProxyWithTarget<IPostRepository>(z, new PostRepoInterceptor()));
}
..and it's done. GetAll() now behaves how i want. I can still use the interfaces the way i'm familar and i've kept it all DRY and decoupled for DDD.
Thanks to Sam and Andre.
AFAIK, StructureMap only intercepts object construction, so using it it's not going to work.
I don't know Castle, but I think that the idea - here - is to apply Decorator pattern, so you could also do it by yourself without recurring to a third party library by following the steps described in the previous link.
That's how I'd do it, since I'm not a big fan of AOP.
HTH
No, it can not change the return value. However, you can access the target inside aspect to change target's property. Assuming you has already Repository defined, here is the code to add post processing aspect to change target property.
IRepository<decimal> Rep = new Repository();
IRepository<decimal> tpRep = (IRepository<decimal>)ObjectProxyFactory.CreateProxy(Rep,
new String[] { "GetAll" },
null,
new Decoration((x, y) =>
{
Console.WriteLine("Entering " + x.GetType().ToString());
if (x.GetType().ToString() == "ThirdPartyHR.Repository")
{
List<decimal> decimals = ((Repository)x).RepList;
IEnumerable<decimal> query = decimals.OrderByDescending(num => num, new SpecialComparer()).ToList<decimal>();
((Repository)x).RepList = (List<decimal>)query;
}
}, null));
tpRep.GetAll();
List<decimal> lstRep = Rep.RepList;
If needed, I can send you complete working code. And, if possible, please reply to me from the article "Add Aspects to Object Using Dynamic Decorator" since I don't automatically get the message here.
There is an article Add Aspects to Object Using Dynamic Decorator.
It describes an approach to adding aspects to object at runtime instead of adding aspects to class at design time. Looks like that is what you want.

Why does HttpContext not derive from HttpContextBase?

Both have Request and Response properties, but I can't write a method that takes either HttpContext or HttpContextBase. In some places either one or the other is available so I need to handle both. I know HttpContextWrapper can convert in one direction, but still... why is it like this?
HttpContext has been around since .NET 1.0. Because of backward compatibility reasons, they can't change that class. HttpContextBase was introduced in ASP.NET MVC to allow for better testability because it makes it easier to mock/stub it.
This is an old question but I just had the same problem and the answer is in Gunder's comment.
Create you methods to use HttpContectBase and then wrap your context in a HttpContextWrapper when you want to call it from your code
public class SomeClass{
... other stuff in your class
public void MyMethod(HttpContextBase contextbase){
...all your other code
}
}
Usage
var objSomeClass = new SomeClass();
objSomeClass.MyMethod(new HttpContextWrapper(HttpContext.Current));
I think HttpContext.Current will be null if you make this call via ajax, I will investigate how to get the context and update this post.

ASP.NET MVC: HTTPContext and Dependency Injection

Currently I have an ActionFilter that gets the current users name from HttpContext and passes it into the action which uses it on a service method. eg:
Service.DoSomething(userName);
I now have a reason to do this not at the action level but the controller constructor level. Currently I'm using structure map to create controllers and inject the service. I'm looking at something like:
public interface IUserProvider
{
string UserName { get; }
}
public class HttpContextUserProvider : IUserProvider
{
private HttpContext context;
public HttpContextUserProvider(HttpContext context)
{
this.context = context;
}
public string UserName
{
get
{
return context.User.Identity.Name;
}
}
}
That said, my IoC foo is really weak as this is the first project I've used it on.
So my question is... how can I tell structure map to pass in HttpContext in the constructor for HttpContextUserProvider? This just seems weird... I'm not sure how to think of HttpContext.
It sounds like you should be using HttpContextBase instead of HttpContextUserProvider. This is a out-of-box abstraction of HttpContext and allows you to create a mock, write UnitTests and inject your dependencies.
public class SomethingWithDependenciesOnContext
{
public SomethingWithDependenciesOnContext(HttpContextBase context) {
...
}
public string UserName
{
get {return context.User.Identity.Name;}
}
}
ObjectFactory.Initialize(x =>
x.For<HttpContextBase>()
.HybridHttpOrThreadLocalScoped()
.Use(() => new HttpContextWrapper(HttpContext.Current));
Have an interface abstract HttpContext.Current. Expose only the methods you need. GetUserName() would call HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.Name in the implementation, for example. Make that as thin as possible.
Take that abstraction and inject it into your other provider class. This will allow you to test the provider by mocking the http context abstraction. As a side benefit, you can do other nifty things with that HttpContext abstraction besides mock it. Reuse it, for one thing. Add generic type params to bags, etc.
I'm not sure why you're bothering. It seems like just using HttpContext.Current directly in HttpContextUserProvider is the right thing to do. You're never going to be substituting in a different HttpContext...
Maybe I left something out, but the above answer doesn't work for me (has since been deleted -- it was still a useful answer though -- it showed how to tell SM to pass constructor arguments). Instead if I do:
ObjectFactory.Initialize(x =>
{
x.BuildInstancesOf<HttpContext>()
.TheDefault.Is.ConstructedBy(() => HttpContext.Current);
x.ForRequestedType<IUserProvider>()
.TheDefault.Is.OfConcreteType<HttpContextUserProvider>();
});
I get it to work. I did this after finding: If you need something in StructureMap, but you can’t build it with new()…
Edit:
Thanks to Brad's answer I think I have a better handle on HttpContext. His answer definitely works, I just am not sure I like having the call to HttpContext.Current inside a class (it seems like it hides the dependency, but I'm far from an expert on this stuff).
The above code should work for injecting HttpContext as far as I can tell. Matt Hinze brings up the added that point that if all I need from HttpContext is the User.Identity.Name, my design should be explicit about that (having an Interface around HttpContext only exposing what I need). I think this is a good idea.
The thing is over lunch I kinda realized my service really only needs to depend on a string: userName. Having it depend on IUserProvider might not have much added value. So I know I don't want it to depend on HttpContext, and I do know all I need is a string (userName) -- I need to see if I can learn enough StructureMap foo to have make this connection for me. (sirrocoo's answer gives a hint on where to start but he deleted it :*( ).

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