How to make ASP.NET MVC Action return different formats? - asp.net-mvc

Question

I don't know if this is the right way to approach something, but I'm hoping it is. The example below is a heavy controller and is absolutely the wrong approach, but it get's the idea of what I'm looking for across.
public class PeopleController : Controller
{
public ActionResult List(string? api)
{
MyViewModel Model = new MyViewModel();
if (api == "json") {
// I'd like to return the Model as JSON
} else if (api == "XML") {
// I'd like to return the Model as XML
} else {
return View(Model);
}
}
}
Now what I need to be able to do is return the Model to the View if it's being requested like this:
http://example.com/People/List
But I'd like it to output JSON if it's requested like this:
http://example.com/People/List/?api=json
Or output XML if it's requested like this:
http://example.com/People/List/?api=xml
Is this just plain wrong? If not, what is the best approach to achieve this?
I was thinking of achieving it with a Custom MultiPurposeResult that could do all the filtering for me and then return it as this
public class PeopleController : Controller
{
public MultiPurposeResult List(string? api)
{
MyViewModel Model = new MyViewModel();
return MultiPurpose(Model); }
}
}

Answer 1

Agree with #Matt. Don't explicitly ask for the response type, infer it from the contentType in the request, which is more RESTful.
For example, created a basic enum type to encapsulate the response types you want:
public enum RestfulResultType
{
Json,
Html,
Xml
}
Then create a custom model binder than sets this property in your action, depending on the content type.
Then your controller could look like this:
public ActionResult List(RestfulResultType resultType)
{
var data = repo.GetSomeData();
switch (resultType)
{
case RestfulResultType.Json:
return Json(data);
case RestfulResultType.Xml:
return XmlResult(data); // MvcContrib
case RestfulResultType.Html:
return View(data);
}
}
If you need any more customization than the regular helpers provide, then create custom ActionResult's.
You can leave the return type as ActionResult - that's the point, so that the controller can return different formats.
ResfulResultTypeModelBinder.cs:
public class ResfulResultTypeModelBinder: IModelBinder
{
public object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
if (controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.ContentType == "application/json")
return RestfulResultType.Json;
// other formats, etc.
}
}
Global.asax:
ModelBinders.Binders.Add(typeof(RestfulResultType), new RestfulResultTypeModelBinder());

Answer 2

You can create a custom MultiPurposeResult but I personally would lose the string? api from the method signature, instead have the MultiPurpose look for the presence of Request["format"] and then make the determination of what format to possible output the results in. Since the format doesn't nessecarily have anything to do with the ActionResult but more the format of the response.