How to pass ObjectId from MongoDB in MVC.net - asp.net-mvc

I'm starting a new project with Mongo, NoRM and MVC .Net.
Before I was using FluentNHibernate so my IDs were integer, now my IDs are ObjectId. So when I have an Edit link my URL looks like this :
WebSite/Admin/Edit/23,111,160,3,240,200,191,56,25,0,0,0
And it does not bind automaticly to my controller as an ObjectId
Do you have any suggestions/best practices to work with this? Do I need to encode/decode the ID everytime?
Thanks!

Use a custom model binder like this ... (working against the offical C# MongoDB driver)
protected void Application_Start()
{
...
ModelBinders.Binders.Add(typeof(ObjectId), new ObjectIdModelBinder());
}
public class ObjectIdModelBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
var result = bindingContext.ValueProvider.GetValue(bindingContext.ModelName);
if (result == null)
{
return ObjectId.Empty;
}
return ObjectId.Parse((string)result.ConvertTo(typeof(string)));
}
}

I Use following
public class ObjectIdModelBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
string value = controllerContext.RouteData.Values[bindingContext.ModelName] as string;
if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(value)) {
return ObjectId.Empty;
}
return new ObjectId(value);
}
}
and
protected void Application_Start()
{
......
ModelBinders.Binders.Add(typeof(ObjectId), new ObjectIdModelBinder());
}
almost forgot, make URLs from ObjectId.ToString()

I am not familiar with the ObjectId type but you could write a custom model binder that will take care of converting the id route constraint to an instance of ObjectId.

Did you know you can use the [MongoIdentifier] attribute to make any property act as the unique key?
I've been solving this issue by borrowing a technique from WordPress by having every entity also be represented by a "url slug" property and decorating that property with [MongoIdentifier].
So if I had a person named Johnny Walker I'd create a slug of "johnny-walker". You just have to make sure these url slugs stay unique and you get to keep clean urls without ugly object ids.

For Web API you can add Custom parameter binding ule in WebApiConfig:
public static class WebApiConfig
{
public static void Register(HttpConfiguration config)
{
//...
config.ParameterBindingRules.Insert(0, GetCustomParameterBinding);
//...
}
public static HttpParameterBinding GetCustomParameterBinding(HttpParameterDescriptor descriptor)
{
if (descriptor.ParameterType == typeof(ObjectId))
{
return new ObjectIdParameterBinding(descriptor);
}
// any other types, let the default parameter binding handle
return null;
}
public class ObjectIdParameterBinding : HttpParameterBinding
{
public ObjectIdParameterBinding(HttpParameterDescriptor desc)
: base(desc)
{
}
public override Task ExecuteBindingAsync(ModelMetadataProvider metadataProvider, HttpActionContext actionContext, CancellationToken cancellationToken)
{
try
{
SetValue(actionContext, new ObjectId(actionContext.ControllerContext.RouteData.Values[Descriptor.ParameterName] as string));
return Task.CompletedTask;
}
catch (FormatException)
{
throw new BadRequestException("Invalid ObjectId format");
}
}
}
}
And use it Without any additional attributes in controller:
[Route("{id}")]
public IHttpActionResult Get(ObjectId id)

Related

WebAPI ModelBinder Error

I've implemented a ModelBinder but it's BindModel() method is not being called, and I get Error Code 500 with the following message:
Error:
Could not
create a 'IModelBinder' from 'MyModelBinder'. Please ensure it derives
from 'IModelBinder' and has a public parameterless
constructor.
I do derive from IModelBinder and do have public parameterless constructor.
My ModelBinder Code:
public class MyModelBinder : IModelBinder
{
public MyModelBinder()
{
}
public bool BindModel(ModelBindingExecutionContext modelBindingExecutionContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
// Implementation
}
}
Added in Global.asax:
protected void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
ModelBinders.Binders.DefaultBinder = new MyModelBinder();
// ...
}
WebAPI Action Signature:
[ActionName("register")]
public HttpResponseMessage PostRegister([ModelBinder(BinderType = typeof(MyModelBinder))]User user)
{
return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK);
}
User Class:
public class User
{
public List<Communication> Communications { get; set; }
}
ASP.NET Web API uses a completely different ModelBinding insfracture than APS.NET MVC.
You are trying to implement the MVC's model binder interface System.Web.Mvc.IModelBinder but to work with Web API you need to implement System.Web.Http.ModelBinding.IModelBinder
So your implementation should look like this:
public class MyModelBinder : System.Web.Http.ModelBinding.IModelBinder
{
public MyModelBinder()
{
}
public bool BindModel(
System.Web.Http.Controllers.HttpActionContext actionContext,
System.Web.Http.ModelBinding.ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
// Implementation
}
}
For further reading:
Parameter Binding in ASP.NET Web API
How WebAPI does Parameter Binding
This for using System.Web.ModelBinding
using System.Web.ModelBinding;
class clsUserRegModelBinder : IModelBinder
{
public bool BindModel(ModelBindingExecutionContext modelBindingExecutionContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
This for System.Web.MVC
using System.Web.Mvc;
class clsUserRegModelBinder : IModelBinder
{
public object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}
}
Note the Different i hope it help you

How do I pass value to MVC3 master page ( _layout)?

I have a custom modelbinder, its check the authentication cookie and return the value.
public class UserDataModelBinder<T> : IModelBinder
{
public object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
if (controllerContext.RequestContext.HttpContext.Request.IsAuthenticated)
{
var cookie =
controllerContext.RequestContext.HttpContext.Request.Cookies[FormsAuthentication.FormsCookieName];
if (cookie == null)
return null;
var decrypted = FormsAuthentication.Decrypt(cookie.Value);
if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(decrypted.UserData))
return JsonSerializer.DeserializeFromString<T>(decrypted.UserData);
}
return null;
}
}
if I need to use it, I just need to pass it to the action. everything works.
public ActionResult Index(UserData userData)
{
AccountLoginWidgetVM model = new AccountLoginWidgetVM();
if (null != userData)
model.UserData = userData;
return View(userData);
}
However, I want to use it in my master page, because once user login, i want to display their info on the top on every page. I tried a few things, coudln't get it work
#Html.RenderPartial("LoginPartial", ???model here??)
We did it as follows:
Defined separate viewmodel for masterpages.
public class MasterPageViewModel
{
public Guid CurrentUserId { get; set; }
public string CurrentUserFullName { get; set; }
}
Added injection filter and filter provider.
public class MasterPageViewModelInjectorFilterProvider: IFilterProvider
{
public IEnumerable<Filter> GetFilters(ControllerContext controllerContext, ActionDescriptor actionDescriptor)
{
return new [] {new Filter(new MasterPageViewModelInjectorFilter(), FilterScope.Action, null), };
}
private class MasterPageViewModelInjectorFilter: IResultFilter
{
public void OnResultExecuting(ResultExecutingContext filterContext)
{
var viewResult = filterContext.Result as ViewResult;
if (viewResult == null)
return;
if (viewResult.ViewBag.MasterPageViewModel != null)
return;
//setup model whichever way you want
var viewModel = new MasterPageViewModel();
//inject model into ViewBag
viewResult.ViewBag.MasterPageViewModel = viewModel;
}
public void OnResultExecuted(ResultExecutedContext filterContext)
{
}
}
}
Configure filter provider:
//in Application_Start
FilterProviders.Providers.Add(new MasterPageViewModelInjectorFilterProvider());
Use in master:
ViewBag.MasterPageViewModel
This way you have fine uncoupled architecture. Of course you can combine it with Dependency Injection (we do, but I left it out for clarity) and configure your action filter for every action whichever way you want.
In this case you can use ViewBag.
public ActionResult Index(UserData userData)
{
AccountLoginWidgetVM model = new AccountLoginWidgetVM();
if (null != userData)
model.UserData = userData;
ViewBag.UserData = userData;
return View(userData);
}
#Html.RenderPartial("LoginPartial", ViewBag.UserData)
You have to make sure that userData is not null. If it'll be null the passed model will be default model of the view.

Custom model binding issue

In my MVC 3 solution I want to have all Ids in querystring to be crypted. To decrypt URLs I inherited from DefaultModelBinder and overrided BindProperty method:
public class CryptedIdBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
protected override void BindProperty(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext, System.ComponentModel.PropertyDescriptor propertyDescriptor)
{
if (propertyDescriptor.Name.ToLower() == "id")
{
propertyDescriptor.SetValue(bindingContext.Model, CryptoHelper.Decrypt(controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.Form["id"]));
return;
}
base.BindProperty(controllerContext, bindingContext, propertyDescriptor);
return;
}
After that I set new DefaultBinder in global.asax on Application_Start:
System.Web.Mvc.ModelBinders.Binders.DefaultBinder = new CryptedIdBinder();
I didn't inherit from IModelBinder because I want to change binding logic only for id fields in solution.
The issue is that BindProperty method is never called. What am I doning wrong?
PS. In order to be sure that I call at least BindModel method I added a peace of this code inside my custom binder, and it was hit by the debugger:
public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
return base.BindModel(controllerContext, bindingContext);
}
If your models don't have Id properties of course the BindProperty won't be called. Because it called on the model properties. If I understood your question what you need is to transform each Id named query string parameter. In this case you need a custom value provider instead of a modelbinder. This is good article about the value providers. And it's quite easy to write one:
public class MyValueProviderFacotry : ValueProviderFactory
{
public override IValueProvider GetValueProvider(ControllerContext controllerContext)
{
return new MyValueProvider(controllerContext);
}
}
public class MyValueProvider : IValueProvider
{
private ControllerContext controllerContext;
public MyValueProvider(ControllerContext controllerContext)
{
this.controllerContext = controllerContext;
}
public bool ContainsPrefix(string prefix)
{
return true;
}
public ValueProviderResult GetValue(string key)
{
if (key.ToLower() == "id")
{
var originalValue = controllerContext.HttpContext.Request.QueryString[key];
var transformedValue = CryptoHelper.Decrypt(orignalValue );
var result = new ValueProviderResult(transformedValue,originalValue,CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
return result;
}
return null;
}
}
In global.asax:
protected void Application_Start()
{
AreaRegistration.RegisterAllAreas();
ValueProviderFactories.Factories.Insert(4, new MyValueProviderFacotry()); //Its need to be inserted before the QueryStringValueProviderFactory
RegisterGlobalFilters(GlobalFilters.Filters);
RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);
}

Use custom ASP.NET MVC IValueProvider, without setting it globally?

I want to be able to grab keys/values from a cookie and use that to bind a model.
Rather than building a custom ModelBinder, I believe that the DefaultModelBinder works well out of the box, and the best way to choose where the values come from would be to set the IValueProvider that it uses.
To do this I don't want to create a custom ValueProviderFactory and bind it globally, because I only want this ValueProvider to be used in a specific action method.
I've built an attribute that does this:
/// <summary>
/// Replaces the current value provider with the specified value provider
/// </summary>
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Method | AttributeTargets.Class, Inherited = true, AllowMultiple = true)]
public class SetValueProviderAttribute : ActionFilterAttribute
{
public SetValueProviderAttribute(Type valueProviderType)
{
if (valueProviderType.GetInterface(typeof(IValueProvider).Name) == null)
throw new ArgumentException("Type " + valueProviderType + " must implement interface IValueProvider.", "valueProviderType");
_ValueProviderType = valueProviderType;
}
private Type _ValueProviderType;
public override void OnActionExecuting(ActionExecutingContext filterContext)
{
IValueProvider valueProviderToAdd = GetValueProviderToAdd();
filterContext.Controller.ValueProvider = valueProviderToAdd;
}
private IValueProvider GetValueProviderToAdd()
{
return (IValueProvider)Activator.CreateInstance(_ValueProviderType);
}
}
Unfortunately, the ModelBinder and its IValueProvider are set BEFORE OnActionExecuting (why?????). Has anyone else figured out a way to inject a custom IValueProvider into the DefaultModelBinder without using the ValueProviderFactory?
You should still use a ValueProviderFactory in this case.
The method that you have to implement on your ValueProviderFactory has this signature:
IValueProvider GetValueProvider(ControllerContext controllerContext)
Within your implementation of that method you can inspect the controller context, and if the incoming request is for the controller/action that you want to leverage cookies on, return some CustomCookieValueProvider.
If you don't want to leverage cookies for the request, just return null and the framework will filter that out of from the list of Value Providers.
As a bonus, you might not want to hard code the logic for when to use the CustomCookieValueProvider into the ValueProviderFactory. You could, perhaps, leverage DataTokens to match when to use cookies with given routes. So add a route like this:
routes.MapRoute("SomeRoute","{controller}/{action}").DataTokens.Add("UseCookies", true);
Notice the DataTokens.Add() call in there, now inside you GetValueProvider method you could do something like this:
if (controllerContext.RouteData.DataTokens.ContainsKey("UseCookies"))
{
return new CustomCookieValueProvider(controllerContext.RequestContext.HttpContext.Request.Cookies);
}
return null;
Here is an alternative that lets you specify IValueProviders as attributes against an actions parameters.
This makes the IValueProviders transient and not Global.
public interface IControllerContextAware
{
ControllerContext ControllerContext { get; set; }
}
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class | AttributeTargets.Struct | AttributeTargets.Enum | AttributeTargets.Interface | AttributeTargets.Parameter, AllowMultiple = false, Inherited = false)]
public class ValueProviderAttribute : CustomModelBinderAttribute
{
public Type[] ValueProviders { get; private set; }
public ValueProviderAttribute(params Type[] valueProviders)
{
if (valueProviders == null)
{
throw new ArgumentNullException("valueProviders");
}
foreach (var valueProvider in valueProviders.Where(valueProvider => !typeof(IValueProvider).IsAssignableFrom(valueProvider)))
{
throw new ArgumentException(string.Format(CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, "The valueProvider {0} must be of type {1}", valueProvider.FullName, typeof(IValueProvider)), "valueProviders");
}
ValueProviders = valueProviders;
}
public override IModelBinder GetBinder()
{
return new ValueProviderModelBinder
{
ValueProviderTypes = ValueProviders.ToList(),
CreateValueProvider = OnCreateValueProvider
};
}
protected virtual IValueProvider OnCreateValueProvider(Type valueProviderType, ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
var valueProvider = (IValueProvider)Activator.CreateInstance(valueProviderType);
if (valueProvider is IControllerContextAware)
{
(valueProvider as IControllerContextAware).ControllerContext = controllerContext;
}
return valueProvider;
}
private class ValueProviderModelBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
public IList<Type> ValueProviderTypes { get; set; }
public Func<Type, ControllerContext, ModelBindingContext, IValueProvider> CreateValueProvider { get; set; }
public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
var valueProviders = from type in ValueProviderTypes
select CreateValueProvider(type, controllerContext, bindingContext);
bindingContext.ValueProvider = new ValueProviderCollection(valueProviders.Concat((Collection<IValueProvider>)bindingContext.ValueProvider).ToList());
return base.BindModel(controllerContext, bindingContext);
}
}
}
This is basically the code form the ModelBinderAttribute, but with a few tweaks.
It isn't sealed and so you can alter the way in which the IValueProviders are created if need be.
Here is a simple example which looks in another field, possibly a hidden or encrypted field, and takes the data and puts it into another property.
Here is the model, which has no knowledge of the IValueProvider, but does know about the hidden field.
public class SomeModel
{
[Required]
public string MyString { get; set; }
[Required]
public string MyOtherString { get; set; }
[Required]
public string Data { get; set; }
}
THen we have the IValueProvider, in this case, my provider knows explicitly about my model, but this doesn't have to be the case.
public class MyValueProvider : IValueProvider, IControllerContextAware
{
public ControllerContext ControllerContext { get; set; }
public bool ContainsPrefix(string prefix)
{
var containsPrefix = prefix == "MyString" && ControllerContext.HttpContext.Request.Params.AllKeys.Any(key => key == "Data");
return containsPrefix;
}
public ValueProviderResult GetValue(string key)
{
if (key == "MyString")
{
var data = ControllerContext.RequestContext.HttpContext.Request.Params["Data"];
var myString = data.Split(':')[1];
return new ValueProviderResult(myString, myString, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture);
}
return null;
}
}
and then the action that ties all this together:
[HttpGet]
public ActionResult Test()
{
return View(new SomeModel());
}
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult Test([ValueProvider(typeof(MyValueProvider))]SomeModel model)
{
return View(model);
}
Figured out how to do this. First, create a custom model binder that takes a value provider type in the constructor - but inherits from default modelbinder. This allows you to use standard model binding with a custom value provider:
/// <summary>
/// Uses default model binding, but sets the value provider it uses
/// </summary>
public class SetValueProviderDefaultModelBinder : DefaultModelBinder
{
private Type _ValueProviderType;
public SetValueProviderDefaultModelBinder(Type valueProviderType)
{
if (valueProviderType.GetInterface(typeof(IValueProvider).Name) == null)
throw new ArgumentException("Type " + valueProviderType + " must implement interface IValueProvider.", "valueProviderType");
_ValueProviderType = valueProviderType;
}
/// <summary>
/// Before binding the model, set the IValueProvider it uses
/// </summary>
public override object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
{
bindingContext.ValueProvider = GetValueProvider();
return base.BindModel(controllerContext, bindingContext);
}
private IValueProvider GetValueProvider()
{
return (IValueProvider)Activator.CreateInstance(_ValueProviderType);
}
}
Then we create a model binding attribute that will inject the value provider type in the custom model binder created above, and use that as the model binder:
/// <summary>
/// On the default model binder, replaces the current value provider with the specified value provider. Cannot use custom model binder with this.
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class | AttributeTargets.Class | AttributeTargets.Enum | AttributeTargets.Interface | AttributeTargets.Parameter | AttributeTargets.Struct, AllowMultiple = false, Inherited = false)]
public class SetValueProviderAttribute : CustomModelBinderAttribute
{
// Originally, this was an action filter, that OnActionExecuting, set the controller's IValueProvider, expecting it to be picked up by the default model binder
// when binding the model. Unfortunately, OnActionExecuting occurs AFTER the IValueProvider is set on the DefaultModelBinder. The only way around this is
// to create a custom model binder that inherits from DefaultModelBinder, and in its BindModel method set the ValueProvider and then do the standard model binding.
public SetValueProviderAttribute(Type valueProviderType)
{
if (valueProviderType.GetInterface(typeof(IValueProvider).Name) == null)
throw new ArgumentException("Type " + valueProviderType + " must implement interface IValueProvider.", "valueProviderType");
_ValueProviderType = valueProviderType;
}
private Type _ValueProviderType;
public override IModelBinder GetBinder()
{
var modelBinder = new SetValueProviderDefaultModelBinder(_ValueProviderType);
return modelBinder;
}
}

Limiting HTTP verbs on every action

Is it a good practice to limit the available HTTP verbs for every action? My code is cleaner without [HttpGet], [HttpPost], [HttpPut], or [HttpDelete] decorating every action, but it might also be less robust or secure. I don't see this done in many tutorials or example code, unless the verb is explicitly required, like having two "Create" actions where the GET version returns a new form and the POST version inserts a new record.
Personally I try to respect RESTful conventions and specify the HTTP verb except for the GET actions which don't modify any state on the server thus allowing them to be invoked with any HTTP verb.
Yes, I believe it's a good practice to limit your actions only to the appropriate HTTP method it's supposed to handle, this will keep bad requests out of your system, reduce the effectiveness of possible attacks, improve the documentation of your code, enforce a RESTful design, etc.
Yes, using the [HttpGet], [HttpPost] .. attributes can make your code harder to read, specially if you also use other attributes like [OutputCache], [Authorize], etc.
I use a little trick with a custom IActionInvoker, instead of using attributes I prepend the HTTP method to the action method name, e.g.:
public class AccountController : Controller {
protected override IActionInvoker CreateActionInvoker() {
return new HttpMethodPrefixedActionInvoker();
}
public ActionResult GetLogOn() {
...
}
public ActionResult PostLogOn(LogOnModel model, string returnUrl) {
...
}
public ActionResult GetLogOff() {
...
}
public ActionResult GetRegister() {
...
}
public ActionResult PostRegister(RegisterModel model) {
...
}
[Authorize]
public ActionResult GetChangePassword() {
...
}
[Authorize]
public ActionResult PostChangePassword(ChangePasswordModel model) {
...
}
public ActionResult GetChangePasswordSuccess() {
...
}
}
Note that this doesn't change the action names, which are still LogOn, LogOff, Register, etc.
Here's the code:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Web.Mvc;
public class HttpMethodPrefixedActionInvoker : ControllerActionInvoker {
protected override ActionDescriptor FindAction(ControllerContext controllerContext, ControllerDescriptor controllerDescriptor, string actionName) {
var request = controllerContext.HttpContext.Request;
string httpMethod = request.GetHttpMethodOverride()
?? request.HttpMethod;
// Implicit support for HEAD method.
// Decorate action with [HttpGet] if HEAD support is not wanted (e.g. action has side effects)
if (String.Equals(httpMethod, "HEAD", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
httpMethod = "GET";
string httpMethodAndActionName = httpMethod + actionName;
ActionDescriptor adescr = base.FindAction(controllerContext, controllerDescriptor, httpMethodAndActionName);
if (adescr != null)
adescr = new ActionDescriptorWrapper(adescr, actionName);
return adescr;
}
class ActionDescriptorWrapper : ActionDescriptor {
readonly ActionDescriptor wrapped;
readonly string realActionName;
public override string ActionName {
get { return realActionName; }
}
public override ControllerDescriptor ControllerDescriptor {
get { return wrapped.ControllerDescriptor; }
}
public override string UniqueId {
get { return wrapped.UniqueId; }
}
public ActionDescriptorWrapper(ActionDescriptor wrapped, string realActionName) {
this.wrapped = wrapped;
this.realActionName = realActionName;
}
public override object Execute(ControllerContext controllerContext, IDictionary<string, object> parameters) {
return wrapped.Execute(controllerContext, parameters);
}
public override ParameterDescriptor[] GetParameters() {
return wrapped.GetParameters();
}
public override object[] GetCustomAttributes(bool inherit) {
return wrapped.GetCustomAttributes(inherit);
}
public override object[] GetCustomAttributes(Type attributeType, bool inherit) {
return wrapped.GetCustomAttributes(attributeType, inherit);
}
public override bool Equals(object obj) {
return wrapped.Equals(obj);
}
public override int GetHashCode() {
return wrapped.GetHashCode();
}
public override ICollection<ActionSelector> GetSelectors() {
return wrapped.GetSelectors();
}
public override bool IsDefined(Type attributeType, bool inherit) {
return wrapped.IsDefined(attributeType, inherit);
}
public override string ToString() {
return wrapped.ToString();
}
}
}
You don't need to specify the HttpGet, all others you do need

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