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PO.NET MVC3 Preferred Model Initializiation
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  1. PO.NET MVC3 Preferred Model Initializiation
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    copied!<p>I have been working in MVC recently, and I am curious about what the best way to initialize my view models is. Should I be mapping it directly in the controller, or should I be initializing the properties in a constructor for the view model. Also, when having lists, is this better practice since you will not have to repopulate them when there is a validation error.</p> <p>For example, if i had the following model:</p> <pre><code>public FooBarViewModel { public int FooBarId { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty1 { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty2 { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty3 { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty4 { get; set; } public int FooId { get; set; } public int BarId { get; set; } public IEnumerable&lt;Foo&gt; Foos { get; set; } public IEnumerable&lt;Bar&gt; Bars { get; set; } } </code></pre> <p>and then the controller:</p> <pre><code>public MyController : Controller { [HttpGet] public ActionResult FooBar(int foobarId) { var foobar = _fooBarRepository.GetById(foobarId); var model = new FooBarViewModel { FooBarId = foobar.Id; SomeInitialProperty1 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty1; SomeInitialProperty2 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty2; SomeInitialProperty3 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty3; SomeInitialProperty4 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty4; Foos = foobar.Foos.ToList(); Bars = foobar.Bars.ToList(); } return View(model); } [HttpPost] public ActionResult FooBar(FooBarViewModel model) { if (ModelState.IsValid) { //process model return RedirectToAction("Index"); } var foobar = _fooBarRepository.GetById(model.FoobarId); model.Foos = foobar.GetFoos.ToList(); model.Bars = foobar.GetBars.ToList(); return View(model); } } </code></pre> <p>or should I do it in my model:</p> <pre><code>public FooBarViewModel { public int FooBarId { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty1 { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty2 { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty3 { get; set; } public string SomeInitialProperty4 { get; set; } public int FooId { get; set; } public int BarId { get; set; } public IEnumerable&lt;Foo&gt; Foos { get { return _foos; } } private IEnumerable&lt;Foo&gt; _foos; public IEnumerable&lt;Bar&gt; Bars { get { return _bars; } } private IEnumerable&lt;Bar&gt; _bars; public MyViewModel(FooBar foobar) { FooBarId = foobar.Id; SomeInitialProperty1 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty1; SomeInitialProperty2 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty2; SomeInitialProperty3 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty3; SomeInitialProperty4 = foobar.SomeInitialProperty4; _foos = foobar.Foos.ToList(); _bars = foobar.Bars.ToList(); } } </code></pre> <p>then my controller:</p> <pre><code>public MyController : Controller { [HttpGet] public ActionResult FooBar(int foobarId) { var foobar = _fooBarRepository.GetById(foobarId); var model = new FooBarViewModel(foobar); return View(model); } [HttpPost] public ActionResult FooBar(FooBarViewModelmodel) { if (ModelState.IsValid) { //process model return RedirectToAction("Index"); } return View(model); } } </code></pre> <p>Which is the preferred convention in MVC and why is it the best practice? Also, reasons why to choose one over the other? Thanks in advance.</p>
 

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