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View Result in ASP.NET Core MVC
In this article, I am going to discuss the View Result in the ASP.NET Core MVC Web Application with Examples. Please read our previous article, where we discussed the basic concepts of Action Results in ASP.NET Core MVC Application.
ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC
ViewResult is a class in ASP.NET Core MVC that represents a response containing an HTML view that will be rendered and returned to the client’s browser. It’s used to generate dynamic HTML content based on a Razor view template.
The ViewResult class derives from the ActionResult base class. If you go to the definition of ViewResult class, then you will see the following signature. As you can see, it is a concrete class with a few properties overriding the ExecuteResultAsync method.
ViewResult is fundamental in ASP.NET Core MVC as it lets you separate your application’s presentation and business logic. It allows you to create dynamic, interactive web pages that respond to user actions and display dynamic data.
How to Use ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC?
Here’s how you typically use ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC Web:
- Define a Razor View: Start by creating a Razor view (with the .cshtml extension) in your project’s appropriate “Views” folder. This view will contain the HTML markup and any embedded Razor code needed to render dynamic content.
- Create an Action Method: Create an action method that will return a ViewResult within your controller. This method will be responsible for processing data and passing it to the view.
- Return a View: In the action method, return a ViewResult by calling the View() method. You can pass a model object to the View() method if you need to supply dynamic data to the view.
Example to Understand ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC:
First, create a simple model class hold to the Product data. So, create a class file with the name Products.cs within the Models folder and then copy and paste the following code into it.
namespace ActionResultInASPNETCoreMVC.Models
{
public class Product
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string? Name { get; set; }
}
}
Next, modify the Home Controller class as follows:
In the below code, the return type of the Index action method is ViewResult. The ViewResult returned by the View() method will render the Index.cshtml Razor view, and we are passing the product model object to the Index.cshtml view to populate dynamic content within the view.
using ActionResultInASPNETCoreMVC.Models;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;
namespace ActionResultInASPNETCoreMVC.Controllers
{
public class HomeController : Controller
{
public ViewResult Index()
{
Product product = new Product()
{
Id = 1,
Name = "Test",
};
return View(product);
}
}
}
Next, modify the Index.cshtml file as follows:
@model Product
@{
ViewData["Title"] = "Home Page";
Layout = null;
}
<div class="text-left">
<p>Product ID: @Model.Id</p>
<p>Product Name: @Model.Name</p>
</div>
Now, run the application, and you should get the output as expected, as shown in the below image.
Advantages of Using ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC:
The ViewResult type in ASP.NET Core MVC should be used when you want to render and return an HTML view as the response to a client’s request. It’s one of the most commonly used action result types and is essential for generating dynamic HTML content based on Razor view templates. Here are specific scenarios when you should use the ViewResult type:
- Rendering Complete Web Pages: When you need to render complete HTML web pages that include layout, markup, and embedded Razor code to create dynamic content.
- Displaying Data: If you want to display data retrieved from a database, API, or other sources in an HTML format.
- User Interfaces: Use ViewResult to render user interfaces, forms, tables, lists, and other interactive elements in your application’s UI.
- HTML Templating: When you want to utilize Razor syntax to create reusable view templates that can be shared across multiple views.
- Model Binding: If you have data in your action method that you want to bind to the view, you can pass it through the View() method.
- Partial Views: When building modular UI components, use ViewResult to render partial views that can be embedded within other views.
- Layout Pages: Use it to render layout pages that provide a consistent structure for your views, such as headers, footers, and navigation bars.
- Dynamic Content: When you need to generate dynamic content within your HTML views using Razor syntax and C# code.
- View Composing: To create a complete view, combine partial views, components, and data.
- Server-Side Rendering: For rendering HTML content on the server and sending it to the client’s browser.
Disadvantages of Using ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC:
The following are the disadvantages of using ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC Application:
- Complexity: For complex UIs with intricate interactions, managing and maintaining views might become challenging, leading to tightly coupled code.
- Limited Front-End Flexibility: With server-side rendering, you might have limited control over certain client-side features and frameworks that heavily rely on client-side rendering.
- Performance: Server-side rendering with ViewResult might result in slower initial page load times than client-side rendering for certain applications.
- SEO Challenges: Server-side rendering might have SEO challenges for single-page applications that rely on dynamically loaded content.
- Less Interactivity: While ViewResult enables dynamic content, it might provide less interactivity compared to client-side technologies like React, Angular, or Vue.js.
ViewResult is a powerful tool for creating dynamic and interactive web pages in ASP.NET Core MVC applications. Its advantages include dynamic content generation, separation of concerns, and user interface creation. However, it might have complexity, front-end flexibility, and performance limitations in certain scenarios. Choosing between server-side rendering (using ViewResult) and client-side rendering depends on your project’s requirements, user experience goals, and the trade-offs you’re willing to make.
Use Cases of View Result in ASP.NET Core MVC:
A ViewResult in ASP.NET Core MVC is used to render a view and return it as the response to a client’s request. Here are some common use cases for ViewResult:
- Displaying Web Pages: The primary use case of ViewResult is to render and display web pages. When a user accesses a certain route or URL, a controller action can return a ViewResult to render and display the corresponding view, sending a full HTML web page to the client’s browser.
- Dynamic Content: ViewResult allows you to generate dynamic content based on data from the server. You can pass model data to the view, and the view can then use this data to dynamically render content, such as user profiles, product details, news articles, etc.
- Separation of Concerns: Using ViewResult promotes the separation of concerns between your application’s logic (controller) and its presentation (view). This separation makes your codebase more maintainable and allows developers to work independently on different parts of the application.
- Templating: ViewResult enables the use of view templates and layout files. This is particularly useful for maintaining a consistent design across multiple pages, as you can define a single layout and reuse it for various views.
- Data Display and Formatting: ViewResult is commonly used to format and display data fetched from a database or other data sources. For example, you can display lists of products, user profiles, comments, and more.
- Forms and Inputs: ViewResult can handle the rendering of forms and input elements. You can create forms for user input, validation, and data submission to the server.
- User Interfaces: If your application has a user interface with interactive elements, buttons, links, and forms, ViewResult helps render these UI components.
- Rendering Charts and Graphs: You can use ViewResult to render charts and graphs using libraries like Chart.js or Highcharts. These visualizations can help users understand complex data sets.
- User Authentication and Authorization: ViewResult can be used to render different views based on the user’s authentication and authorization status. For instance, you might show a login form for unauthenticated users and a user dashboard for authenticated users.
- Custom Display Logic: You can use ViewResult to implement custom display logic by combining different pieces of data and generating a customized presentation for the user.
- Error Handling and Messages: ViewResult allows you to render error pages and messages when an error occurs, providing users with informative and user-friendly error messages.
- Internationalization (i18n): You can use ViewResult to render views with localized content for different languages and cultures.
ViewResult is the backbone of ASP.NET Core MVC applications, responsible for rendering and presenting dynamic content to users. It enables developers to create user interfaces, interact with data, and structure their applications’ presentation layer.
In the next article, I am going to discuss the Partial View Result in ASP.NET Core MVC Applications. In this article, I try to explain View Result in ASP.NET Core MVC Application with Examples. I hope you enjoy this View Result in ASP.NET Core MVC Application with Examples article.
