Question

I am working on an asp.net MVC 3 application.

I have a C# function that takes a string as an input, formats it and then returns the formatted string.

I have a .cshtml file where I fill data in a webgrid.

When filling the data in the webgrid, I want to format it first through a C# function and then fill the results.

In asp.net I can simply use the code behind to do it. but I am new to MVC 3 so any suggestions on how to do it is greatly appreciated.

I heard it should be done in the action. can you help me on how to do that?

the C# function look like this

public string FormatString (string input)
{
    // I Format the string and return it
} 

the webgrid look like this

<div id="GridDiv">
@grid.GetHtml(
        htmlAttributes: new { id = "grid" },
        tableStyle: "grid",
        headerStyle: "header",
        rowStyle: "row",
        footerStyle: "footer",
        alternatingRowStyle: "altRow",
        columns: grid.Columns(
            grid.Column("Name", "Name", style: "Centered", canSort: true),
            grid.Column("Address", "Address", canSort: true),
            grid.Column("City", "City", canSort: true),
            grid.Column("PhoneNumber", "Phone Number", style: "Centered"),
        ))

I want to format the Name, Address, City, and PhoneNumber

Thanks a lot for any help

Answer 1

OK, personally I have never used the Grid helper, but I assume this would be the general direction.
Let’s say the Name/Phone/City/Address are properties of a Person class.

Build an appropriate view model

public sealed class MyViewModel
{
    public string Name {get; set;}
    public string Address {get; set;}
    public string City {get; set;}
    public string PhoneNumber {get; set;}

    public MyViewModel(Person person)
    {
        FillViewModel(person); // either copy the given properties by hand, use Automapper, or write your own simple (although quite general) mapping method using reflection
        Address = FormatString(Address);
        City = FormatString(City);
        PhoneNumber = FormatString(PhoneNumber);
    }
    public MyViewModel()
    { 
    }
}

Use it in controller action

public ActionResult ShowGrid(int personId)
{
    var person = SomeKindOfDatabaseAccess.GetPerson(personId);
    var viewModel = new MyViewModel(person);
    return View(viewModel);
}

And then use this model on your page, so when you pass PhoneNumber, City and Address to the grid in the view, you’ll have them pre-formatted.

EDIT: Regarding ‘where to put the FormatString method’

As I see it, you can put it in the ‘Person’ model class if you’re going to use it in the Person-related business only:

(If the Person class is generated from e.g. EF, you can do it in a different file so it looks neat, like below)

public sealed partial class Person
{
     public string FormatString(string input)
     {
         ...
     }
}         

or

public sealed partial class Person
{
     public static string FormatString(string input)
     {
         ...
     }
}         

or if you’re feeling fancy (or – more practically – you’re going to use it in any other situation for string formatting), you can define the method as a string extension for convenience:

public static class Extensions
{
     public static string FormatString(this string input)
     {
         ...
     }
}

And then: PhoneNumber = PhoneNumber.FormatString();