Question

This is the ViewModel:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using AfvClassifieds.Models;

namespace AfvClassifieds.ViewModels
{
    public class ClassifiedsIndexViewModel
    {
        public List<Category> Categories { get; set; }
    }
}

Let me explain this one, I want to capture everything from my Category table. I then want to pass it to my view using a “strongly typed view”. This I populate my new ViewModel:

 // Retrieve the categories table from the database.
            var categoryModel = AfvClassifiedsDB.Categories.ToList();

            // Set up our ViewModel
            var viewModel = new ClassifiedsIndexViewModel()
            {
                Categories = categoryModel,
            };

Then I want to iterate through my table in the view: (This is were its gone wrong).

<% 
        foreach (string categoryName in Model.Categories)
        {
        %>

I think you could summarise my problem as an issue of iterating through a list in C#?

The error is as follows:

Cannot convert type ‘AfvClassifieds.Models.Category’ to ‘string’

Answer 1

Ok so instead of:

foreach (string categoryName in Model.Categories)

do:

<% foreach (var category in Model.Categories) { %>
    <div><%: category.Name %></div>
<% } %>

or:

<% foreach (Category category in Model.Categories) { %>
    <div><%: category.Name %></div>
<% } %>

or even better: use display templates and never write a single foreach in your view:

<%: Html.DisplayFor(x => x.Categories) %>

and in ~/Views/YourControllerName/DisplayTemplates/Category.ascx:

<%@ Control 
    Language="C#" 
    Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewUserControl<AfvClassifieds.Models.Category>" %>
<div><%: Model.Name %></div>