Question

Using MVC3, I am creating a generic partial view which takes an IList as its model and then creates a table based on the ModelMetaData of the first object contained in the list. So far I can get the display names of each “thing” in the object but I can’t enumerate the actual fields/data in the object. Here is what I’ve tried:

@model System.Collections.IList

@if (this.Model.IsNullOrEmpty())
{
    <p>No items found.</p>
}
else
{
    <table>
        <thead>
    @{
        ViewDataDictionary<object> viewData = new ViewDataDictionary<object>();
        ModelMetadata metadata = ModelMetadata.FromLambdaExpression<object, object>(m => this.Model[0], viewData);

        foreach (var property in metadata.Properties)
        {
            <th>@property.DisplayName</th>
        }
    }
        </thead>
        <tbody>
    @foreach (var item in this.Model)
    {
        ViewDataDictionary<object> itemData = new ViewDataDictionary<object>(item);

            <tr>
        @foreach (var data in itemData)
        {
                <td>@data</td>
        }
            </tr>
    }
        </tbody>
    </table>
}

The loop which creates the rows works but there is nothing in the ViewData. Thoughts?

Answer 1

You could use a RouteValueDictionary:

@foreach (var item in this.Model)
{
    RouteValueDictionary itemData = new RouteValueDictionary(item);
    <tr>
    @foreach (var data in itemData)
    {
        <td>@data.Value</td>
    }
    </tr>
}