Question

What is the difference between ViewResult() and ActionResult() in ASP.NET MVC?

public ViewResult Index()
{
    return View();
}

public ActionResult Index()
{
    return View();
}

Answer 1

ActionResult is an abstract class that can have several subtypes.

ActionResult Subtypes

• ViewResult – Renders a specifed view to the response stream

• PartialViewResult – Renders a specifed partial view to the response stream

• EmptyResult – An empty response is returned

• RedirectResult – Performs an HTTP redirection to a specifed URL

• RedirectToRouteResult – Performs an HTTP redirection to a URL that is determined by the
  routing engine, based on given route data

• JsonResult – Serializes a given ViewData object to JSON format

• JavaScriptResult – Returns a piece of JavaScript code that can be executed on the client

• ContentResult – Writes content to the response stream without requiring a view

• FileContentResult – Returns a file to the client

• FileStreamResult – Returns a file to the client, which is provided by a Stream

• FilePathResult – Returns a file to the client

Resources

• What’s the difference between ActionResult and ViewResult for action method? [ASP.NET Forums]