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When using Team Foundation Server 2008 and Team Build, chances are you are developing unit tests in Microsoft’s test framework which is integrated with Visual Studio 2008. This integration offers valuable data hen a build has been finished on the build server: test run results are published in the Team Foundation Server 2008 data warehouse and can be used to create detailed metrics on how your development team is performing and what the quality of the product being developed is.

You are right! This is indeed my third post on ASP.NET MVC ModelBinders. The first one focussed on creating a ModelBinder from scratch in an older preview release, the second post did something similar trying to do some dirty ViewState-like stuff. Good news! There’s more of this dirty stuff coming! How about this action method, using a Person class which is a Linq to SQL entity type:

Some people may have already noticed the link in my VISUG session blog post, but for those who didn’t… I’ve released my sample application CarTrackr on CodePlex. CarTrackr is a sample application for the ASP.NET MVC framework using the repository pattern and dependency injection using the Unity application block. It was written for various demos in presentations done by Maarten Balliauw. CarTrackr is an online software application designed to help you understand and track your fuel usage and kilometers driven.

Yesterday evening, I did a presentation on the ASP.NET MVC framework for VISUG (Visual Studio User Group Belgium). I really hope everyone got a good feel on what the ASP.NET MVC framework is all about and what it takes to build an ASP.NET MVC application. Thank you Pieter Gheysens for inviting me for this talk! And thank you audience for being interested for over an hour and a half!

Just after the ASP.NET MVC preview 5 was released, I made a quick attempt to using the ModelBinder attribute. In short, a ModelBinder allows you to use complex objects as action method parameters, instead of just basic types like strings and integers. While my aproach was correct, it did not really cover the whole picture. So here it is: the full picture. First of all, what are these model binders all about? By default, an action method would look like this:

Abstract: “This screencast is a short demonstration on how you can handle form interactions using the ASP.NET MVC framework.” Download sample code: MvcCommentForm.zip (593.58 kb)

The new ASP.NET MVC preview 5 featured a number of new HtmlHelper methods. One of these methods is the HtmlHelper.AntiForgeryToken. When you place <%=Html.AntiForgeryToken()%> on your view, this will be rendered similar to the following: When using this in conjunction with the action filter attribute [ValidateAntiForgeryToken], each round trip to the server will be validated based on this token.

ASP.NET MVC action methods can be developed using regular method parameters. In earlier versions of the ASP.NET MVC framework, these parameters were all simple types like integers, strings, booleans, … When required, a method parameter can be a complex type like a Contact with Name, Email and Message properties. It is, however, required to add a ModelBinder attribute in this case. Here’s how a controller action method could look like:

In earlier ASP.NET MVC previews, form validation was something that should be implemented “by hand”. Since the new ASP.NET MVC preview 5, form validation has become more handy. Let me show you how you can add validation in such a ridiculously easy manner. Here’s an example controller: