Simple Ajax in asp.net MVC 3, update the model and rerender part

Question

I come from a more WPF application background and I\'m used to bindings and such. Jumping into websites then can come with it\'s problems as they work so much more

Answer 1

Here's a full example.

Model:

public class MyViewModel
{
    public int Year { get; set; }
    public IEnumerable<SelectListItem> Years
    {
        get
        {
            return Enumerable.Range(1980, 40).Select(x => new SelectListItem
            {
                Value = x.ToString(),
                Text = x.ToString()
            });
        }
    }

    public IList<TheData> Data { get; set; }
}

public class TheData
{
    public int Year { get; set; }
    public string Foo { get; set; }
    public string Bar { get; set; }
}

Controller:

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        var model = new MyViewModel();
        return View(model);
    }

    [HttpPost]
    public ActionResult Index(int year)
    {
        var model = new[]
        {
            new TheData { Year = year, Foo = "foo 1", Bar = "bar 1" },
            new TheData { Year = year, Foo = "foo 2", Bar = "bar 2" },
            new TheData { Year = year, Foo = "foo 3", Bar = "bar 3" },
        };
        return PartialView("_data", model);
    }
}

Index.cshtml view:

@model MyViewModel

<script src="@Url.Content("~/Scripts/jquery.unobtrusive-ajax.js")" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
    $(function () {
        $('#yearsddl').change(function () {
            $(this).closest('form').trigger('submit');
        });
    });
</script>

@using (Ajax.BeginForm(new AjaxOptions { UpdateTargetId = "data" }))
{
    @Html.DropDownListFor(x => x.Year, Model.Years, new { id = "yearsddl" })
}

<table>
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>Year</th>
            <th>Foo</th>
            <th>Bar</th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody id="data">
        @Html.Partial("_data", Model.Data ?? Enumerable.Empty<TheData>())
    </tbody>
</table>

The jquery.unobtrusive-ajax.js script inclusion should be moved out of the index view inside the layout for example and the custom js that subscribes for the change event of the dropdownlist should be moved into a separate js file and included from the Layout. I just put them here to illustrate a full example of what's required for the view to work.

_Data.cshtml partial:

@model IList<TheData>

@for (int i = 0; i < Model.Count; i++)
{
    <tr>
        <td>@Html.DisplayFor(x => x[i].Year)</td>
        <td>@Html.DisplayFor(x => x[i].Foo)</td>
        <td>@Html.DisplayFor(x => x[i].Bar)</td>
    </tr>
}