Two models in one view in ASP MVC 3

Question

I have 2 models:

public class Person
{
    public int PersonID { get; set; }
    public string PersonName { get; set; }
}
public class Order
{
    public int         


        

Answer 1

Just create a single view Model with all the needed information in it, normaly what I do is create a model for every view so I can be specific on every view, either that or make a parent model and inherit it. OR make a model which includes both the views.

Personally I would just add them into one model but thats the way I do it:

public class xViewModel
{
    public int PersonID { get; set; }
    public string PersonName { get; set; }
    public int OrderID { get; set; }
    public int TotalSum { get; set; }
}

@model project.Models.Home.xViewModel

@using(Html.BeginForm())
{
    @Html.EditorFor(x => x.PersonID)
    @Html.EditorFor(x => x.PersonName)
    @Html.EditorFor(x => x.OrderID)
    @Html.EditorFor(x => x.TotalSum)
}

Answer 2

You can use the presentation pattern http://martinfowler.com/eaaDev/PresentationModel.html

This presentation "View" model can contain both Person and Order, this new
class can be the model your view references.

Answer 3

Beside of one view model in asp.net you can also make multiple partial views and assign different model view to every view, for example:

   @{
        Layout = null;
    }

    @model Person;

    <input type="text" asp-for="PersonID" />
    <input type="text" asp-for="PersonName" />

then another partial view Model for order model

    @{
        Layout = null;
     }

    @model Order;

    <input type="text" asp-for="OrderID" />
    <input type="text" asp-for="TotalSum" />

then in your main view load both partial view by

<partial name="PersonPartialView" />
<partial name="OrderPartialView" />

Answer 4

In fact there is a way to use two or more models on one view without wrapping them in a class that contains both.

Using Employee as an example model:

@model Employee

Is actually treated like.

@{ var Model = ViewBag.model as Employee; }

So the View(employee) method is setting your model to the ViewBag and then the ViewEngine is casting it.

This means that,

ViewBag.departments = GetListOfDepartments();
    return View(employee);

Can be used like,

            @model  Employee
        @{
                var DepartmentModel = ViewBag.departments as List<Department>;
        }

Essentially, you can use whatever is in your ViewBag as a "Model" because that's how it works anyway. I'm not saying that this is architecturally ideal, but it is possible.

Answer 5

If you are a fan of having very flat models, just to support the view, you should create a model specific to this particular view...

public class EditViewModel
    public int PersonID { get; set; }
    public string PersonName { get; set; }
    public int OrderID { get; set; }
    public int TotalSum { get; set; }
}

Many people use AutoMapper to map from their domain objects to their flat views.

The idea of the view model is that it just supports the view - nothing else. You have one per view to ensure that it only contains what is required for that view - not loads of properties that you want for other views.

Answer 6

Create a parent view model that contains both models.

public class MainPageModel{
    public Model1 Model1{get; set;}
    public Model2 Model2{get; set;}
}

This way you can add additional models at a later date with very minimum effort.