ASP.NET-MVC 2 DataAnnotations StringLength

Question

Can I use the MVC 2 DataAnnotations to specify a minimum length for a string field?

Has anyone done this or have they created custom attributes and if so do you mind sharing the source?

Answer 1

If you're using asp.net 4.0, you can use the StringLength attribute to specify a minimum length.

Eg:

[StringLength(50, MinimumLength=1)]
public string MyText { get; set; }

Answer 2

Use a regular expression attribute. These are interpreted on the client side as well.

[RegularExpression(Regexes.MinStringLength)]
public string MyText { get; set; }

Where Regexes.MinStringLength is a static regular expression class. Inline would look like this:

[RegularExpression(@"^.{5,10}$")] // valid five to ten characters
public string MyText { get; set; }