If I have a database and I base all my models on the database (using LINQ basically to fetch/set the data). Is it possible to only use a part of those models to create my views? Say I have three columbs in a table, and I only need two for my view, can I simply use two of the three using my database model or should I create a new model to use in my views.
And if I have to create new models, any simple way to do this? I'm using Visual Studio 2015.
Thank you
It is common to create View Models to represent a slice of your domain model when putting data in a view.
For example you may have a BookViewModel and a BookEditModel. You could show and permit editing of different fields depending on the model.
class BookViewModel
{
[ReadOnly]
public string ISBN { get; set;}
[ReadOnly]
public string Title { get; set;}
[ReadOnly]
public string Author { get; set;}
}
class BookEditModel
{
[ReadOnly]
public string ISBN { get; set;}
[Validate(...)]
public string Title { get; set;}
[Validate(...)]
public string Author { get; set;}
[ReadOnly]
public DateTime LastUpdated {get;set;}
}
If you're looking into an easy way to create these view models, there is a tool called AutoMapper that allows you to easily map between domain and view models.
