MVC'ify WebForms Control

Question

Currently, I am passing data from my codebehind into hidden fields like so:

Code behind: HiddenField statusValue.Value = progressPercent.ToString();

.ASCX page: <asp:HiddenField ID="statusValue" value="" runat="server" />

In MVC, I would pass a model from my controller to a view. Is there a similar way to do this in webforms? I am beginning to have a large number of hidden fields and it seems like a bad way to program this...

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 19 '13 at 20:55

1

Generally, having tons of hidden fields isn't the best practice. Have you looked into ASP.NET View State? It may achieve what you are looking for.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb386448(v=vs.100).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms972976.aspx

answered Mar 19 '13 at 20:55

Cameron Tinker

9,634
10
46
85

Would you liken WebForm's ViewState to MVC's ViewBag or ViewData? – user1477388 Mar 19 '13 at 21:00
I'm guessing it's more like MVC's View Bag. I haven't done a direct comparison between each one. – Cameron Tinker Mar 19 '13 at 21:02
Thanks, Cameron. I have heard bad things about ViewState's complexity; but I will try it out. – user1477388 Mar 19 '13 at 21:03
1

Be sure to read up on the second link as it describes the ASP.NET page life cycle and where the View State fits in. – Cameron Tinker Mar 19 '13 at 21:04
1

ViewState is not complex at all. Just use it wisely when you dont need it turn it off its not a bad thing. – adt Mar 19 '13 at 21:05
I appears I can simply access variables in my .ascx directly from my .cs page! Is there anything wrong with doing just this and avoiding viewstate all together? – user1477388 Mar 20 '13 at 14:34
You can include the variable on the .ascx side if you want. It just depends on how you want to abstract your business logic/view layers. – Cameron Tinker Mar 21 '13 at 18:43

MVC'ify WebForms Control

1 Answers1