How to use ViewModels in ASP.NET MVC?

Question

I just started learning about ViewModels in ASP.NET MVC. So, I thought of implementing a sample example as below:

Business Entity

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Answer 1

your view model should look like this

public class AddViewModel
    {
        public int a { get; set; }
        public int b { get; set; }
        public int Total { get; set; }
    }

and in the cshtml

            
                @Html.TextBoxFor(m=> m.a)
            

            
                @Html.TextBoxFor(m=> m.b)
            

in the controller

        [HttpPost]
        public JsonResult Add(AddViewModel model)
        {
            int iSum = model.a + model.b;
            model.Total = iSum;
            return Json(model);

        }

Edit

View model is there to render your views don't place any logic inside that. if you have more complex model then it will be hard to map Model with ViewModel. for this you can use AutoMapper or ValueInjector for mapping between model and view model.

link for automapper http://automapper.codeplex.com/

link for value injector http://valueinjecter.codeplex.com/

hope this helps