Why does the ASP.Net MVC model binder bind an empty JSON array to null?

Question

Here is my model class:

public class MyModel
{
    public Employees[] MyEmpls{get;set;}
    public int Id{get;set;}
    public OrgName{get;set;}
}
         


        

Answer 1

You're getting a null value as this is the default value for a reference type in C#. In order to get an empty array you will need to initialise the array in your model using a constructor. However as you will need to define the size of the array when it's initialized it might be better using another type of collection such as a List:

public class MyModel
{
    public List MyEmpls{get;set;}
    public int Id{get;set;}
    public OrgName{get;set;}

    public MyModel() 
    {
         MyEmpls = new List();
    }
}

You will then get an empty list when an empty array is passed from the json.

If you really have to use an array just initialise it with a size:

public class MyModel
{
    public Employees[] MyEmpls{get;set;}
    public int Id{get;set;}
    public OrgName{get;set;}

    public MyModel() 
    {
         MyEmpls = new Employees[/*enter size of array in here*/];
    }
}