How do you handle the output of a dynamically generated form in ASP.NET MVC?

Question

Say you create a form using ASP.NET MVC that has a dynamic number of form elements.

For instance, you need a checkbox for each product, and the number of products ch

Answer 1

Depending on the binders you are using, this should work:

<%var i = 0;
  foreach (var product (IList)ViewData["products"]) {%>
      <%=Html.Hidden(string.Format("products[{0}].Id", i), product.Id)%>
      <%=Html.Checkbox(string.Format("products[{0}].Selected", i))%>
      <%=product.Name%>

<%}%>

...which will result in HTML something like this (notice the array notation on the names):

Widget


Gadget

...and the controller method that handles the post:

public ActionResult SelectProducts(IList products)
{
     ...
}

Upon binding, products parameter will contain two instances of ProductSelection.

One caveat is that I have not used the new default binding for complex objects. Rather I am using either the NameValueDeserializer or CastleBind, both from MvcContrib. They both behave this way. I am guessing binding in the Beta will work the same way.