asp.net mvc Forms Collection when submitting

Question

what is the best practice for submitting forms in asp.net mvc. I have been doing code like this below but i have a feeling there is a better way. suggestions?

Answer 1

In my opinion, the Model Binder is cleaner. You can learn more at OdeToCode.com

Basically, You wrap your input from a FormCollection to a desirable model as well as validation.

public class LinkModelBinder : IModelBinder
{
    public object BindModel(ControllerContext controllerContext, ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
    {
        var link = new Link();
        link.Url = GetValue(bindingContext, "url");
        // ... and so on for all properties

        if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(url.Name))
        {
            bindingContext.ModelState.AddModelError("Url", "...");
        }

        return link;
    }

    private T GetValue(ModelBindingContext bindingContext, string key) 
    {
        ValueProviderResult valueResult;
        bindingContext.ValueProvider.TryGetValue(key, out valueResult);            
        return (T)valueResult.ConvertTo(typeof(T));
    }  
}

In the controller

public ActionResult AddNewLink(Link link)