ASP.NET Razor Pages Overview

ASP.NET Razor Pages: An Introduction, History, Features, and Examples

ASP.NET Razor Pages is a server-side web development framework that is a part of the ASP.NET Core framework. Razor Pages provides a more streamlined way to build web applications compared to the traditional ASP.NET Web Forms or MVC frameworks. This tutorial will provide a detailed overview of Razor Pages, including its history, features, and several examples.

History

Razor Pages was introduced in ASP.NET Core 2.0 as a new way to create web applications. It was designed to simplify the development process by providing a more focused and lightweight alternative to the existing ASP.NET Web Forms and MVC frameworks.

Features

Model-View-Controller (MVC) Pattern: Razor Pages follows the MVC pattern, separating the concerns of the application into models, views, and controllers. However, unlike traditional MVC, Razor Pages combine the view and controller logic into a single file, making it easier to understand and maintain.
Convention-based Routing: Razor Pages use convention-based routing, which means that URLs are automatically mapped to page classes based on their file names and locations. This simplifies the routing configuration and makes it easier to navigate between pages.
Model Binding: Razor Pages provide built-in model binding capabilities, allowing you to bind user input to model properties without writing any additional code. This helps to reduce the amount of boilerplate code and makes it easier to handle user input.
Tag Helpers: Tag Helpers are a powerful feature in Razor Pages that enable server-side code to participate in generating and rendering HTML. They provide a more intuitive and HTML-like syntax for working with server-side code, making it easier to build dynamic and interactive web pages.
Layouts: Razor Pages support layouts, which allow you to define a common template for multiple pages. This helps to maintain a consistent look and feel across your application and reduces duplication of code.
Partial Views: Razor Pages support partial views, which are reusable components that can be included in multiple pages. This promotes code reusability and helps to keep your codebase organized.
View Components: View Components in Razor Pages are similar to partial views but with more advanced functionality. They allow you to encapsulate complex rendering logic and reuse it across multiple pages.
Dependency Injection: Razor Pages support dependency injection, which enables you to easily inject dependencies into your page classes. This promotes modular and testable code and makes it easier to manage dependencies.

Examples of Razor Pages

Example 1: Hello World

Let's start with a simple "Hello World" example in Razor Pages. Create a new Razor Page named "Index.cshtml" in the "Pages" folder of your project. Add the following code to the page:

@page
@model IndexModel

<h1>Hello World!</h1>

In this example, the @page directive indicates that this file is a Razor Page. The @model directive specifies the model class associated with this page. The <h1> tag displays the "Hello World!" message.

Example 2: Model Binding

Razor Pages provide automatic model binding, which simplifies the process of capturing user input. Add the following code to a Razor Page named "Contact.cshtml":

@page
@model ContactModel

<form method="post">
    <label for="name">Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="name" name="Name" />

    <label for="email">Email:</label>
    <input type="email" id="email" name="Email" />

    <button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>

@if (Model.Contact != null)
{
    <h2>Thank you for contacting us, @Model.Contact.Name!</h2>
}

In this example, the form captures the user's name and email. When the form is submitted, the Contact model's properties (Name and Email) will be automatically populated. If the Contact model is not null, a thank you message will be displayed.

Example 3: Tag Helpers

Tag Helpers simplify working with server-side code in Razor Pages. Add the following code to a Razor Page named "Counter.cshtml":

@page
@model CounterModel

<h1>Counter: @Model.Counter</h1>

<button asp-page-handler="Increment">Increment</button>
<button asp-page-handler="Decrement">Decrement</button>

In this example, the asp-page-handler attribute is a Tag Helper that associates the buttons with specific page handlers. When the "Increment" or "Decrement" button is clicked, the corresponding page handler method in the model class will be executed.

Conclusion

ASP.NET Razor Pages is a powerful framework for building server-side web applications. It offers a simplified development experience with features like model binding, tag helpers, layouts, and more. By following the examples provided in this tutorial, you can get started with Razor Pages and build your own web applications.

For more information, you can refer to the official ASP.NET Core documentation.

Note: The above examples assume a basic understanding of ASP.NET Core and may require additional setup and configuration steps.

History​

Features​

Examples of Razor Pages​

Example 1: Hello World​

Example 2: Model Binding​

Example 3: Tag Helpers​

Conclusion​