How do I define a method in Razor?
9 Answers
Leaving alone any debates over when (if ever) it should be done, @functions is how you do it.
@functions {
// Add code here.
}
It's very simple to define a function inside razor.
@functions {
public static HtmlString OrderedList(IEnumerable<string> items)
{ }
}
So you can call a the function anywhere. Like
@Functions.OrderedList(new[] { "Blue", "Red", "Green" })
However, this same work can be done through helper
too. As an example
@helper OrderedList(IEnumerable<string> items){
<ol>
@foreach(var item in items){
<li>@item</li>
}
</ol>
}
So what is the difference?? According to this previous post both @helpers and @functions do share one thing in common - they make code reuse a possibility within Web Pages. They also share another thing in common - they look the same at first glance, which is what might cause a bit of confusion about their roles. However, they are not the same. In essence, a helper is a reusable snippet of Razor sytnax exposed as a method, and is intended for rendering HTML to the browser, whereas a function is static utility method that can be called from anywhere within your Web Pages application. The return type for a helper is always HelperResult, whereas the return type for a function is whatever you want it to be.
Razor is just a templating engine.
You should create a regular class.
If you want to make a method inside of a Razor page, put them in an @functions
block.
MyModelVm.cs
public class MyModelVm
{
public HttpStatusCode StatusCode { get; set; }
}
Index.cshtml
@model MyNamespace.MyModelVm
@functions
{
string GetErrorMessage()
{
var isNotFound = Model.StatusCode == HttpStatusCode.NotFound;
string errorMessage;
if (isNotFound)
{
errorMessage = Resources.NotFoundMessage;
}
else
{
errorMessage = Resources.GeneralErrorMessage
}
return errorMessage;
}
}
<div>
@GetErrorMessage()
</div>
You could also use the code block below. It is much cleaner and has more functionality. You can also insert variables above and functions below. Instead of using 2 seperate code blocks.
@{
string exampleVariable = "just an example variable";
string anotherExampleVariable = "just another example variable";
string GetErrorMessage()
{
var isNotFound = Model.StatusCode == HttpStatusCode.NotFound;
string errorMessage;
if (isNotFound)
{
errorMessage = Resources.NotFoundMessage;
}
else
{
errorMessage = Resources.GeneralErrorMessage
}
return errorMessage;
}
}
Here is how the list helper is written in ASP.NET Core 3
You can now include HTML markup in the body of a method declared in a code block as a local method as previously, or in an @functions block. The method should return void, or Task if it requires asynchronous processing :
@{
void Template(string[] listItems, string style)
{
<ul>
@foreach (var listItem in listItems)
{
<li class="@style">@listItem</li>
}
</ul>
}
}