Introduction to ASP.NET Core MVC

Welcome to the ASP.NET Core MVC tutorial series! In this module, we'll introduce you to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern and how it's implemented in ASP.NET Core. MVC is a powerful framework for building dynamic websites and applications that leverages loosely coupled patterns to separate concerns.

What is MVC?

The Model-View-Controller (MVC) is an architectural pattern used to develop user interfaces. It divides an application into three interconnected parts:

• Model: Represents the data and the business logic of the application. It's responsible for managing data, responding to instructions (user actions), and notifying the View of any changes.
• View: Represents the user interface (UI) and is responsible for displaying data from the Model to the user. It's typically the HTML generated for the user.
• Controller: Acts as an intermediary between the Model and the View. It handles user input, manipulates the Model, and selects the appropriate View to render.

Why ASP.NET Core MVC?

ASP.NET Core is a cross-platform, high-performance, open-source framework for building modern, cloud-enabled, Internet-connected applications. ASP.NET Core MVC provides an idiomatic way to build MVC applications that leverages the full capabilities of the ASP.NET Core platform.

• Cross-Platform: Run your applications on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
• High Performance: Built for speed and efficiency.
• Open-Source: Developed collaboratively with the community.
• Modularity: Build applications with only the features you need.

Key Concepts in ASP.NET Core MVC

Controllers

Controllers are C# classes that handle incoming requests. They typically inherit from the Controller base class and contain action methods that return specific results, such as an HTML view or JSON data.

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

public class HomeController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Index()
    {
        return View(); // Renders the Index.cshtml view
    }

    public IActionResult About()
    {
        ViewBag.Message = "Your application description page.";
        return View();
    }
}
                

Views

Views are typically Razor files (`.cshtml`) that contain HTML markup mixed with C# code. They are responsible for the presentation layer of your application.

@{
    ViewData["Title"] = "Home Page";
}


    
ASP.NET Core
    
Welcome to ASP.NET Core MVC!



    

        
Application uses
        
You can easily find a lot of helpful content on ASP.NET Core.
        
Learn more »
    
    

        
Build tools
        
Learn more about building with .NET.
        
Learn more »
    
    

        
Run & deploy
        
This sample can help you get started.
        
Learn more »
    

                

Models

Models are plain C# classes that represent your data. They can contain properties and methods for data manipulation and validation.

namespace MyWebApp.Models
{
    public class Message
    {
        public int Id { get; set; }
        public string Text { get; set; }
        public DateTime CreatedDate { get; set; }
    }
}
                

Next Steps

Now that you have a basic understanding of MVC, you can move on to exploring controllers and views in more detail. The following tutorials will guide you through building your first ASP.NET Core MVC application.