How to make crud operation in asp.net mvc aspx without database nor entity framework

Learn how to make crud operation in asp.net mvc aspx without database nor entity framework with practical examples, diagrams, and best practices. Covers asp.net, asp.net-mvc, entity-framework devel...

CRUD Operations in ASP.NET MVC (ASPX) Without Database or Entity Framework

Illustration of a web application performing CRUD operations on in-memory data, bypassing a database.

Learn how to implement basic Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations in an ASP.NET MVC application using ASPX views, without relying on a database or Entity Framework. This guide focuses on in-memory data management for demonstration purposes.

Developing web applications often involves managing data through CRUD operations. While databases and ORMs like Entity Framework are standard for persistence, there are scenarios where you might need to perform CRUD operations without them. This could be for rapid prototyping, testing, or working with temporary, in-memory data. This article will guide you through building a simple ASP.NET MVC 4 application using ASPX views to demonstrate these operations using a static list as a data store.

Understanding the Approach: In-Memory Data Store

Instead of connecting to a SQL Server database or using Entity Framework, we will simulate a data store using a static List<T> in our application. This list will hold our model objects, and all CRUD operations will directly manipulate this list. This approach is suitable for learning the MVC pattern and CRUD logic without the overhead of database setup, but it's crucial to understand that data will not persist across application restarts.

flowchart TD
    A[User Request] --> B{Controller Action}
    B --> C{Manipulate Static List}
    C --> D{Return View with Data}
    D --> A

Flow of in-memory CRUD operations in ASP.NET MVC.

Setting Up the Project and Model

First, create a new ASP.NET MVC 4 Web Application project in Visual Studio, choosing the 'Empty' template and selecting 'ASPX' as the view engine. Next, we'll define a simple model class and a static data store to hold our items.

namespace MvcInMemoryCrud.Models
{
    public class Product
    {
        public int Id { get; set; }
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public decimal Price { get; set; }
    }

    public static class ProductRepository
    {
        private static List<Product> _products;
        private static int _nextId = 1;

        static ProductRepository()
        {
            _products = new List<Product>
            {
                new Product { Id = _nextId++, Name = "Laptop", Price = 1200.00m },
                new Product { Id = _nextId++, Name = "Mouse", Price = 25.50m },
                new Product { Id = _nextId++, Name = "Keyboard", Price = 75.00m }
            };
        }

        public static IEnumerable<Product> GetAll()
        {
            return _products;
        }

        public static Product GetById(int id)
        {
            return _products.FirstOrDefault(p => p.Id == id);
        }

        public static void Add(Product product)
        {
            product.Id = _nextId++;
            _products.Add(product);
        }

        public static void Update(Product product)
        {
            var existingProduct = _products.FirstOrDefault(p => p.Id == product.Id);
            if (existingProduct != null)
            {
                existingProduct.Name = product.Name;
                existingProduct.Price = product.Price;
            }
        }

        public static void Delete(int id)
        {
            _products.RemoveAll(p => p.Id == id);
        }
    }
}

Product Model and Static Repository (ProductRepository.cs)

⚠️

The ProductRepository uses a static list, meaning data will be lost every time the application pool recycles or the application restarts. This is purely for demonstration and not suitable for production environments requiring data persistence.

Implementing the Controller Actions

Now, we'll create a controller (ProductController.cs) that will handle the HTTP requests and interact with our ProductRepository. Each CRUD operation will have corresponding actions.

using System.Web.Mvc;
using MvcInMemoryCrud.Models;

namespace MvcInMemoryCrud.Controllers
{
    public class ProductController : Controller
    {
        // GET: Product
        public ActionResult Index()
        {
            var products = ProductRepository.GetAll();
            return View(products);
        }

        // GET: Product/Details/5
        public ActionResult Details(int id)
        {
            var product = ProductRepository.GetById(id);
            if (product == null)
            {
                return HttpNotFound();
            }
            return View(product);
        }

        // GET: Product/Create
        public ActionResult Create()
        {
            return View();
        }

        // POST: Product/Create
        [HttpPost]
        public ActionResult Create(Product product)
        {
            if (ModelState.IsValid)
            {
                ProductRepository.Add(product);
                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }
            return View(product);
        }

        // GET: Product/Edit/5
        public ActionResult Edit(int id)
        {
            var product = ProductRepository.GetById(id);
            if (product == null)
            {
                return HttpNotFound();
            }
            return View(product);
        }

        // POST: Product/Edit/5
        [HttpPost]
        public ActionResult Edit(Product product)
        {
            if (ModelState.IsValid)
            {
                ProductRepository.Update(product);
                return RedirectToAction("Index");
            }
            return View(product);
        }

        // GET: Product/Delete/5
        public ActionResult Delete(int id)
        {
            var product = ProductRepository.GetById(id);
            if (product == null)
            {
                return HttpNotFound();
            }
            return View(product);
        }

        // POST: Product/Delete/5
        [HttpPost, ActionName("Delete")]
        public ActionResult DeleteConfirmed(int id)
        {
            ProductRepository.Delete(id);
            return RedirectToAction("Index");
        }
    }
}

ProductController.cs with CRUD actions

Creating the ASPX Views

Finally, we need to create the corresponding ASPX views for each controller action. These views will display the data and provide forms for creating and editing products. Remember to right-click on each action method in the controller and select 'Add View...' to generate the basic view structure, then customize it as shown below.

Index.aspx (List Products)

<%@ Page Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Views/Shared/Site.Master" Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewPage<IEnumerable<MvcInMemoryCrud.Models.Product>>" %>

<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="TitleContent" runat="server"> Products </asp:Content>