MetaModel Class (System.Web.DynamicData)

.NET Framework Class Library

MetaModel Class

Updated: July 2008

Represents one or multiple databases that are used by ASP.NET Dynamic Data.

Namespace: System.Web.DynamicData
Assembly: System.Web.DynamicData (in System.Web.DynamicData.dll)

Syntax

Visual Basic (Declaration)

<AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Level := AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
<AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, Level := AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)> _
Public Class MetaModel

Visual Basic (Usage)

Dim instance As MetaModel

[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction.InheritanceDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel.Minimal)]
public class MetaModel

Visual C++

[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction::LinkDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel::Minimal)]
[AspNetHostingPermissionAttribute(SecurityAction::InheritanceDemand, Level = AspNetHostingPermissionLevel::Minimal)]
public ref class MetaModel

JScript

public class MetaModel

Exceptions

Exception	Condition
InvalidOperationException	Can be thrown by any method if there has been a data context registration error.

Remarks

The MetaModel type lets you register one or multiple data contexts for a Dynamic Data Web application.

A data context is an object that represents a database connection. A data context has access to one data model which represents a database that is accessible through that connection. A data model is an object that represents a database's data entities as CLR types. Dynamic Data supports data models based on LINQ to SQL and on the ADO.NET Entity Framework.

In Visual Studio 2008, you can generate data-model types by using the LINQ to SQL Classes template or the ADO.NET Entity Data Model template. These templates use the Object Relational Designer (O/R Designer) for the LINQ to SQL model, or the ADO.NET Entity Data Model Designer (Entity Designer) for the Entity Framework model.

Examples

The following example shows how to use MetaModel type to perform the following tasks in order to use automatic scaffolding in an ASP.NET Web site:

Get the data model for the default data context.
Get the data model for a specified data context.
Evaluate the routing path (determine the URL) for a specified table.

The example consists of a page and its code-behind file.

Visual Basic

<%@ Page Language="VB" AutoEventWireup="false" 
CodeFile="PathModel.aspx.vb" 
Inherits="PathModel" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<html >
<head id="Head1" runat="server">
    <title>Path Model</title>
</head>
<body>
    <asp:DynamicDataManager ID="DynamicDataManager1" runat="server"
        AutoLoadForeignKeys="true" />

    <h3>GetActionPath</h3>

    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <asp:GridView ID="GridDataSource1" runat="server"
        AutoGenerateColumns="false"
        DataSourceID="LinqDataSource1"
        AllowPaging="true">
        <Columns>
        <asp:TemplateField>
          <ItemTemplate>
            <asp:HyperLink ID="HyperLink1" runat="server" 
            NavigateUrl="<%#EvaluateActionPath()%>">ListDetails</asp:HyperLink>
          </ItemTemplate>
         </asp:TemplateField>
          <asp:DynamicField DataField="FirstName" />
          <asp:DynamicField DataField="LastName" />
        </Columns>
      </asp:GridView>

        <asp:LinqDataSource ID="LinqDataSource1" runat="server" 
        TableName="Customers"
        ContextTypeName="AdventureWorksLTDataContext" >
      </asp:LinqDataSource>
    </form>
</body>

</html>

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Web.DynamicData
Imports System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations
Imports System.ComponentModel

<MetadataType(GetType(ProductMetaData))> _
Partial Public Class Product

End Class


Public Class ProductMetaData



End Class

<%@ Page Language="C#" AutoEventWireup="true" 
CodeFile="PathModel.aspx.cs" 
Inherits="PathModel" %>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<html >
<head runat="server">
    <title>Path Model</title>
</head>
<body>
    <asp:DynamicDataManager ID="DynamicDataManager1" runat="server"
        AutoLoadForeignKeys="true" />

    <h3>GetActionPath</h3>

    <form id="form1" runat="server">
        <asp:GridView ID="GridDataSource1" runat="server"
        AutoGenerateColumns="false"
        DataSourceID="LinqDataSource1"
        AllowPaging="true">
        <Columns>
        <asp:TemplateField>
          <ItemTemplate>
            <asp:HyperLink ID="HyperLink1" runat="server" 
            NavigateUrl="<%#EvaluateActionPath()%>">ListDetails</asp:HyperLink>
          </ItemTemplate>
         </asp:TemplateField>
          <asp:DynamicField DataField="FirstName" />
          <asp:DynamicField DataField="LastName" />
        </Columns>
      </asp:GridView>

        <asp:LinqDataSource ID="LinqDataSource1" runat="server" 
        TableName="Customers"
        ContextTypeName="AdventureWorksLTDataContext" >
      </asp:LinqDataSource>
    </form>
</body>

</html>

using System;
using System.Web.DynamicData;
using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
using System.ComponentModel;

[MetadataType(typeof(ProductMetaData))]
public partial class Product
{

}


public class ProductMetaData
{



}

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Collections
Imports System.Configuration
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Web
Imports System.Web.Security
Imports System.Web.UI
Imports System.Web.UI.HtmlControls
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls
Imports System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts
Imports System.Xml.Linq
Imports System.Web.DynamicData

Partial Public Class PathModel
    Inherits System.Web.UI.Page
    Protected Sub Page_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
        DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(GridDataSource1)
    End Sub

    ' Get the data model. 
    Public Function GetModel(ByVal defaultModel As Boolean) As MetaModel
        Dim model As MetaModel

        If defaultModel Then
            model = MetaModel.[Default]
        Else
            model = MetaModel.GetModel(GetType(AdventureWorksLTDataContext))
        End If
        Return model
    End Function

    ' Get the registered action path.
    Public Function EvaluateActionPath() As String
        Dim tableName As String = LinqDataSource1.TableName

        Dim model As MetaModel = GetModel(False)

        Dim actionPath As String = model.GetActionPath(tableName, System.Web.DynamicData.PageAction.List, GetDataItem())
        Return actionPath
    End Function
End Class

using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Data;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.Security;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;
using System.Xml.Linq;
using System.Web.DynamicData;

public partial class PathModel : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        DynamicDataManager1.RegisterControl(GridDataSource1);
    }

    // Get the data model. 
    public MetaModel GetModel(bool defaultModel)
    {
        MetaModel model;

        if (defaultModel)
            model = MetaModel.Default;
        else
            model =
               MetaModel.GetModel(typeof(AdventureWorksLTDataContext));
        return model;
    }

    // Get the registered action path.
    public string EvaluateActionPath()
    {
        string tableName = LinqDataSource1.TableName;

        MetaModel model = GetModel(false);

        string actionPath =
            model.GetActionPath(tableName,
                System.Web.DynamicData.PageAction.List, GetDataItem());
        return actionPath;
    }
}

To compile the example, you need the following:

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 or Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition Service Pack 1.
The AdventureWorksLT sample database. For information about how to download and install the SQL Server sample database, see Microsoft SQL Server Product Samples: Database on the CodePlex site. Make sure that you install the correct version of the sample database for the version of SQL Server that you are running (Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or Microsoft SQL Server 2008).
A Dynamic Data Web site. This enables you to create a data context for the database and to create the class that contains the data field to customize and the methods to override. For more information, see Walkthrough: Creating a New Dynamic Data Web Site using Scaffolding.

Run an online example of this feature.

.NET Framework Security

AspNetHostingPermission
for operating in a hosted environment. Security action: LinkDemand. Associated enumeration: AspNetHostingPermissionLevel..::.Minimal
AspNetHostingPermission
for operating in a hosted environment. Security action: InheritanceDemand. Associated enumeration: AspNetHostingPermissionLevel..::.Minimal

Inheritance Hierarchy

System..::.Object
System.Web.DynamicData..::.MetaModel

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information