Understanding a Dynamic Author Box in ASP.NET Razor Views

Introduction

When creating dynamic websites, especially those involving content management systems (CMS), displaying author information for articles or posts is a common requirement. In this post, we’ll break down a piece of code written in ASP.NET Razor syntax that generates a dynamic author box based on the available author data.

Purpose of the Code

The primary purpose of this code is to generate a section on a webpage that displays information about the authors of a particular item. This section is only rendered if there are authors associated with the item. Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how this is achieved.

@{
    List<ItemViewModel> allAuthors = new List<ItemViewModel>(Model.Item.Fields.Authors);
}
@if (allAuthors.Any()) {
<div class="side_box contact_box pda_letter_author">
    <h4>About the @(allAuthors.Count > 1 ? "Authors" : "Author")</h4>
    <ul class="item-list">
    @foreach (var author in allAuthors) {
        <li class="item-list__item">
            @if (author.Fields.Thumbnail != null && !String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(author.Fields.Thumbnail.Fields.MediaUrl)) {
                <div class="item-list__media">
                    <img src="@author.Fields.Thumbnail.Fields.MediaUrl" alt="" />
                </div>
            }
            <h6>@author.Fields.Title</h6>
            @if (!String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace((string)author.Fields.Content)) {
                <div class="item-list_description">
                    @Html.HtmlSanitize((string)author.Fields.Content)
                </div>
            }
        </li>
    }
    </ul>
</div>
}
        
// alternative way to check if the list if not empty
@if (allAuthors.Count > 0) {
    // List is not empty
}
@if (allAuthors != null && allAuthors.Count > 0) {
    // List is not empty
}
@if (allAuthors.Any()) {
    // List is not empty
}

Code Breakdown

@{
    List<ItemViewModel> allAuthors = new List<ItemViewModel>(Model.Item.Fields.Authors);
}

Initialization: This block initializes a list called allAuthors containing all author data from the model. Model.Item.Fields.Authors presumably contains the authors’ data which is cast into a list of ItemViewModel.

@if (allAuthors.Any()) {

Conditional Check: The if statement checks if the allAuthors list contains any items. If it does, the following HTML block is rendered.

<div class="side_box contact_box pda_letter_author">
    <h4>About the @(allAuthors.Count > 1 ? "Authors" : "Author")</h4>
    <ul class="item-list">
    @foreach (var author in allAuthors) {
        <li class="item-list__item">
            @if (author.Fields.Thumbnail != null && !String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(author.Fields.Thumbnail.Fields.MediaUrl)) {
                <div class="item-list__media">
                    <img src="@author.Fields.Thumbnail.Fields.MediaUrl" alt="" />
                </div>
            }
            <h6>@author.Fields.Title</h6>
            @if (!String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace((string)author.Fields.Content)) {
                <div class="item-list_description">
                    @Html.HtmlSanitize((string)author.Fields.Content)
                </div>
            }
        </li>
    }
    </ul>
</div>

HTML Rendering:

• Container: A div with several classes for styling purposes wraps the entire author box.
• Title: An h4 element displays “About the Author” or “About the Authors” depending on the number of authors.
• Author List: A ul element contains a list of authors, where each author is represented by an li.

Author Details:

• Thumbnail: If an author has a thumbnail image, it is displayed within a div with the class item-list__media.
• Name: The author’s name is displayed in an h6 element.
• Description: If the author has a content description, it is sanitized and displayed in a div with the class item-list_description.

 

Additional Conditional Checks

At the end of the code, several alternative methods to check if the allAuthors list is not empty are provided:

@if (allAuthors.Count > 0) {
    // List is not empty
}
@if (allAuthors != null && allAuthors.Count > 0) {
    // List is not empty
}
@if (allAuthors.Any()) {
    // List is not empty
}

These are different ways to ensure the list is not empty before rendering the author box. Each serves the same purpose but might be used in different contexts for clarity or readability.

Conclusion

This code snippet is a great example of how to dynamically render content in an ASP.NET Razor view based on the presence of data. It ensures that the author information is only displayed when available, making the webpage both efficient and user-friendly. By understanding and utilizing such patterns, developers can create more dynamic and responsive web applications.