Modular.Mvc

A helper library which allows segmenting ASP.NET MVC controllers and views by feature rather than type.

FAQ

What does this mean, really?

The short story is that rathern than:

/Controllers
	/HomeController.cs
	/UsersController.cs
/Models
	/HomeViewModel.cs
	/UsersViewModel.cs
/Views
	/Home
		/Index.cshtml
	/Users
		/Index.cshtml

You can do this:

/Modules
	/Home
		/HomeController.cs
		/HomeViewModel.cs
		/Index.cshtml
	/Users
		/UsersController.cs
		/UsersViewModel.cs
		/Index.cshtml

Can I do my controller as usual?

Pretty much, yes.

How does it work?

It loops all over your controllers and registers custom routes and view engines to support this convention.

Does it register routes?

Yes, it registers routes for all the controllers below the specified modules path. The route urls follows the folder structure when the structure becomes deeper.

What happens if I move my controller?

Things will stop working like you expect unless you update the controller's namespace.

Folder Structure

Use the following folder structure to work within the conventions, or see configure below.

# By default the /modules folder is the root containing both controllers and views organized by feature
/Modules
	# By default the Home subpath is routed from the parent url
	/Home
		/HomeController.cs				-> /
		# Views are located int he same folder as the controller
		/Index.cshtml
	/Shared
		# Shared views are placed in the same folder structure
		_layout.cshtml
		_footer.cshtml
	/Shop
		# Home also works in subfolders
		/Home
			# The Shop controller prefix is optional but recommended since unique controller are much easier to deal with
			/[Shop]HomeController.cs	-> /Shop
			/Index.cshtml
		/Checkout
			# The routed path naturally follows the folder structure
			/ShopCheckoutController.cs	-> /Shop/Checkout
		/Shared
			# Shared views can be re-defined at a deeper level
			_footer.cshtml
	/Users
		/Manage
			/[Users]ManageController.cs	-> /Users/Manage
			/Index.cshtml
			# When multiple controllers share a folder the "other" ones are mapped to a subpath
			/EditController.cs			-> /Users/Manage/Edit
			/Other.cshtml
		/Password
			# A controller mustn't follow the folder naming conventions, 
			# when 1 controller it gets the folder path, when >1 they both get a subsegment
			/ResetController.cs			-> /Users/Password/Reset
			/ChangeController.cs		-> /Users/Password/Change
		# etc.

Initialization

Call this code from Global.asax's Application_Start:

    // The default means the calling assembly (this one) is scanned for controllers below the path /Modules
    Modular.Mvc.Initializer.Default
        // A custom route for EditUserController accepts userId as the last route segment
        .Route<EditUserController>("{userId}",
            defaults: new { userId = 0 },
            constraints: new { userId = "\\d" })
        // Performs the actual registration
        .Register(routes, viewEngines);

Configuration

Before calling Register on the initialization fluent interface some aspects can be tweaked:

Modular.Mvc.Initializer.Default..

	// Adds more route segments to the route for this particular controller
	.Route<TController>(url,defaults,constraints)
	
	// Adds more assemblies to scanned assemblies
	.AddAssemblies(assemblies)
	
	// Adds the calling assemblies to scanned assemblies (default when using Initializer.Default)
	.AddCallingAssembly()
	
	// Changes the path below which modules are registered (default = "Modules")
	.BelowPath(url)	
	
	// Allows for advanced configuration options
	.Configure((s) => expression)	
	
	// The path to route as the parent url (default = "Home")
	.PromoteControllerInSubpath(suburl)