Generating an MVC3 RadioButton list in a loop statement

Question

A collegaue of mine created a model and here it is.

Model

[Serializable]
public class ModifyCollegeListModel
{
    public List<SchoolModel> CollegeList { get; set; }
    public List<SchoolListModel> SchoolList { get; set; }
    public string Notes { get; set; }
    public int QuestionnaireId { get; set; }
}

[Serializable]
public class SchoolModel
{
    public Guid SchoolId { get; set; }
    public string SchoolName { get; set; }
    public string StateName { get; set; }
    public int DisplayIndex { get; set; }
    public int DetailId { get; set; }
    public int CategoryId { get; set; }
    public int? ApplicationStatusId { get; set; }
}

I intend to create a loop that will generate the radiobutton list for the ApplicationStatusId , something like this...

Razor Code

   @foreach (SchoolModel justright in Model.CollegeList.Where(m => m.CategoryId == 3).OrderBy(m => m.SchoolName).ToList<SchoolModel>())
    {
        <tr class="@HtmlHelpers.WriteIf(eventCounter % 2 == 0, "even", "odd")">
                <td class="school"><b>@justright.SchoolName</b></td>
                <td class="location"><b>@justright.StateName</b></td>
            <td><label>@Html.RadioButtonFor(x => justright.SchoolId, (int)BrightHorizons.CC.BusinessLogic.CollegeListApplicationStatusEnum.DidNotApply)</label></td>
            <td><label>@Html.RadioButtonFor(x => justright.SchoolId, (int)BrightHorizons.CC.BusinessLogic.CollegeListApplicationStatusEnum.Accepted)</label></td>
            <td><label>@Html.RadioButtonFor(x => justright.SchoolId, (int)BrightHorizons.CC.BusinessLogic.CollegeListApplicationStatusEnum.NotAccepted)</label></td>
        </tr>

    }

but what happens is that ALL radiobhuttons created has the same name so they are grouped as one giant radiobutton collection. not via the schoolID... scratches head

Can someone help me here and point me to the right direction on how i will be able to create radio buttons that are grouped per row?

Answer 1

I would do two things.

First up, I would remove the filtering logic from the view. What I mean is this part:

Model.CollegeList.Where(m => m.CategoryId == 3).OrderBy(m => m.SchoolName).ToList<SchoolModel>()

That sort of logic belongs in a service. Also it will make the view much cleaner.

Secondly, I think you'll need to use a for-loop so MVC binds everything back how you want:

for (int i = 0; i < Model.CollegeList.Count; i++) {
    <tr class="@HtmlHelpers.WriteIf(eventCounter % 2 == 0, "even", "odd")">
        <td class="school"><b>@CollegeList[i].SchoolName</b></td>
        <td class="location"><b>@CollegeList[i].StateName</b></td>
        <td><label>@Html.RadioButtonFor(x => x.CollegeList[i].SchoolId, (int)BrightHorizons.CC.BusinessLogic.CollegeListApplicationStatusEnum.DidNotApply)</label></td>
        <td><label>@Html.RadioButtonFor(x => x.CollegeList[i].SchoolId, (int)BrightHorizons.CC.BusinessLogic.CollegeListApplicationStatusEnum.Accepted)</label></td>
        <td><label>@Html.RadioButtonFor(x => x.CollegeList[i].SchoolId, (int)BrightHorizons.CC.BusinessLogic.CollegeListApplicationStatusEnum.NotAccepted)</label></td>
    </tr>
}

You'll notice after using the for-loop, that the radiobutton names and ID's also contain their index in the CollegeList. For example:

<input id="CollegeList_0__SchoolId" name="CollegeList[0].SchoolId" type="radio" value="2">