With the increasing popularity of web development, it has become essential for developers to have a strong understanding of various data formats and how to manipulate them. One such data format is JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), which has gained a lot of traction in recent years due to its simplicity and compatibility with most programming languages. In this article, we will explore how to post an array of complex objects in JSON format using jQuery in ASP.NET MVC.
First, let's understand what exactly is an array of complex objects. In simple terms, it is an array that contains multiple objects, each with its own set of properties and values. These objects can be nested within each other, making it a complex data structure. Now, let's say we want to post this array of complex objects to our ASP.NET MVC controller using jQuery. How do we do that? Let's find out.
To begin with, we need to create a model class that represents the structure of our complex object. For the purpose of this article, we will create a "Product" model class with the following properties: Id, Name, Price, and Quantity.
public class Product
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public decimal Price { get; set; }
public int Quantity { get; set; }
}
Next, we will create an array of this Product class in our controller and populate it with some dummy data.
public ActionResult Index()
{
var products = new Product[]
{
new Product { Id = 1, Name = "Product 1", Price = 10.99, Quantity = 5 },
new Product { Id = 2, Name = "Product 2", Price = 19.99, Quantity = 10 },
new Product { Id = 3, Name = "Product 3", Price = 7.99, Quantity = 3 }
};
return View(products);
}
Now, in our view, we will use jQuery's $.ajax() method to post this array of complex objects to our controller.
$(document).ready(function() {
$("#btnSubmit").click(function() {
var products = @Html.Raw(Json.Encode(Model)); //converts the array of products to JSON format
$.ajax({
type: "POST",
url: "/Home/PostProducts",
data: JSON.stringify(products), //converts the JSON data to a string
contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
dataType: "json",
success: function(result) {
//handle success response from controller
},
error: function(result) {
//handle error response from controller
}
});
});
});
In the above code, we use the @Html.Raw() method to convert our array of products to JSON format, as jQuery's $.ajax() method expects the data to be in this format. Then, we use the JSON.stringify() method to convert the JSON data to a string, which is then sent to our controller via the "data" parameter.
Now, let's take a look at our controller's action method that will receive this array of complex objects.
[HttpPost]
public ActionResult PostProducts(List<Product> products)
{
//do something with the received data
return Json(new { success = true }); //send a success response back to the view
