ASP.NET MVC Preview Release 5

Looks like the MVC team has put out preview release 5 of the MVC Framework today.  You can get the latest version from CodePlex.

Here is what I can tell has changed from the release notes.

What's New

  • Added global registration of view engines
  • Changed the IViewEngine interface to add the RenderParial method
  • Added support for rendering partial views
  • Added a parameter to specify a default option label for DropDownList controls
  • Moved ASP.NET AJAX extension methods to a separate namespace
  • Added helpers for RadioButton and TextArea controls and made overall improvements to other helpers.
  • Removed helper method overloads to avoid ambiguity
  • Added array support for action method parameters
  • Removed the ActionMethod property from action filter context objects
  • Added support for custom model binders
  • Added an IActionInvoker interface
  • Added an UpdateMode method to the Controller class
  • Changed HandleErrorAttribute so that it does not handle exceptions when HttpContext.IsCustomErrorEnabled is false
  • Added a new AcceptVerbs attribute
  • Added a new ActionName attribute

Known Issues and Breaking Changes

  • Controller class now is derived from ControllerBase class
  • Controller.Execute as removed, it is not called ExecuteCore.
  • Controller initialization steps should be done in Initialize method now.
  • IViewEngine interface is now responsible for finding views, not rendering them.
  • Some overloads to some helper methods have been removed.
  • AJAX helper methods have been moved to a new namespace.
  • This version is incompatible with Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Beta

Upgrading from Preview 4 to Preview 5

  • System.Web.Abstractions and System.Web.Routing have been changed to version 3.5.0.0
  • Assemblies are located at %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft ASP.NET\ASP.NET MVC CodePlex Preview 5

Derik also noticed that many of the classes are still sealed, and is requesting that the team un-seals all classes, and I agree with him.

Breaking and mysterious changes that I have submitted a bug request for:

Update (2008-8-31): Also Derik found a replacement for RenderUserControl, very minor change, but it is the difference between a error and having the thing work.

Nick Berardi

In charge of Cloud Drive Desktop at @Amazon, Entrepreneur, Microsoft MVP, ASPInsider, co-founder and CTO of @CaddioApp, Father, and @SeriouslyOpen host