Supported expressions

DotVVM translates value binding expressions into JavaScript so they can be evaluated in the browsed. Therefore, not all expressions can be used in the bindings.

The static command expressions are also translated to JavaScript. If there is any method that cannot be translated to JavaScript, the static command will make a request to the server to invoke the method and obtain its return value. The method must be marked with the [AllowStaticCommand] attribute.

The resource and command bindings are not translated into JavaScript, but they are limited to the syntax constructs that can be used in binding expressions.

Syntax constructs

• Member access
  • SomeProperty
  • SomeProperty.OtherProperty
• Access the parent binding contexts
  • _root.SomeProperty
  • _parent.SomeProperty
• Collections and array elements access
  • SomeCollection[6]
  • SomeCollection[6].OtherProperty
• Access the collection metadata (if the current binding context is a collection)
  • _collection.Index
  • _collection.IsOdd, _collection.IsEven...
• Binary operations
  • SomeProperty >= 0
  • SomeProperty + 1
  • SomeProperty != OtherProperty
• Ternary conditional operator
  • SomeProperty ? "some string" : "other string"
• Method invocation (only supported methods)
  • Regular methods: SomeMethod(argument)
  • Extension methods: argument.SomeExtensionMethod() (new in version 3.0)
• Block expression
  • (expression1; expression2; expression3)
  • Note: This is a composition of supported expressions within one data-binding. DotVVM uses parentheses ( ... ) to enclose expressions as compared to C#, which uses curly braces { ... }. Result type of any composite expression is determined by the last child expression.
• Lambda functions (new in version 3.0)
  • (int intArg, string strArg) => SomeMethod(intArg, strArg)
  • Note: Type inference for lambda parameters is not available in version 3.0, therefore type information needs to be explicitly supplied together with lambda parameters definition. Type inference is an upcoming feature in DotVVM 3.1.
• Local variables (new in version 3.0)
  • var myVariable = SomeFunction(arg1, arg2); SomeMethod(myVariable)
  • Note: Variables are by design single-assignable (immutable). Variables may shadow property names and previously defined variables.
• String interpolation (new in version 3.1)
  • $"Hello {NameProperty}!"
  • $"Date: {DateProperty:dd/MM/yyyy}"
  • Note: Interpolation expressions and formatting component are supported. Regarding the formatting component, see Formatting dates and numbers for more info about supported formats.

.NET methods supported in value bindings

DotVVM can translate several .NET methods on basic types or collections to JavaScript, so you can safely use them in value bindings.

String methods

• String.Length

Collection methods

• ICollection.Count and Array.Length

Enum methods

• Enums.GetNames<TEnum>()

Task methods

• Task<T>.Result

Formatting

• String.Format(format, arg1 [, arg2, [ arg3]])
• String.Format(format, argumentArray)
• Object.ToString()
• Convert.ToString()
• DateTime.ToString() and DateTime.ToString(format)
• numericType.ToString() and numericType.ToString(format)

Nullable types

• Nullable<T>.HasValue
• Nullable<T>.Value

LINQ methods

• Enumerable.Select<T,U>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,U> selector)
• Enumerable.Where<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,bool> predicate)
• Note: These methods are new in version 3.0.

REST API binding methods

• Api.RefreshOnChange
• Api.RefreshOnEvent
• Api.PushEvent
• Note: See REST API bindings for more info

Provide custom method translators

It is possible to register custom translators for any method. See Provide custom JavaScript translators for more information.

Use custom .NET extension methods (new in version 3.1)

Whenever you need to use custom .NET extension methods, you need to provide information about where should DotVVM search for these methods. This can be achieved using the @import directive, using which it is possible provide namespaces that should be searched for extension methods. Furthermore, you can also provide method translators for custom extension methods. That way it is possible to use custom extension methods safely inside value bindings.

Since we are adding a lot of methods from System.Linq namespace, we decided to include this namespace to the default DotVVM namespaces for extension methods lookup. Therefore, it is not necessary to write @import System.Linq in your DotHTML files.

Additional .NET methods supported since DotVVM 3.1

LINQ methods

• Enumerable.All<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,bool> predicate)
• Enumerable.Any<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection)
• Enumerable.Any<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,bool> predicate)
• Enumerable.Concat<T>(IEnumerable<T> first, IEnumerable<T> second)
• Enumerable.Distinct<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection)
  • Note: this method is restricted to primitive types.
• Enumerable.FirstOrDefault<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection) and Enumerable.FirstOrDefault<T>(IEnumerable<T> collections, Func<T,bool> predicate)
• Enumerable.LastOrDefault<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection) and Enumerable.LastOrDefault<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,bool> predicate)
• Enumerable.Max<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection) and Enumerable.Max<T,U>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,U> selector)
  • Note: these methods are restricted to numeric types
• Enumerable.Min<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection) and Enumerable.Min<T,U>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,U> selector)
  • Note: these methods are restricted to numeric types
• Enumerable.OrderBy<T,U>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,U> selector)
  • Note: this method is restricted to primitive types
  • Note: internally, the sorting algorithm is stable. Therefore, if you need to sort, for example using multiple keys, you write something like: Collection.OrderBy(e => e.SecondaryKey).OrderBy(e => e.PrimaryKey)
• Enumerable.OrderByDescending<T,U>(IEnumerable<T> collection, Func<T,U> selector)
  • Note: this method is restricted to primitive types
  • Note: internally, the sorting algorithm is stable. Therefore, if you need to sort, for example using multiple keys, you write something like: Collection.OrderByDescending(e => e.SecondaryKey).OrderByDescending(e => e.PrimaryKey)
• Enumerable.Skip<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection, int count)
• Enumerable.Take<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection, int count)
• Enumerable.ToArray<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection)
• Enumerable.ToList<T>(IEnumerable<T> collection)

List methods

• List<T>.Add(T element)
• List<T>.AddRange(IEnumerable<T> elements)
• List<T>.Clear()
• List<T>.Insert(int index, T element)
• List<T>.InsertRange(int index, IEnumerable<T> elements)
• List<T>.RemoveAt(int index)
• List<T>.RemoveAll(Predicate<T> predicate)
• List<T>.RemoveRange(int index, int count)
• List<T>.Reverse()
• ListExtensions.AddOrUpdate<T>(this List<T> list, T element, Func<T,bool> matcher, Func<T,T> updater)
  • Note: this method tries to update an element using updater. Element for updating can be selected using matcher. If no element matched the predicate, element is added to list.
• ListExtensions.RemoveFirst<T>(this List<T> list, Func<T,bool> predicate)
• ListExtensions.RemoveLast<T>(this List<T> list, Func<T,bool> predicate)

Dictionary methods

• Dictionary<K,V>.Clear()
• Dictionary<K,V>.ContainsKey(K key)
• Dictionary<K,V>.Remove(K key)

String methods

• String.Contains(string value) and String.Contains(char value)
• String.EndsWith(string value) and String.EndsWith(char value)
• String.IndexOf(string value) and String.IndexOf(char value)
• String.IndexOf(string value, int startIndex) and String.IndexOf(char value, int startIndex)
• String.IsNullOrEmpty(string value)
• String.Join(string separator, IEnumerable<string> values) and String.Join(char separator, IEnumerable<string> values)
• String.LastIndexOf(string value) and String.LastIndexOf(char value)
• String.LastIndexOf(string value, int startIndex) and String.LastIndexOf(char value, int startIndex)
• String.Replace(char oChar, char nChar) and String.Replace(string oStr, string nStr)
• String.Split(params char[] separators)
• String.Split(char separator, StringSplitOptions = StringSplitOptions.None) and String.Split(string separator, StringSplitOptions = StringSplitOptions.None)
• String.StartsWith(string value) and String.StartsWith(char value)
• String.ToLower() and String.ToLowerInvariant()
• String.ToUpper() and String.ToUpperInvariant()
• Note: DotVVM supports only InvariantCulture and InvariantCultureIgnoreCase values from the StringComparison enum. The default string comparing strategy is InvariantCulture. This is different as compared to behavior in .NET, where the default behavior is CurrentCulture.
• Note: DotVVM supports None and RemoveEmptyEntries options from the StringSplitOptions enum.
• Note: Missing overloads in some frameworks (e.g. .NET Framework) are exposed as extension methods. Therefore, all methods listed on this page can be used by all supported frameworks.

Math methods

• Basic: Math.Abs, Math.Exp, Math.Max, Math.Min, Math.Pow Math.Sign, Math.Sqrt
• Rounding: Math.Ceiling, Math.Floor, Math.Round, Math.Trunc
• Logarithmic: Math.Log, Math.Log10
• Trigonometric: Math.Acos, Math.Asin, Math.Atan, Math.Atan2, Math.Cos, Math.Cosh, Math.Sin, Math.Sinh, Math.Tan, Math.Tanh

Additional .NET methods supported since DotVVM 3.2

DateTime property getters

• DateTime.Year
• DateTime.Month
• DateTime.Day
• DateTime.Hour
• DateTime.Minute
• DateTime.Second
• DateTime.Millisecond

String methods

• string.Contains(string value, StringComparison options)
• string.EndsWith(string value, StringComparison options)
• string.IndexOf(string value, StringComparison options)
• string.IndexOf(string value, int startIndex, StringComparison options)
• String.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(string value)
• string.LastIndexOf(string value, StringComparison options)
• string.LastIndexOf(string value, int startIndex, StringComparison options)
• string.PadLeft(int length)
• string.PadLeft(int length, char c)
• string.PadRight(int length)
• string.PadRight(int length, char c)
• string.StartsWith(string value, StringComparison options)
• string.Trim()
• string.Trim(char c)
• string.TrimStart()
• string.TrimStart(char c)
• string.TrimEnd()
• string.TrimEnd(char c)
• Note: for overloads with StringComparison only InvariantCulture and InvariantCultureIgnoreCase are supported. Furthermore, the value InvariantCulture is used by default, unless specified otherwise.
• Note: Missing overloads in some frameworks (e.g. .NET Framework) are exposed as extension methods. Therefore, all methods listed on this page can be used by all supported frameworks.

WebUtility methods

• WebUtility.UrlEncode(string value)
• WebUtility.UrlDecode(string value)
• Note: to use methods above, you need to specify @import System.Net.

See also

• Data-binding overview
• Respond to user actions
• Binding context
• REST API bindings
• Formatting dates and numbers
• Custom JavaScript translators