ASP.NET Routing with Web Forms

Question

I've read ASP.NET Routing… Goodbye URL rewriting? and Using Routing With WebForms which are great articles, but limited to simple, illustrative, "hello world"-complexity examples.

Is anyone out there using ASP.NET routing with web forms in a non-trivial way? Any gotchas to be aware of? Performance issues? Further recommended reading I should look at before ploughing into an implementation of my own?

EDIT Found these additional useful URLs:

• How to: Use Routing with Web Forms (MSDN)
• ASP.NET Routing (MSDN)
• How to: Construct a URL from a Route(MSDN)

Answer 1

A simple example of how to use routing in ASP.NET

1. Create Empty Web Application
2. Add first form - Default.aspx
3. Add second form - Second.aspx
4. Add third form - Third.aspx

5. Add to default.aspx 3 buttons -

   protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       Response.Redirect("Second.aspx");
   }
   
   protected void Button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       Response.Redirect("Third.aspx?Name=Pants");
   }
   
   protected void Button3_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       Response.Redirect("Third.aspx?Name=Shoes");
   }
   

6. Read query string on third page

   protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       Response.Write(Request.QueryString["Name"]);
   }
   

Now if you run the program, you will be able to navigate to second and third form. This is how it used to be. Let's add routing.

7. Add new item - Global.aspx using System.Web.Routing;

   protected void Application_Start(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       RegisterRoutes(RouteTable.Routes);
   }
   void RegisterRoutes(RouteCollection routes)
   {
       routes.MapPageRoute(
           "HomeRoute",
           "Home",
           "~/Default.aspx"
       );
       routes.MapPageRoute(
           "SecondRoute",
           "Second",
           "~/Second.aspx"
       );
       routes.MapPageRoute(
           "ThirdRoute",
           "Third/{Name}",
           "~/Third.aspx"
       );
   }
   

8. In default.aspx modify protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e) { // Response.Redirect("Second.aspx"); Response.Redirect(GetRouteUrl("SecondRoute", null)); }

   protected void Button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       //Response.Redirect("Third.aspx?Name=Pants");
      Response.Redirect(GetRouteUrl("ThirdRoute", new {Name = "Pants"}));
   }
   
   protected void Button3_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
      // Response.Redirect("Third.aspx?Name=Shoes");
       Response.Redirect(GetRouteUrl("ThirdRoute", new { Name = "Shoes" }));
   }
   

9. Modify page load in third.aspx

   protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
   {
       //Response.Write(Request.QueryString["Name"]);
       Response.Write(RouteData.Values["Name"]);
   }
   

Run the program, Please note that url looks much cleaner - there are not file extensions in it (Second.aspx becomes just Second)

10. To pass more then one argument

    • add new button to default.aspx with the following code:

      protected void Button4_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {
          Response.Redirect(GetRouteUrl("FourthRoute", new { Name = "Shoes" , Gender = "Male"}));
      }
      

    • add the following code to global.asax

          routes.MapPageRoute(
            "FourthRoute",
            "Fourth/{Name}-{Gender}",
            "~/Fourth.aspx"
        );
      

    • create Fourth.aspx page with the following page load:

      protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
      {
      Response.Write("Name is: " + RouteData.Values["Name"] + " and Gender is " + RouteData.Values["Gender"]);
      }