ASP.NET Core 2.2 Web API controller inherited from Object class (not from Controller class)

Question

I've seen the following declaration of a controller class in one Web API project:

[Route("api/[controller]")]
public class UrlController
{
    private readonly IConfiguration configuration;

    public UrlController(IConfiguration configuration)
    {
        this.configuration = configuration;
    }

    [HttpGet]
    [ProducesResponseType(typeof(string), 200)]
    public string Get() => this.configuration.GetSection("ShortUrlPrefix").Get<string>();
}

I thought that controllers must inherit from Controller/ControllerBase, but in this case it works without inheritance. Are there any issues with this particular declaration? Is it a kind of "optimization" if we only need to return a simple value (a short string in this case)?

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-20 09:12:55Z

1

Are there any issues with this particular declaration?

No issues.

Controllers usually inherit from Controller, although this isn't required.

The bases controller classes are there if you need more complex scenarios and provides many properties and methods that are useful for handling HTTP requests.

Is it a kind of "optimization" if we only need to return a simple value (a short string in this case)?

That is by design. It is following a convention defined by the framework

Reference Handle requests with controllers in ASP.NET Core MVC

A controller is an instantiable class in which at least one of the following conditions is true:

The class name is suffixed with "Controller"

The class inherits from a class whose name is suffixed with "Controller"

The class is decorated with the [Controller] attribute

edited Jun 20, 2020 at 9:12

CommunityBot

11 silver badge

answered Sep 26, 2019 at 12:02

Nkosi

249k38 gold badges472 silver badges506 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

3 Comments

Chris Pratt Over a year ago

I've never heard this before. Do you know how it's marshalling the controller without some common base class or interface? Is it that it has RouteAttribute applied?

Chris Pratt Over a year ago

Thanks. I just find it so weird. I mean an interface, I'd understand, but it's got to know somehow that it's a "controller" and should be treated as such. I'm guessing it probably is RouteAttribute. There's no reason to apply that unless you expect the class to function as a controller.

Nkosi Over a year ago

@ChrisPratt naming convention plays a part as well learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/mvc/controllers/… . So it is not necessarily the attribute in this case but the naming convention.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

ASP.NET Core 2.2 Web API controller inherited from Object class (not from Controller class)

1 Answer 1

Reference Handle requests with controllers in ASP.NET Core MVC

3 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

Reference Handle requests with controllers in ASP.NET Core MVC

3 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related