Same url but different controllers? - asp.net-mvc-4

Question

Is it possible to use two different controllers for the same url?
This is needed because I need the URL to always remain the same, but it should use different controllers. My controllers (Apples, Bananas, etc.) and views are separated into each own project.
I need a action in my main MVC project to return a action/view from either the Bananas or Apples project depending on some logic.
So how would I go ahead to always have the same url but return actions/views from different controllers?
I'm using MVC 4

Answer 1

Your URLs should be where the logic for selecting your controller is. Maybe you need to reorganise your project to have a single controller and put the other logic in the controller action for filling the model?
However, if you insist on going this route you will likely need to override CreateController in the DefaultControllerFactory, this is the class that instantiates your controller, usually based on your controller name. Here is an example in one of my projects:
public class ErrorHandlingControllerFactory : DefaultControllerFactory
{
/// <summary>
/// Injects a custom attribute
/// on every action that is invoked by the controller
/// </summary>
/// <param name="requestContext">The request context</param>
/// <param name="controllerName">The name of the controller</param>
/// <returns>An instance of a controller</returns>
public override IController CreateController(
RequestContext requestContext,
string controllerName)
{
var controller =
base.CreateController(requestContext,
controllerName);
var c = controller as Controller;
if (c != null)
{
c.ActionInvoker =
new ErrorHandlingActionInvoker(
new HandleErrorWithELMAHAttribute());
}
return controller;
}
}
You will need to set your route up to pass a known controller name (horrible magic strings...), test for this controller name, and if detected run your logic to get the actual controller name and pass this in to base.CreateController.

Answer 2

I wrote these codes. I hope that it helps you. I used hidden field to understand which method will run.
these are my models:
namespace MvcSameController.Models
{
public class RouteModel
{
public SampleModel1 SampleModel1 { get; set; }
public SampleModel2 SampleModel2 { get; set; }
}
public class SampleModel1
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
}
public class SampleModel2
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Surname { get; set; }
}
}
this is controller:
using System.Web.Mvc;
using MvcSameController.Models;
namespace MvcSameController.Controllers
{
public class SameController : Controller
{
//
// GET: /Same/
public ActionResult Index()
{
return View();
}
[HttpPost]
public void Index(RouteModel routeModel, string type)
{
if (type == "1")
{
//Code for type 1
}
else if (type == "2")
{
//Code for type 2
}
}
}
}
and view :
#{
ViewBag.Title = "Index";
}
#model MvcSameController.Models.RouteModel
<section id="loginForm">
<h2>Type1 </h2>
#using (Html.BeginForm())
{
#Html.AntiForgeryToken()
#Html.ValidationSummary(true)
#Html.Hidden("type",1)
<fieldset>
<legend>Type1 Form</legend>
<ol>
<li>
#Html.LabelFor(m => m.SampleModel1.Name)
#Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.SampleModel1.Name)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(m => m.SampleModel1.Name)
</li>
</ol>
<input type="submit" value="Run Method1" />
</fieldset>
}
</section>
<section id="loginForm">
<h2>Type2</h2>
#using (Html.BeginForm())
{
#Html.AntiForgeryToken()
#Html.ValidationSummary(true)
#Html.Hidden("type",2)
<fieldset>
<legend>Type2 Form</legend>
<ol>
<li>
#Html.LabelFor(m => m.SampleModel2.Surname)
#Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.SampleModel2.Surname)
#Html.ValidationMessageFor(m => m.SampleModel2.Surname)
</li>
</ol>
<input type="submit" value="Run Method2" />
</fieldset>
}
</section>
you can download my sample from here