Model binding using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations

Question

I am using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations for model binding and validate my ASP.NET MVC application.

I have a C# model class like this

public class Employee
{
    public Int64 EmployeeId { get; set; }

    [Required]
    public string FullName { get; set; }

    [Required]
    public string Username { get; set; }

    public string Password { get; set; }

    [Compare("Password")]
    public string ConfirmPassword { get; set; }
}

When I submit the form via AJAX to insert a record, the values are set to Employee object correctly.

But ModelState.IsValid statement is false always and it says The EmployeeId field is required .

Since EmployeeId is an identity column in the database, I do not set it in controller.

How can I fix this issue?

When I update a record, I need to make EmployeeId as required. How can I handle this also?

Answer 1

I think simplest/cleanest is to make EmployeeId nullable:

public class Employee
{
    public Int64? EmployeeId { get; set; }

    // ...
}