Is there a way to send optional parameters to an action?

Question

Can I send optional parameters (empty strings, null int?'s etc) to an action through a GET request in asp.net mvc? (one sentence question!)

Answer 1

You can do optional parameters with the routing table fairly easily, just specify the defaults in the route of the global.cs file.

So for a search page with an optional query and page you would have something like

RouteTable.Routes.Add(new Route
{
    Url = "Search/[query]/[page]",
    Defaults = new { controller="Search", action="Results", page=1 },
    RouteHandler = typeof(MvcRouteHandler)
});

Default page for your search is then 1.

This example is found here on Scott Gu's blog.